@cstross This is bad, but it's not inherently unstable nor inherently likely to fail nor inherently something that diminishes the might of the empire. (redirect it, sure.)
The 1920s US had a major round of "there will be genocide until an unambiguous white majority is restored"; the 40s US set up the post-war institutions on the basis of highly inclusive principles.
The difference now is the combination of the (ambiguously controlled) panopticon and the ongoing agricultural collapse.