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The Last Time This Happened Was... Never
Submitted by Simon Black via SovereignMan.com,
Every few centuries a new technology is invented and adopted that fundamentally changes everything about how a society is structured and organized.
The Agricultural Revolution allowed early humankind to stop being nomadic hunters and establish the roots of civilization in a single location.
The invention of the moveable type printing press in the 1400s (the Internet of its day) created a rapid spread of ideas that spawned lasting political revolutions across Europe.
The Industrial Revolution lifted millions of people out of poverty, empowered the middle class, and finally ended the feudal system.
Today it’s the Digital Revolution, which, along with robotics, genomics, and AI, is already creating fundamental changes in society.
Now, to say that the world is constantly changing is a statement of the obvious.
But the changes we’re experiencing right now have never been seen before in all of history.
Because in addition to major social changes, we’re also seeing a change in the world’s dominant superpower.
This happens from time to time throughout history.
The Italian city-states. The Ottoman Empire. Spain. France. Britain. All of these great empires held the top spot in the world for a time. Sometimes centuries.
But each was ultimately displaced by another rising power. Nations, like people, have natural life cycles. They rise, peak, and decline. It’s completely normal.
The United States as the world’s dominant superpower today is in its own period of decline.
Over the past 55 years, the US government posted a budget surplus a grand total of TWO times (one of which was a razor-thin surplus of just 0.01% of GDP), showing that this downward slide has been essentially uninterrupted.
There’s simply too much debt, military folly, and pitifully unsustainable entitlement programs for it to get back on track.
To quote former US Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, “There is surely something odd about the world’s greatest power being the world’s greatest debtor.”
Both of these trends are also playing a role in precipitating a reset within the third: finance.
Every few decades, the dominant financial system in the world is replaced, usually tracked by the rise and fall of global reserve currencies.
The current financial system, based on central bank innuendo and false political promises, is decades old.
Wreaking havoc on markets and decreasing the living standards of the majority of the population today, it’s clear that it’s time for a reset.
This is already in motion as we are seeing significant challenges to the US dollar’s dominance, with the Chinese dumping their US Treasury securities, and the establishment of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.
You’ve seen and felt all of these trends, but what you may not realize is just how unique this is.
We’re seeing a shift in the world’s dominant superpower at the exact same time there’s a shift in the global financial system, and reserve currency, and game-changing technology. And even more trends that we haven’t even discussed.
The convergence of all of these trends at the same moment is the MEGA-trend.
The last time this happened was… never.
And it is bringing with it a whole host of unusual and unprecedented risks, which we’re already starting to see.
Financial markets are topsy-turvey, rising and collapsing in double digits within a few hours. That’s not supposed to happen.
Entire nations are going bankrupt. Radical and socialist politicians are surging.
Banking systems are on exceptionally shaky footing. Interest rates in many countries are actually negative.
And there are massive financial bubbles everywhere we look.
These risks are very real, and this is absolutely no time to be asleep at the wheel.
But behind each of these risks are incredible opportunities, and that’s what makes these changes so exciting.
In forgotten corners of financial markets, there are successful, profitable companies that are selling for HUGE discounts to their book values… and in some cases for less than the amount of cash they have in the bank.
Next-generation financial assets (including gold, silver, and even cryptocurrencies) are selling at historic discounts.
And alert individuals have the chance to invest in game-changing technologies that will dominate the next 100 years.
This is all incredibly exciting for anyone who’s actually paying attention.
There are huge risks. And huge opportunities. It’s important to be prepared for both.
Book 10 of Virgil’s Aeneid is one of the earliest references to the phrase “audentis Fortuna iuvat,” which is most commonly translated as “Fortune favors the bold.”
Perhaps. But if history is any guide, Fortune favors the prepared.
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Where "never" = "since Lehman"
Bring back Glass Smeagol!
BTW. Gold is up 20 today. Did JPM run out of gold or is the Fed going to open Ft Knox for them?
Available physical gold is about gone and one good raid on the Comex will finish it off.....
Do you think that would help?
"Ft Knox"? LOL. There hasn't been any gold in Fort Knox for decades.
Exactly.
what happened to the nazi gold train?
Yes, let's go buy stocks right now.
How much Lehman would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could fuck a duck?
Answer: never
answer is "Goldman".
Silverman. Steelman. Tungstenman. Siliconman. GalliumNitrideman. Wheatman. Tinman. Tinwhiskerman. Tomatoman. Weedman.
So.... Buy bitcoin?
LOL!
"never"
How would you know?
Thank you
Simon, you are such a putz.
Putz.
Good choice of words. Personally, I've been a Simon-subscriber for years and think his service is useful; still, every fucking word he writes is saturated with self-important putz-i-ness.
