Ok, well allow us to go ahead and add Marc Faber to the list of people who we will never – ever – again quote or otherwise listen to about anything.
Marc is adored by people predisposed to taking a cynical view on markets and if you’re in the camp that thinks “long food, long bullets, and long kerosene lamps” might be the best way to “position” for the inevitable unwind, well then “Doctor Doom” is for you.
Or maybe “Doctor Doom” isn’t for you. Because hopefully, the following screengrab will dissuade you from humoring Marc going forward:
Yes, “let us not digress,” into a comically racist rant.
Note how that starts the way all racist rants by public figures usually start: with a disclaimer that reads “I’m not a racist but…”
Anytime someone leads into something with “I’m not a racist but...” it invariably means that you are about to be subjected to something racist.
Here’s FT:
Well-known investor Marc Faber has claimed that the United States is rich only because it was settled by white people. In a newsletter for investors seen by the FT, the Swiss forecaster known as “Dr Doom” wrote:
- And thank God white people populated America, and not the blacks. Otherwise, the US would look like Zimbabwe, which it might look like one day anyway, but at least America enjoyed 200 years in the economic and political sun under a white majority. I am not a racist, but the reality — no matter how politically incorrect — needs to be spelled out.
The comments followed a discussion of recent debates over the removal of Confederate symbols in the US, which Mr Faber described as “statues of honourable people whose only crime was to defend what all societies had done for more than 5,000 years: keep a part of the population enslaved”.
Mr Faber, whose business is based in Hong Kong, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
And here’s another “fun” screengrab just so you aren’t left scratching your head when every mainstream financial news outlet on the planet cuts any and all ties with Marc:
So congrats Marc, to the extent anyone took you seriously in the first place – which of course no one did – you will now become even more of a standing joke for the rest of your life.
Oh, and just a tip for you: you should probably avoid urban areas in the United States going forward lest you should find yourself in a “gloomy and doomy” predicament.
Racist in the financial world? Who would of thunk? Seriously, never heard of him but I don’t run with millionaires. Seems I’m one of the lucky ones.
If globalism becomes the future, as it should, then we need to have compassion and concern for every part of humanity.
agreed. but definitely not for Marc Faber.
Totally agree with Marc Faber
Totaly agree with you. Faber is right 100%. Problem is nobody cares about facts anymore.
Wow. You have to wonder if he, like, even knows about colonialism.
likely knows more about it than you ever will, given that he has lived & worked in southeast Asia for some decades dating back to the collapse of the colonial era
Living in Hong Kong and Thailand makes him an expert on African political development?
And nice job on the personal attack! Although it’s a subject I actually know quite a lot about.
You said nothing about African political development. You said only, “You have to wonder if he, like, even knows about colonialism.”
Hong Kong was colonial until 20 years ago and he lived & managed money there during two decades of colonial rule, and in other former colonies in the region.
So your original insinuation that he knows nothing about colonialism is absurd.
I also meant to include…. with all due respect to you and your significant knowledge about the matter which I accept on your word is significant and not the issue here. Apologies for my original tone which was not really about you but rather about Mr Faber.
An entertaining and brilliant interview of Marc Faber from July that’s one of RealVision’s highest rated:
https://www.realvision.com/rv/channel/realvision/videos/c112ca06b8a34bde9347f0b829374dd4
GO ASIA !!!!!
If he’s such a racist, then how has he happily thrived for decades in his interracial marriage? (with children)
Exactly. And he has some black friends too.
Many white supremacists have Asian wives/girlfriends
Well, that is a very interesting comment. How do you know that or why do you think that? Why would a white supremacist be especially attracted to an Asian woman? Can you provide some reference material to support that conclusion? Very curious.
Fortunately for him, Mr Faber’s office is in Hong Kong, rather than in Amerikkka where economic freedom and thought is relatively oppressed (reference last week’s freedom study released by heritage.org ….
http://www.heritage.org/index/
Happy Deepavali to all from Singapore-Malaysia where it’s a public holiday, to celebrate the most festive time of year for our small but vibrant Indian community here (8% of the population). Cheers!!
Latest freedom ranking for those not inclined to clink the link.
The top two are the runaway leaders, and only the top five rate as “free”:
1) Hong Kong
2) Singapore
3) New Zealand
4) Switzerland
5) Australia
Rounding out the top ten: (somewhat free)
6) Estonia
7) Canaduh
8) Dubai (UAE)
9) Ireland (despite EU repression and the EU whip on them this year to hike taxes)
10) Chile
Gotta look down to find the fallen angel which until last decade ranked at or near the top.
17) United States
“Large budget deficits and a high level of public debt have contributed to the continuing decline in America’s economic freedom. Having registered its lowest economic freedom score ever, the United States is no longer among the world’s freest economies.
“The substantial expansion of government’s size and scope, increased regulatory and tax burdens, and the loss of confidence that has accompanied a growing perception of cronyism, elite privilege, and corruption have severely undermined America’s global competitiveness.”
Hong Kong and Singapore are at the top of a “freedom” ranking? Sometimes Heritage is funnier than The Onion.
Economic freedom.
Same conclusion in every credible study I’ve seen whether Deloitte, Mercer, HSBC…
No surprise to anyone who has lived, worked, started or managed a business, filed taxes & invested there and in other countries.
Certainly almost anyone who has lived in Hong Kong has fallen in love with it. Except for the astronomical housing prices (by far the highest in the world). Singapore must be the cleanest, best run, most civilized place on the planet (and the second wealthiest nation next to Qatar, depending on the source).
Agreed that Singapore must be the cleanest, best run, most civilized place on the planet – but Singapore is a self proclaimed socialist republic and stands for all the things attacked by MF in this article. I don;t see how you can defend both Singaporean state socialism (IMO a very good thing) and also articles that attack that approach? Am I missing something?
That’s an enlightened perspective that could launch a book of discussion, but not by me because I’m not very knowledgeable about it even though I’m a guest resident and businessman here.
But I’d say that Singapore’s social programs are in measured doses, sensible, balanced and most importantly co-exist with an abundance of free market incentives that stimulate free market capitalism which propels the private economic sector and foreign-direct investment that pays for the social benefits to those who genuinely need that. In addition, both Singapore and HK have no tolerance for corruption and cronyism, which has become a problem & burden in America along with political lobbying & payoffs.
The most pervasive and interesting aspect of state involvement in Singapore is the HDB (housing), which is arguably a unique situation due to the high population density and consequential high cost of housing. As you observed, it’s indeed difficult to reconcile this extensive intervention with articles that laud Singapore’s free market economy. But without HDB, the Singaporean housing scene would look more like HK housing (not a great thing for the masses). That said, Singaporeans aspire to own their own private home, but as it’s increasingly out of reach financially, even with their high and rising salaries with low taxes, ultimately they must settle for HDB and ownership of a vacation/retirement home abroad instead. Many increasingly can/do buy a property (often for cash) in Australia, North America or elsewhere in SE Asia, including across the border in Malaysia such as a breezy, tropical seafront property like mine – so it’s not so bad.
Looking around the world today, the best managed and most economically successful countries seem to all be very small nations. So perhaps the solution is to decentralize government power, and instead empower smaller, local government. As big, central government everywhere is failing.
I see no purpose in denigrating a private individual like Faber over a few of his comments regarding race.
The very concept of “Racial Equality” is bullshit. Those who promote the idea should read Charles Darwin on the subject. No one race has cornered the market in survival adaptations of great value. As far as market pundits, they matter little compared to who has the best algorithms and whose servers are nearest the trading floor.