Read the Beforeitsnews.com story here. Advertise at Before It's News here.

By Of Two Minds (Reporter)
Contributor profile | More stories

Story Views
Now:
Last hour:
Last 24 hours:
Total:

How States/Empires Collapse in Four Easy Steps

Tuesday, March 12, 2019 21:19

% of readers think this story is Fact. Add your two cents.

Oftwominds.com‘s eclectic range of timely topics include finance, economy, stocks, housing, Asia, energy, long-term trends, social issues, urban planning, work/tradecraft, health/diet/fitness, sustainability, Les Paul guitars and The Great Transformation ahead: www.oftwominds.com/blog.html.

The promises cannot be met, and so society decays into warring elites and competing constituencies.

There is a grand, majestic tragedy in the inevitable collapse of once-thriving states and empires: it all seemed so permanent at its peak, so godlike in its power, and then slowly but surely, too many grandiose, unrealistic promises were made to too many elites and constituencies, and then as growth decays to stagnation, the only way to maintain the status quo is to appear to meet all the promises by creating money out of thin air, i.e. debauching the currency.

This political expediency works most wonderfully for a time: people don’t realize the silver content of their coinage is being cut to near-zero, or there’s nothing holding up the value of their currency but trickery and vague allusions to past glory.

Trust in the state/empire’s currency suddenly collapses in a phase shift: all seems well until the moment the avalanche sweeps it all away.

It’s a simple progression: during the permanent-growth-is-our-birthright phase of self-reinforcing virtuous cycles, when everything is expanding rapidly–credit, resources, jobs, capital, profits, state tax revenues, etc.–promises are made to elites and constituencies that look easy to meet as the economy is projected to expand rapidly essentially forever.

But virtuous cycles decay to unvirtuous cycles of bureaucratic sclerosis and corruption, systemic friction, declining productivity and resource depletion, and the rise of parasitic elites who contribute nothing but skim plenty saps the surplus available for productive reinvestment.

Every elite under pressure to satisfy the demands of those who were over-promised in the good times reverts to the same two financial fixes: debt and currency debasement. First the state borrows and borrows and borrows, all under the belief that “the government can’t go broke because it issues its own money.”

Any rationalization will do in the phase of stagnation, but the reality is it’s all political expediency: lacking the resources to pay all the promises, the state borrows from the future to maintain the illusion of stability.

Alas, the future arrives, and the interest on the debt begins stripmining tax revenues needed to fund the essential responsibilities of the state/empire. At this point, the ruling elites pursue two equally fatal fixes: they raise taxes on the remaining productive class while the parastic elites pay little or nothing, and they devalue the currency so they can continue to pay the promised sums with less actual wealth.

The productive class either escapes to other climes, goes underground or opts out. As tax revenues fall, the ruling elites turn in desperation to debauching the state currency, in effect issuing 10 units of currency for every 1 unit of actual purchasing power.

This maintains the fiction that the promises are being met, but the purchasing power of the currency erodes so drastically that the parasitic elites and the constituencies eventually catch on and demand a full payment of what was promised back in good times.

This demand cannot be met, and so society decays into warring elites and competing constituencies. The only real solution–to make severe sacrifices in order to live within the modest means available and jettison the parasitic elites–is politically and culturally unpalatable to a citizenry steeped in a belief that good times should be forever and it’s the fault of the ruling party of the moment rather than a failure of the entire system.

Then the “free” distribution of bread and circuses ramps up and the silver shipped to phantom legions defending the borders ends up in the quartermasters’ pockets. The delusional state of the ruling elite infects the general populace, and magical thinking abounds, as do vague claims to future greatness based on the mythologies of previous eras that had earned prosperity with sacrifice and thrift.

The entire global status quo is in the stagnation phase, and the promises that cannot be met are looming large. And so the politically expedient ruling elites turn to debt and financial trickery to stave off the reckoning. This works for a few years but it guarantees the coming collapse.

Expansion, maturation, stagnation and collapse:

Pathfinding our Destiny: Preventing the Final Fall of Our Democratic Republic ($6.95 ebook, $12 print, $13.08 audiobook): Read the first section for free in PDF format.

My new mystery The Adventures of the Consulting Philosopher: The Disappearance of Drake is a ridiculously affordable $1.29 (Kindle) or $8.95 (print); read the first chapters for free (PDF)

My book Money and Work Unchained is now $6.95 for the Kindle ebook and $15 for the print edition. Read the first section for free in PDF format.

If you found value in this content, please join me in seeking solutions by becoming a $1/month patron of my work via patreon.com.

NOTE: Contributions/subscriptions are acknowledged in the order received. Your name and email remain confidential and will not be given to any other individual, company or agency.

Thank you, John K. ($125), for your beyond outrageously generous contribution to this site — I am greatly honored by your steadfast support and readership.

Thank you, Michael M. ($60), for your magnificently generous pledge to this site — I am greatly honored by your steadfast support and readership.

Go to my main site at www.oftwominds.com/blog.html for the full posts and archives.

Source: http://charleshughsmith.blogspot.com/2019/03/how-statesempires-collapse-in-four-easy.html

Before It’s News® is a community of individuals who report on what’s going on around them, from all around the world.

Anyone can join.
Anyone can contribute.
Anyone can become informed about their world.

"United We Stand" Click Here To Create Your Personal Citizen Journalist Account Today, Be Sure To Invite Your Friends.

Please Help Support BeforeitsNews by trying our Natural Health Products below!

Order by Phone at 888-809-8385 or online at https://mitocopper.com M - F 9am to 5pm EST

Order by Phone at 866-388-7003 or online at https://www.herbanomic.com M - F 9am to 5pm EST

Order by Phone at 866-388-7003 or online at https://www.herbanomics.com M - F 9am to 5pm EST

Humic & Fulvic Trace Minerals Complex - Nature's most important supplement! Vivid Dreams again!

HNEX HydroNano EXtracellular Water - Improve immune system health and reduce inflammation.

Ultimate Clinical Potency Curcumin - Natural pain relief, reduce inflammation and so much more.

MitoCopper - Bioavailable Copper destroys pathogens and gives you more energy. (See Blood Video)

Oxy Powder - Natural Colon Cleanser! Cleans out toxic buildup with oxygen!

Nascent Iodine - Promotes detoxification, mental focus and thyroid health.

Smart Meter Cover - Reduces Smart Meter radiation by 96%! (See Video).

Comments

Total 1 comment

Man

So how come Zimbabwe is still a country?

Mar 13, 2019, 6:12 am 0 Reply

Online:
Visits:	1,602,178,112
Stories:	8,146,541