Simon needs a life-coach, or maybe a religion. Perhaps having chidren would help him, you know... grow up.
"Putz. Good choice of words".
"Every fucking word he writes is saturated with self-important putz-i-ness".
"Personally, I've been a Simon-subscriber for years".
----------------------------------------------------------
Simon says... YOU are the Putz!
Keep sending your cash to him thinking HE is the Putz... Putz.
Maybe YOU need a life-coach, or maybe a religion. Perhaps having chidren would help you.
Good luck to you...
Putz.
All your base are not belong to us?
The snark is strong with this comment thread
In my little library is The history of the decline and fall of the Roman Empire,yes it has all happened before except this time I think the demise will be considerably quicker
Different.
Exceptional
"My greatest flaw. I surround myself with idiots."
- Victor von Doom
The real waterfall event in the decline of the Roman empire only took about a year. Faster than that?
Since you got Nuttin to do, why don't you read some history. It took a 100 years for Rome to fall. If you want to include the Vatican (the Roman State Religion), it's still cruising along.
ICBMs take what, about 30 minutes?
And the British Empire went kind of the same way. Expended riches upon countless wars, Pound went Bye Bye, high tech passed the coal miners by ....
Close enuf so as not to confuse the children, because it's all for the children.
Including Common Core. And higher taxes. And ... whatever ....
Yes, but they never invented hookerbots.
And the girls will go from common core to common whore.
..and still wil not be able to calculate the correct "commission" for her pimp.
Fourth Turning, bitchez
The biggest shitstorm in history is about to happen.
http://www.armstrongeconomics.com/archives/36871
ICD10 is a Shitstorm? I don't think the word shitstorm means what you think it does. There are better and bigger storms above and beyond this little squal.
Going from 16,000 diseases to 60,000 because of more diseases popping up? About 4X as many in a period of a few years? I doubt it. More like better definitions.
I'm thinking another www site that is clueless.
More like stupid definitions.
Those codes are not only for diseases but also injuries.
Here's a gem of code for you - 3rd degree burns
to right arm while water skiing.
Yes, that I real. Like it makes any difference
how the burn occurred.
I have to wonder if the is a code for sprained right wrist of a left handed person while masterbating
An old favourite:
Being hit by a trolley is coded differently from being hit by a bus.
Timing is everything. Not really sure what simon is getting at:
"Change in reserve currency" - I'd give that 5 years.
"Change in the dominant financial system" - I'd give that another generation, and I am assuming simone means a change over to Asia
"Change in technology" - I think that favors the US.
I prefer Lois Pasteur to Aeneid: "Chance favors the prepared mind"
An old dominant bull,even one that has been tame his whole life, will turn mean as his dominance slips. At first he will fight any percieved challenger, then before long he will fight even small bull calves that are of no threat. In the end he will just go around tearing shit up .until the new dominant bull beats his ass so bad he is crippled and has to be put down or he accepts his place and is reduced to the edges of the herd. Better to sale an old bull a year too early than a year too late.
What the fuck this has to do with anything I don't know
I'll keep this in mind the next time my father-in-law visits. thanks.
MoHillbilly? Alrighty then...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4Ao-iNPPUc
"My greatest flaw. I surround myself with idiots."
- Victor von Doom
That video was my wife's idea. Dad always said she was the smartest of all us kids.
You married your sister?
She comes from a good family and I've known her all my life
Had to log in to upvote this one - damn yankees just don't get it!
I was always told
If you want a good Polock joke ask a Polock
If you want a good redneck joke ask a redneck
If you want a good black joke, you are a racist, inbred, pos that should have all your belongings taken away and should be put in jail
Chicken Little, oh the fucking sky is falling. I'm sooooo afraid of the dark. Bunch of bs. A recession after 65 years of growth. It's not the end of the world. Who's currency will replace the US Dollar? The Chinese Yuan? Joke of the century: who in their right mind would trust the Chinese with their money? They cheat and steal each other blind. And the Ruble? A global currency? Waiting for the next military junta to throw a few depositors in prison for criticizing the its Czar.
and, who would trust the most corrupt country in the world with their money? who would trust the most indebted country in the world? what country has an armed citizen for every two? what country has one in three citizens that would like to see a military coup? need I go on?
The population of the USA hates congress and wall st. They are starting to figure out that the military contractors have sent thousnds to die for profit. They are tired of them, too.
The "sky is falling" You hold onto those equities. 2008 will look like a party.
