Regarding Golden Ages and Englightenments.

It is also possible for regressions to occur. Some cultures have had golden ages and then sunk into torpor, such as the Islamic and Chinese.

Also, some enlightenments have been quashed by successor regimes which instituted autocracies which subsume all power.

There are no guarantees. It is much easier to lose freedoms than to gain them. The founding fathers of the United States were well aware of it.