"Collapse is Inevitable"by Paul B. Farrell
"Talk to anyone about a coming systematic crisis and expect to be looked at as a nut. Fair enough- the subject of an economic collapse is obviously a touchy and emotion-ridden subject for most people, which means facts will be ignored and biases will take over. This is why most people failed to anticipate the collapse of 2008, and why most people won't anticipate the coming economic, and likely, social collapse.
Projecting and timing systematic crises is not a simple thing, but they are predictable mostly because human nature is so predictable. Once certain conditions are met- such as massive debt, excessive entitlements, excessive war mongering, and an overdependence on government- a crisis is not too far off. Just think about what happened throughout Europe, and most notably Weimar Germany, following WWI. Otto Von Bismarck layed the groundwork for the collapse all across Europe in the early 20th century by introducing the system of entitlements. The welfare state mentality that results makes it easier for governments to step in to "fix" a debt problem they created in the first place by making promises they could not keep. America chose to shun the entitlement mentality until FDR, which allowed America to bypass Europe and become the envy of the world. Unfortunately times have changed.
One key component to any economic and social collapse is the loss of respect for the rule of law and the loss of morality, which Paul Farrell discusses in, America soul is lost, collapse is inevitable. Once morality and the rule of law are lost, it's Game Over. Always. From Marketwatch: "Jack Bogle published "The Battle for the Soul of Capitalism" four years ago. The battle's over. The sequel should be titled: "Capitalism Died a Lost Soul." Worse, we've lost "America's Soul." And worldwide the consequences will be catastrophic. That's why a man like Hong Kong's contrarian economist Marc Faber warns in his "Doom, Boom & Gloom Report:" "The future will be a total disaster, with a collapse of our capitalistic system as we know it today."
No, not just another meltdown, another bear market recession like the one recently triggered by Wall Street's "too-greedy-to-fail" banks. Faber is warning that the entire system of capitalism will collapse. Get it? The engine driving the great "American Economic Empire" for 233 years will collapse, a total disaster, a destiny we created. Given Marc Faber's impressive track record of foreseeing events, I would be very concerned. Most of the people in the industry who have a broader base of knowledge and a more comprehensive understanding of history, economics, politics, and human psychology are very concerned about what's happening right now. Those whose views are based only on the past 50 years of American hegemony and government schooling are bound to be confused by events that will unfold. In no uncertain terms, history is repeating in real-time.
Banker Takeover: History Repeating: But for Wall Street and American capitalism, use your gut. You know something's very wrong: A year ago "too-greedy-to-fail" banks were insolvent, in a near-death experience. Now, magically they're back to business as usual, arrogant, pocketing outrageous bonuses while Main Street sacrifices, and unemployment and foreclosures continue rising as tight credit, inflation and skyrocketing Federal debt are killing taxpayers. Yes, Wall Street has lost its moral compass. They created the mess, now, like vultures, they're capitalizing on the carcass. They have lost all sense of fiduciary duty, ethical responsibility and public obligation.
Lets be frank here: even the village idiot knows something has gone astray with our government and that somehow banks are looting us. Most people don't understand the mechanism of this insidious transfer of wealth, which is actually a lot more egregious than you think. Just think about all the foreign governments that are getting an implicit bailout via taxpayer money through our direct purchase of agency and treasury debt. Now think a bit. Why would we have to take such extreme measures to shore up the debt markets? Do you think it's perhaps because of the huge position foreigners hold in our debt and subtle threats to dump our debt on the market? Yes we have temporarily averted a great crisis by monetizing debt, but all we're doing is giving foreigners a window to slowly unwind their positions while ours grows exponentially. How does this NOT end in tears? This is not a rhetorical question, please someone enlighten me.
Capitalism has been the engine driving America and the global economies for over two centuries. Faber predicts its collapse will trigger global "wars, massive government-debt defaults, and the impoverishment of large segments of Western society." Faber knows that capitalism is not working, capitalism has peaked, and the collapse of capitalism is "inevitable." When? He hesitates: "But what I don't know is whether this final collapse, which is inevitable, will occur tomorrow, or in five or 10 years, and whether it will occur with the Dow at 100,000 and gold at $50,000 per ounce or even confiscated, or with the Dow at 3,000 and gold at $1,000." But the end is inevitable, a historical imperative.
I know most people don't believe me, which is a shame. The usual response to my arguments is, "it can't happen here". Ok fine, base your financial and life decisions on that piece of stunning analysis. I'll protect myself from the inevitable."
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