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Tag Archives: of two minds
The Most Valuable Form of Money Nobody’s Seen–Yet
The Most Valuable Form of Money Nobody’s Seen–Yet What is “money”? “Money” is a claim on the essentials of life. Ration cards are claims on essentials. Many people expect “money” will soon be tied to commodities. Agreed. It’s called a ration card that grants the holder the right to buy a specific quantity of essential goods at […]
The Age of Discord
The Age of Discord It’s very difficult to find common ground that supports cooperation in the disintegrative stage of scarcities, rising prices, catastrophically centralized power and social discord. Today’s topic echoes Peter Turchin’s 2016 book, Ages of Discord, which I have often referenced in blog posts. I’ll also discuss two other books I’ve often referenced, Global Crisis: […]
The Difference Between a Forecast and a Guess
The Difference Between a Forecast and a Guess Every forecast or guess has one refreshing quality: one will be right and the rest will be wrong. What’s the difference between a forecast and a guess? On one level, the answer is “none”: the future is unknown and even the most informed forecast is still a guess. The evidence for […]
Our Economy In a Nutshell
Our Economy In a Nutshell The economy has reached an inflection point where everything that is unsustainable finally starts unraveling. Our economy is in a crisis that’s been brewing for decades. The Chinese characters for the English word crisis are famously–and incorrectly–translated as danger and opportunity. The more accurate translation is precarious plus critical juncture or inflection point. Beneath its […]
For Freak’s Sake, People, Even the Crash Test Dummies Are Nervous
For Freak’s Sake, People, Even the Crash Test Dummies Are Nervous Those trusting the Fed to be visibly weak, corrupt and incompetent forever might be in for an unwelcome surprise. When even the crash test dummies are nervous, it pays to pay attention. Being in a mild crash isn’t too bad if all the protective devices […]
Serf-Expression
Serf-Expression Eventually the “flock of timid and industrious animals” changes their minds about how much exploitation by the few is acceptable. You may have noticed the news flow beyond the hot war in Ukraine is largely focused on capital: financial capital (markets, liquidity, interest rates, commodities, central bank tightening, etc.) and political capital (geopolitical maneuvering, sanctions, revising energy and defense […]
What If It Breaks?
What If It Breaks? Making your entire economy a Landfill Economy dependent on the fantasy of infinite replacements and substitutions is the height of hubris and folly. Very few people ask: what if it breaks? It’s a question we can ask of a great many things: touchscreens, motherboards, tools, vehicles, supply chains and entire systems: what if it […]
Geopolitics and Degrowth
Geopolitics and Degrowth The Geopolitics of Degrowth holds that real power flows not from waste, centralization and coercion but from decentralization, relocalization and the free flow of value. Conventional geopolitics is all about more: more military power, more sanctions, more coercion, more influence. The Geopolitics of Degrowth is all about the the power of less: wasting less, consuming less, needing less […]
Our Financial System Is Optimized for Sociopaths and Exploitation
Our Financial System Is Optimized for Sociopaths and Exploitation Let’s call this financial system what it really is: the MetaPerverse, a conjured world of self-serving cons. We live in a peculiar juncture of history in which truth has been banished as a threat to the maximization of private gain, i.e. the hyper-pursuit of self-interest. Evidence that supports a causal chain has […]
Our Leaders Made a Pact with the Devil, and Now the Devil Wants His Due
Our Leaders Made a Pact with the Devil, and Now the Devil Wants His Due The unprecedented credit-fueled bubbles in stocks, bonds and real estate are popping, and America’s corrupt leaders can only stammer and spew excuses and empty promises. Unbeknownst to most people, America’s leadership made a pact with the Devil: rather than face the […]
Choose One, But Only One: Defend the Billionaire’s Bubble or the U.S. Dollar and Empire
Choose One, But Only One: Defend the Billionaire’s Bubble or the U.S. Dollar and Empire The Empire is striking back, protecting what really counts, and the Billionaire Bubble sideshow is folding its tents. One of the most enduring conceits of the modern era is that the Federal Reserve acts to goose growth and therefore employment while keeping […]
Politics Is Dead, Here’s What Killed It
Politics Is Dead, Here’s What Killed It Here’s “politics” in America now: come with mega-millions or don’t even bother to show up. Representational democracy–a.k.a. politics as a solution to social and economic problems–has passed away. It did not die a natural death. Politics developed a cancer very early in life (circa the early 1800s), caused by wealth […]
What Will Surprise Us in 2022
What Will Surprise Us in 2022 What seemed so permanent for 13 long years will be revealed as shifting sand and what seemed so real for 13 long years will be revealed as illusion. Magical thinking isn’t optimism, it is folly. Predictions are hard, especially about the future, but let’s look at what we already […]
2022: The Year of Breakdown
2022: The Year of Breakdown In other words, our economy and society have been optimized for failure. If we look at the fragility and instability of essential systems, it’s clear that 2022 will be the year of breakdown. Let’s start by reviewing how systems break down, a process I’ve simplified into the graphic below. 1. Regardless […]
Get in Crash Positions
Get in Crash Positions When the market goes bidless, it’s too late to preserve capital, never mind all those life-changing gains. Everyone with some gray in their ponytails knows the stock market has ticked every box for a bubble top, so everybody get in crash positions: Let’s run through the requirements for a bubble top: […]
