IANANRx, but I think the maximally charitable answer is "Nature; especially, the biological, physiological, and game-theoretical constraints within which any society and culture must operate." By extension, a culture neglecting these constraints is necessarily in a state of collapse- a faux perpetual motion machine may move for a few moments because of initial momentum in the system, but it must necessarily halt.
As an additional corollary, homeostatic societies (which were, presumably, not in a state of collapse) must have been acting within these constraints. Therefore, long-running traditional cultures most clearly illustrate the terms of compliance with Gnon.
A critique of the general concept: A culture may remain "in a state of collapse" for a long, long time. It's a little like saying "as soon as you're born, you start dying" — it's a statement more about the speaker's attitude toward life or society than about the life or society being described.
(Moreover, homeostasis only works until invaded. That's why there ain't no more moa in old Aotearoa.)
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