You vomit media-hype-headlines like a good little obedient turd. Let's list who puts their money in USD: every sovereign fund in the world, the wealthy Chinese, Russians, Europeans, et al. Why? The US legal system and banking industry. Best there is. Hands down. Period. Oh, and the 30% who want a military coup: a big lie. The question that 30% answered yes to was this: "if circumstances indicated that the US government were going to fail, would you support a military takeover of government?" Fools like you believe everything you read, right?
Yeah.
The best legal system money can buy.
That is what I like about this place. For about 60% anger overcomes rational thought.
The NWO wants you angry. It gives them more scope. Divide and conquer.
Yeah. America is the worst in the world. And I'd have to agree. Except for all the rest.
It's whose not who's.
Always love the foreshadowing of (doom?), with the ever-present caveat at the very end which portends that if you just 'play it right', you'll come outta this thing $$$RICH...!!!
Dear Simon (and all the rest), you'll be happy to pop out the other side of the coming sausage making machine, in (1) piece, let alone your wise investments carrying you through to green pastures. Fuck me...
Been hearing it since 2007. The only moment in time when we'll know doom is finally here is that next morning when we wake up and our wheelbarrow is suddenly more valuable than the money we carry in it. Don't believe me? Ask a survivor of the Great Depression or if you prefer some more contemporary anecdotes, ask the Ukranians... Ask the Argentinians..
Nope.. it's going to be "same old, same old" until one day it's not. That's how this shit works..
Hey. The Venezuelans are doing well. Other than not having any Charmin. Or food to eat. Well I suppose with no food they can avoid the expense of Charmin as well.
Don't forget Poles, Russians and Mexicans.
All experienced hyperinflation since 1990.
Also Italians who had it a bit earlier.
Ask those in Belarus where the currency
dropped by about 40% in about a year.
"Always love the foreshadowing of (doom?)..."
"The only moment in time when we'll know doom is finally here..."
You called?
"My greatest flaw. I surround myself with idiots."
- Victor von Doom
+1 for the meat grinder reference.
The Future.
The ninety nine percent gets thrust in... and the one percent makes out.
Gerald Celente >>> Simon Black
For the record.
Hey Simon, ever heard of APPLE, GOOGLE, INTEL, FACEBOOK, UBER, WALMART, EXXON, fracking/largest O&G producer in the World, CARGILL, AirBNB, pharma, biotech do i go on?
I'm sick of you Chinese dumping their US Treasury securities death of America' doompornographers badmouthing my country like Trump.
The Chinese are 'dumping' the good stuff to bail out their horror
of a 'market'. America is at her best when faced w/ a challenge...so i guess we got plenty of them but still.
I saw UBER and was going to comment, then I remembered Belushi's Pearl Harbor rant
Fuck It Your On A Roll
Assisted Living - Hear hear! Churchill was right, we Americans only do what is right after exhausting all other options. When Presidential contender states that the rule of law will be enforced on all members of society and not just the little guy I'll reconsider voting.
I love the Chinese dumping USTs. I buy them at a discount while they sell into a losing position. Chinese make BIGGGGGGG meestake.
Yeah. It is funny. China dumping USTs is a big hit on the US according to many here. Reserve currency just means America has to profit from financials and lose on everything else.
I'd gladly hand the "honor" to China. Let them go broke.
Yes, but who will get the leaked information ahead of the FOMC? A member bank, no doubt. GS comes to mind.
The media has been the primary force by which countries have controlled their populace and gotten men to go off and die for an imagined cause to benefit themselves. The internet is changing that because the ordinary citizen now has the ability to find alternative news and views that they could not do before.
Past age 25 or 30 very few change their fundamental world view. The 'net changes little.
THIS HAS NEVER HAPPENED BEFORE!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFsBo2wySS8
Well, wasn't that nothing.
"The Italian city-states. The Ottoman Empire. Spain. France. Britain. All of these great empires held the top spot in the world for a time. Sometimes centuries."
The ITALIAN CITY STATES? EMPIRES!?!?!? Who's the clown writing such nonsense and how can anything written after such idiocy be taken seriously?
Culturally dominant for at least 300 years, sure, but superpowers? They didn't have armies to speak of, relying on mercenaries, and were always at the mercy of the dominant power of the time, be that the Holy roman Empire, France or Spain and once the political of equilibrium they (ina pretty uncordinated manner) sought faltered, they were swept away.
Even Venice, the most succesful of the lot, was at best a regional power and was eventually trashed by one of the real superpower of that age, the Ottoman Empire.
Please!
....Simon is a little late to the party. Mehtinks he was an editor at a The Daily Planet, writing headline copy for the masses.
Read "Blood in the Streets," The Great Reckoning," and The Sovereign Individual" by James Davidson and Lord Reese Mogg.
These venerable authors covered this ground of a "desatabilizing technology" back in late 1980s, early 1990s.
