The American Decline

The world as we know it has irrevocably changed and there is no turning back . Many believe that this is a conspiracy played out to change the balance of power in the world. I am not completely convinced as yet.

In the next year unemployment in the USA and Europe will hit close to 20 percent and there will be tremendous social unrest. All of us must be prepared for massive changes in our lives .

The only countries that will survive this crash are ones that have enough food and water to provide for their people.
Many countries have economic systems that are pure illusion built on invisible money and false confidence. This is unravelling at lighning speed now and countries are just on the border of collapse.
 
pericles said:
The world as we know it has irrevocably changed and there is no turning back . Many believe that this is a conspiracy played out to change the balance of power in the world. I am not completely convinced as yet.

In the next year unemployment in the USA and Europe will hit close to 20 percent and there will be tremendous social unrest. All of us must be prepared for massive changes in our lives .

The only countries that will survive this crash are ones that have enough food and water to provide for their people.
Many countries have economic systems that are pure illusion built on invisible money and false confidence. This is unravelling at lighning speed now and countries are just on the border of collapse.
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Anything is possible. I heard of people in the U.S. who think the same way, there these people are called survivalists. I head about one here from a friend. According to my friend this guy has a small arsenal of weapons in his house along with about 10 thousand rounds of ammo.

Should expats start heading out of B.A. now and grab vacant land on the pampas? If what you say is true the money they have been living on(mainly from back home) could be worthless. Should expats there start arming themselves now?
 
No, people should not arm themsleves, that is ridiculous. People should open their hearts and promote peace and love in these times.
 
Stanexpat said:
Should expats start heading out of B.A. now and grab vacant land on the pampas? If what you say is true the money they have been living on(mainly from back home) could be worthless. Should expats there start arming themselves now?
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It would be an idea to buy some arable land. And be able to defend it. Many Russians survived during the '90s because they had a small plot of land and could grow some veggies (potatoes and onions). Dmitry Orlov has some good advice for Americans here (note that he has since come out with a book on the subject). Certainly the possibility of American collapse seems to be becoming increasingly plausible by the day. Just look at an FT article today:

More than 80,000 job losses were announced around the world this week as the global recession tightened its grip in virtually every business sector.

Jobs have haemorrhaged from businesses as diverse as a Chicago kosher hot dog factory, a German airline and car plants in Japan. Companies have been forced into savage cost cutting as the effects of the credit crunch have sapped confidence and sent order books and commodity prices plummeting.
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For the sake of argument, let's assume the plutocrats and their paid political whores manage to muddle through this crisis. The stresses, strains, and contradictions of the current global economic system will remain in place and sooner or later (sooner rather than later), there will be an utter and complete collapse of the US- and European-centred global financial and economic system. What's happening now is a portent of worse things to come.

Postscript: Here is a later piece by Orlov, discussing his "five stages of collapse":

Stage 1: Financial collapse. Faith in "business as usual" is lost. The future is no longer assumed resemble the past in any way that allows risk to be assessed and financial assets to be guaranteed. Financial institutions become insolvent; savings are wiped out, and access to capital is lost.

Stage 2: Commercial collapse. Faith that "the market shall provide" is lost. Money is devalued and/or becomes scarce, commodities are hoarded, import and retail chains break down, and widespread shortages of survival necessities become the norm.

Stage 3: Political collapse. Faith that "the government will take care of you" is lost. As official attempts to mitigate widespread loss of access to commercial sources of survival necessities fail to make a difference, the political establishment loses legitimacy and relevance.

Stage 4: Social collapse. Faith that "your people will take care of you" is lost, as local social institutions, be they charities or other groups that rush in to fill the power vacuum run out of resources or fail through internal conflict.

Stage 5: Cultural collapse. Faith in the goodness of humanity is lost. People lose their capacity for "kindness, generosity, consideration, affection, honesty, hospitality, compassion, charity" (Turnbull, The Mountain People). Families disband and compete as individuals for scarce resources. The new motto becomes "May you die today so that I die tomorrow" (Solzhenitsyn, The Gulag Archipelago). There may even be some cannibalism.
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My guess would be we're presently somewhere early in Stage 2.
 
soulskier said:
No, people should not arm themsleves, that is ridiculous. People should open their hearts and promote peace and love in these times.
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Pal, you need some toughening up. You better run out and get a couple of assault rifles while you can.
 
Stanexpat said:
Pal, you need some toughening up. You better run out and get a couple of assault rifles while you can.
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Oh Stanley, surely you jest! It's all about the love amigo!
 
I would be terrified of consequences of the decline.
But to be honest, I'm still scared witless by SARS, mad cow disease, Bird Flu, plagues of killer bees (personal favourite), international terrorism, Al Qaeda, pollution, cancer, global warming, nuclear war, UV rays, mercury levels in food, the rise of the NWO, shape-shifting reptillean overlords, shadowy government conspiracies and a host of assorted threats to my health, liberty, security, quality of life and purchasing power.

Every year, without fail, we face "the gravest threat humanity has ever encountered" and things will "surely never be the same again". Doesn't the hyperbole get a bit tiring after a while?

In recent years millions have bounced back from floods, earthquakes, tsunamis, wars, total economic collapse etc, but this financial correction is going to spell the end of the world as we know it?

There will be some changes, yes.
But the unrelenting drama of it all...
 
I think Stage 3 will begin in 2009. I think all the drama is to wake people up. Maybe some people will realize that material possessions are as important as family/friends. There could a regress back to the "good ole' days like the 50s in terms of family. Who knows? Yet, JP..you are right in that life will go on...
Just in case you are thinking of living off grid or need survival help...here is a good book.

The Self-sufficient Life and how to live it
The complete back to basics guide by John seymour.....out of print bought used of Amazon.
ISBN: 13 978-0-7894-9332-3
or ISBN 10 0-7894-9332-2
 
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