As any long-time reader of this column knows, we routinely draw from historical lessons to highlight that this time is not different.
Throughout the 18th century, for example, France was the greatest superpower in Europe, if not the world.
But they became complacent, believing that they had some sort of ‘divine right’ to reign supreme, and that they could be as fiscally irresponsible as they liked.
The French government spent money like drunken sailors; they had substantial welfare programs, free hospitals, and grand monuments.
They held vast territories overseas, engaged in constant warfare, and even had their own intrusive intelligence service that spied on King and subject alike.
Of course, they couldn’t pay for any of this.
French budget deficits were out of control, and they resorted to going heavily into debt and rapidly debasing their currency.
Stop me when this sounds familiar.
History is full of examples, from ancient Mesopotamia to the Soviet Union, which show that whenever societies reach unsustainable levels of resource consumption and allocation, they collapse.
I’ve been writing about this for years, and the idea is now hitting mainstream.
A recent research paper funded by NASA highlights this same premise. According to the authors:
“Collapses of even advanced civilizations have occurred many times in the past five thousand years, and they were frequently followed by centuries of population and cultural decline and economic regression.”
The results of their experiments show that some of the very clear trends which exist today– unsustainable resource consumption, and economic stratification that favors the elite– can very easily result in collapse.
In fact, they write that “collapse is very difficult to avoid and requires major policy changes.”
This isn’t exactly good news.
But here’s the thing– between massive debts, deficits, money printing, war, resource depletion, etc., our modern society seems riddled with these risks.
Empires rise and fall. The global monetary system is always changing. The prevailing social contract is always changing.
But there is one FAR greater trend across history that supercedes all of the rest… and that trend is the RISE of humanity.
Human beings are fundamentally tool creators. We take problems and turn them into opportunities. We find solutions. We adapt and overcome.
The world is not coming to an end. It’s going to reset. There’s a huge difference between the two.
Think about the system that we’re living under.
A tiny elite has total control of the money supply. They wield intrusive spy networks and weapons of mass destruction. The can confiscate the wealth of others in their sole discretion. They can indebt unborn generations.
Curiously, these are the same people who are so incompetent they can’t put a website together.
It’s not working. And just about everyone knows it.
We’re taught growing up that ‘We the People’ have the power to affect radical change in the voting booth. But this is another fairy tale.
Voting only changes the players. It doesn’t change the game.
Technology is one major game changer. The technology exists today to completely revolutionize the way we live and govern ourselves.
Today’s system is just a 19th century model applied to a 21st century society. I mean– a room full of men making decisions about how much money to print? It’s so antiquated it’s almost comical.
But given that the majority of Western governments borrow money just to pay interest on money they’ve already borrowed, it’s obvious the current game is almost finished.
When it ends, there will be a reset… potentially a tumultuous one.
This is why you want to have a plan B, and why you don’t want to have all of your eggs in one basket.
After all, why bother working so hard if everything you’ve ever achieved or provided for your children is tied up in a country with dismal fundamentals?
If you agree with me, then feel free to share this article with your friends below so they also can get a plan B in place. They’ll be glad they did.
Via sovereignman
Sources:
Really great article – appreciate the streak of optimism. But if Trump wins the election, nuclear apocalypse is just as probable as it was during the Cuban missile crisis. That wouldn’t qualify as a reset. We now know that nuclear war between USSR and USA was only prevented on two separate occasions by two individual Russian military commanders who defied orders. Trump is a maniac. He would never stand down. He has to be stopped. Hillary is most certainly a puppet of the corporatocracy, but she will not cause a nuclear holocaust. What is truly disheartening is that Bernie Sanders can be the great change America needs – but the voting system is rigged and despite the fact that he would take the popular vote tomorrow it doesn’t look like he’ll even get the democratic nomination. That is truly, sadly, unspeakably unjust.
Amen, Jenn.
Agree w/ your assessment about Trump. If Bernie, God willing,could take the stress of the Presidency, my gut tells me he’s the guy who will take us into the next phase in America’s story with kindness and dignity, instead of the tyranny of the New World Order.Regarding Bernie and the nomination, supporters can take to the streets in protest, to ask voters what they think about the DNC ramming Hillary down our throats, when the poll numbers indicate Bernie’s the better choice against Trump.
Like the man said, Jenn: voting doesn’t change the game, only the players; we have history to back this up. We also have history to show us what happens with players who try to change the game.
So why are you still talking about who to vote?
I too have a strong feeling that Bernie is the best hope and the change America needs. But because the evil people know that, if and hopefully he is president, he will be very likely to be assassinated. Just like JFK and Lincoln. And because of the corruptness, the secret service will probably leave him out in the open. Still vote for him though because he’s better than Donald Trump, Hilary Clinton and Barrack Obama.
