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Of Rocket Men, Chinese Hegemony, And Populism Run Amok: 3 Visual Guides
You wouldn't know it from looking at any market-based measures of volatility, but 2017 was a hugely consequential year. I assume that goes without saying.
Most of the drama and accompanying uncertainty emanated from the geopolitical realm where, on the heels of the 2016 Brexit referendum, the Western world continued to stumble aimlessly towards a brand a populism that, while new in some ways, shares much with elder vintages.
Meanwhile, as Western democracies attempted to defend the institution
Perspectives on the world rarely include competent examinations of the economic limitations of critical finite resources (resources necessary for basic living standards that can be depleted, diluted and or can’t be recycled fast and efficiently enough to offset their consumption rates) and in turn their limitations on geopolitics. Assumptions that China will dominate the world economically for any sustained period – without the acquiescence of that world are short sighted.
China’s population is its biggest asset and its biggest problem for economic domination of the world. China is burning through its finite critical resources (FCR) due to excessive population and massive export economy – faster than any other developed economy. It’s future existence depends entirely on being able to acquire FCRs from the rest of the world in trade, through extortion, and or military force. Extortion has a way of backfiring and has historic low economic efficiency. Military force is even more economically inefficient in the nuclear retaliation age.
China has recognized the burden of its overpopulation since since 1979 when one of Mao’s advisors Song Jian convinced Mao that continuing to expand China’s population as a military strategy was not cost effective in terms of resource usage . It’s One Child Policy was established in 1980, evolved, but was not effective in reducing its population. However, it should be pointed out that the One Child Policy is estimated to have been poorly enforced (many ethnic groups, wealthy and party members were exempted) and some experts say in reality impacted only 30% of the Chinese population. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One-child_policy#Unequal_enforcement).
China’s recognition of its population burden also included the recognition of what opportunities that a massive population can create. That primary opportunity is colonization ability. Such colonization does not have to be a formal declaration, but can be established economically as it has been in Africa, South America, and other less developed parts of the world by Chinese land buyers (farmers, miners and immigrants) – all working openly or secretively – for the greater good of China. The strategy behind this economic colonization is simple. It expands the FCR supply base (starting with food and raw mfg. materials) for the benefit China, its national economy and population. It staves and otherwise certain Chinese economic collapse and population revolt against the Chinese Communist (in name only) Party and chain of unpredictable chaos generating events on global scales.
However, in a world that is already over populated with humans on planetary sustainability basis, this strategy has a limited effective utilization period. That period being directly tied to the global depletion of FCRs starting with energy, food and food production chemicals. Consequently, the big geopolitical question becomes – what then? What’s the next strategy for China, the next opportunity to utilize the massive Chinese population to maintain itself and or even further its global dominance? This is what the rest of the world should be contemplating about now.
As we enter 2018, two things have never been truer: change is inevitable and we all resist change. In the meantime, the information to evaluate what changes are “positive” and which are “destructive” is getting much harder for most everyone to interpret. There are many LOUD voices on all sides of all issues and to make it worse, its getting harder to rely upon or trust any of them! It seems as people want to convince others that their point of view is more “right” or salient than others–the volume simply increases. I, for one, am sick of it! My new mantra is “Everyone is right ! It is much easier for me than “Everyone is wrong”–especially the ones I dislike or am politically and philosophically appalled by.
Talk about confusion the USA is the poster child for prefabricated bullsh*t. It is still and always will be about the power over the masses, here. or in China, or Russia it does not matter. The “debt bombs” that we let our “Lawyers in Love” (Jackson Browne) leaders propel us towards will be massive and deathly ugly. Re-inflating this baby will be much more difficult if not impossible and many people will die in the process both financially and literally. Healthcare, Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security and wages are all on the chopping block as our debt-bubble further inflates.
Talk about lambs to the slaughter. The power given to these few major Central Banks and the policies they have created will leave gaping holes from these debt bombs in almost every country in our world. The central banks will step-in and make it all better, right?
2018 could and probably will get very ugly. Have plan Stan. Get out of as much debt as you possibly can and hedge some of your wealth in physical gold and silver NO paper have it in your hands. Get liquid and stay very nimble. Don’t let the more powerful control your financial life any more than you HAVE to.
Fu*k the idea of a war on Christmas, it is a war on us well 90% of us and you can bet your ass the other 10% are hedged with gold and silver lots of it. Many have all ready left the indices, leaving the lambs to the slaughter. Don’t be one of them.
By the time you have realized that all the promises that where made to you as young person are unsustainable,
(And the people that made those promises to you at the time knew it)
For a lot of folks it’s just to late!!
That my friends WAS the master plan!
So now you can have a pity party or suck it up.
Quit sniveling!
Having been in that place long past, I can still remember that it was the Chinese who prospered economically from the folly of the fog of war.
They invested their capital in a lot of businesses and then when we decided to leave, they stayed and built upon the infrastructure we left behind, paid for by American tax dollars and our debt funded war game.
That was1971. Now it is a destination for their redistribution of population and advancing usurpation of another indigenous population.
Who really played the long con? The military / industrial complex did not recognize what the troops on the ground saw and brought back with them.
With SWRs and knowing the need we have to finance our new TaxCutScam, we have the most too lose.
It is all water under the bridge!
The core problem is that the American government is the best that billionaires can buy and that the rest have to pay for.