Time to get a leg up Simon!
What most people don't understand is that technology is so fragile that it can be destroyed and can't be replaced in a chaotic environment. Humans have a gift in technology but as usual apply it in mischievous ways which threaten it's very foundation. The American war machine is a good example of this since it is so sensitive to the supply chain for high technology parts and the technical skills for maintaining it. Most of humanity bets it's very existence on technology for food water and energy. The global nature of the supply chains is another weak link in the system which can easily be disrupted.
During WOII, America located all it's industry into the center of the country because they where affraid of bombings and attacks of the enemy.
And after the war, they bombed the shit out of everything so they didn't need to change anyting and could export their products worldwide.
The downside was that the logistical lines where to long and costly.
That's why you see all the industrial cities in Azia close to the sea. If America changed in the same way before the 80',s the world would be totally different.
But they didn't so the jobs went overseas because America didn't wanted to adopt and change to the needs of others.
That's where it all gets stuck.
YOU NEED TO BE ABLE TO ADOPT!!
And America doesn't just refuses to adopt, it keeps introducing measures to make it even more difficult to adopt.
So when will America really recover?
After all the law imploded. A total system breakdown.
First chaos and about 20 to 40 years later it will have recovered.
or changed into a banana republic broken down in 50 pieces all fighting each other like in south America.
The sad part?
Most of us won't be arround to see it recover or being to old to enjoy it.
But we'll sure see all the shit and crap that comes from the breakdown.
And how will it all happen?
Come live in Europe and see how we're being stripped of our cash by crazy fairness taxes.
We tax over 50% of all income and we're still broke. We're that efficient...
America... Europe... we each as louzy. Anybody who wants to discuss who's worse off is waisting his time. We're both in the shithouse.
“There is surely something odd about the world’s greatest power being the world’s greatest debtor.”
It goes with reserve currency status. Check out the British Empire.
"And alert individuals have the chance to invest in game-changing technologies that will dominate the next 100 years . . .
. . . And huge opportunities."
So, assuming I'm an astute ZH reader and "alert individual", what are the best of those "huge opportunities" that I should be taking advantage of, in the opinion of ZH?
Huge opportunities to take enormous risk.
BTFD!
The United States as the world’s dominant superpower today is in its own period of decline.
No nation NOT in decline would have to borrow the trillions of dollars to keep functioning as a super power that the USA does. We know for a fact that of the military and spy budgets, a good 1/2 of the money spent is borrowed. Same for domestic programs. If not for Dollar hegemony, the USA would be already gone.
Let me make this 100% clear, When the Dollar loses reserve status, and it will, then the USA has only one thing to fall back on. Brute military force! When the dollar starts to go, the USA will respond with a massive military attack on the nation or nations the USA blames for the collapse of the Dollar hegemony. That means world war.
If you research the advantages the USA holds because of Dollar Hegemony and World Reserve Currency Status, you will learn that if not for this special money printing right, the USA would be forced to live on 1/2 of the wealth it now has. Take some time, research the Dollar Status. No nation enjoyes this power, to lose it, is to lose the Power. When power slips, the elites use force.
There is an alternative. Getting other nations to attack each other and selling weapons to both sides.
So far so good.
Reserve currency status is the one pre-conditon to empire any empire-aspiring county can't resist but it is the sine qua non of corruption, decline and perdition.
Perhaps the future will be unlike anything thats ever happened before also, something no one could have seen coming or have be prepared for. In general no one can really predict the future. Just take a look at the world today and try to imagine yourself predicting some of the things that have happened, if you were making your predictions at the turn of the millennium. If you are thinking of making a large bet on the probability of a given outcome, watch out I think. People have been certain in the past of things to come and lost everything taking a gamble I am sure. Unpredictability is one of the big bugbears of current times, along with volatility as well. How to invest when the markets are being jerked around by all powerful crooks like the mafia running a casino ? It is hard enough to know what to invest in without corruption imbedded in the system. How does one prepare for the fog of the future when you know the fog bank is full of Goldman Sacks type of monsters ?
Oh yeah
Most Us debt bought by china? Why, why? Think
Zerohedge has been bound and determined to put a negative slant on all of the developments it possibly can. Instead, what is actually happening has been documented in many of my comments on Zerohedge. We have a coalition for the rule of law that has explained to Zerohedge's readers that the Network of Global Corporate Control is no longer in charge -- its apologists are going to have their private assets under a commercial lien that goes into effect on September 21, 2015. We are going to implement the Global Currency Reset to replace the fractional reserve fiat currencies for national currencies minted out of the gold in the Global Debt Facility that is administered by the Bretton Woods institutions