Today is Dec. 6th,,,,,?
I have found ‘the’ Plan B – its called The Venus Project. Check it out at https://www.facebook.com/TheVenusProjectGlobal/?fref=ts
Yes! The anon also talked about it. It’s a great time to live.
indeed a good plan b but we need to change fundamentally how we think i.e. as country
race and among other things. would like it now but we do need to set plans and goals to achieve that.
This is merely a political broadcast for free market capitalism, an ideology that led to both world wars in the 20th century.
and before class or caste society, the majority of existence was matrilineal communism…
Whats plan b?
The Venus Project 😉
“19th century model applied to a 21st century society” indeed. Our prison/judicial, monetary, and education systems need serious overhaul. We need to teach people skills, have an utter and complete reset on our finances (distributing our new currency equally amongst all legal citizens through a rearranged and restructured IRS)… and for the love of god we need to just legalize drugs, set a lot of people free (non-violent offenders), and hold everyone from judge to jailer to beat cop up to much higher standards. What’s it gonna take to make some sense around here?
We are entering uncharterd territory. Humans have defaced and scared the planet and the impact of modern technology will not go away quickly. Current civilizations may fail but it will be chaos and random unrest, slavery, tribalism, and fundamentalism that will proceed to destroy at random. Stable societies and systems have always been a target of thieves, crime lords, and organized criminals. Welcome to the modern age, to tired to work and too poor to quit. Plan B may not work, so best plan is to be knowledgable, adaptable, and communicate effectively, owe no man anything, and let kindness and mercy be our motto, stay armed, and develop good friendships and networks with reasonable people.
I like how if you read the source material it says “As is the case with all independent research, the views and conclusions in the paper are those of the authors alone. NASA does not endorse the paper or its conclusions.” but this article leads with NASA for click bait.
Fuck Hillary she wants our guns. Come get them…
Why would anyone want to do that?
A man shot a 3-year-old after being rejected by a woman he was flirting with … A 3-year-old was shot inside a car at South Pointe Townhomes.
3-year-old killed in accidental shooting in Paulding County
Apr 27, 2016 – Police say the boy got ahold of the gun and shot himself around 7:15 a.m. We’re talking with officers about how the child got the gun on
A 4-year-old girl is dead after she was shot in the face in her home in Philadelphia’s Kensington section.
ATLANTA (CBS46) –
The mother of a 3-year-old child who shot himself in the face bonded out of jail over the weekend.
Lake Stevens man guilty of reckless endangerment after his 3-year-old climbed up on a bedroom dresser in 2014, took his dad’s pistol from a holster and pulled the trigger. The bullet caused serious injury, tearing through the child’s upper lip, jaw and upper palate.
NATCHITOCHES, LA (KSLA) –
A 3-year-old is dead, a man is in jail and police still are looking for the gun.
Youngstown man arraigned in shooting of 3-year-old. Dionte Robinson is charged with felony child endangerment after police say his handgun ..
And I suppose that none of these people would have been hurt if the perp didn’t have access to a gun? What about banning knives? What about banning cars since people kill and are killed in them more than any other method? This nonsense about guns being the problem is just so simple minded. If someone wants to hurt someone, they will do it no matter what they have accessible. People strangle people every single day, should we ban hands?
How about someone taking responsibility for their actions instead of using guns as their crutch? People are animals and as long as we exist, we will kill each other. It has been happening since the first 2 Neanderthals had a mammoth leg to fight over, it will happen until the very last 2 of us exist.
For those who want to jump in the deep and explore the mechanisms that lead to the rise and fall of empires, I highly recommend Peter Turchin’s book “War and Peace and War” or : “The rise and fall of empires”. Turchin shows how this cyclical process is driven by social forces and develops a theory about it, based on a lot of historical data and evidence. It is not a short read (about 370 pages) but completely annotated and it shows a deep understanding of the problem.
Paying a slightly higher tax rate for health care for all is not a fucking burden on societies, it works in all 1st world nations except America coz their brainwashed into being selfish – corporations and govts world wide are right now trying to dismantel free health care so they can profit from human suffering – fuck anyone who says we cant have free health care we can, corporations and greedy eliets dont want you to
When everyone loses 99% of their wealth due to the collapse of the economy, the billionaire still has a 10 million dollar fortune.
They don’t give a shit if the economy collapses, in fact a market reset would suit them just fine.
Food for thought:
“French budget deficits were out of control, and they resorted to going heavily into debt and rapidly debasing their currency.”
Who did they go into debt to? Does any of that debt still exist today? Is anybody still owed money? Are they trying to collect it? From who?
Question Everything.