Earth's population was still rising. Some day, with all that the Cities could do, the available calories per person would simply fall below basic sub… - Isaac Asimov

Naturally, trouble makes for greater drama than does happiness, and it asks for more in the way of human response

"Go on." "The Imperial forces must keep their hands off, but they find that they can do much even so. Each sector is encouraged to be suspicious of its neighbors. Within each sector, economic and social classes are encouraged to wage a kind of war with each other. The result is that all over Trantor it is impossible for the people to take united action. Everywhere, the people would rather fight each other than make a common stand against the central tyranny and the Empire rules without having to exert force."

Presumably, such is the folly of human beings, the prospects of intellectual suicide might not stop them from indulging their hatred,