The End of the Empire [View All]

[nadinbrzezinski]

http://www.alternet.org/story/149080

This is a good article, and an extremely important read. Yet, I will say this since nobody else will, this article is too rose colored glasses anyway. 2025 to the end of Empire is very optimistic. I expect the Empire to collapse very soon and for it to be mostly sudden for most Americans who are NOT paying attention. Here are the markers that we already saw pass us by, or are living through right now.

1.- Industrial production: To most not into this history shtick this is now a little obvious. It is about all these products coming from China. Yes we still export some stuff... war planes... passenger planes, and some very specialized things. BUT... the country continues to be hollowed out with free trade and other treaties. All Empires in Decline go through this.

2.- A military that is over extended. Whether this is the UK invading the Suez in 1956, the Tenth Legion of Rome on the Eastern Frontier, or the Levant, or the Screaming Eagles on patrol in Kandahar, they all share one thing... over extension and lack of true military goals. Soon, seconds in fact in historic terms, we will need to retrench the military but it will not be pretty, and it will be resisted to the last second.

3.- The rise of an oligarchy: See all this discussion on taxes, it is a symptom of this.

4.- Lack of self reliance in power... yes it happened to Rome and with the uber reliance on oil and not developing alternate energy is one more symptom.

5.- Brain Drain.... in other words the best and the brightest leaving the country for better shores... again all Empires go though this, and usually the ones to leave are the ones who are indeed the best and the brightest. Some of this is also done by American companies that are NOW doing research points east.

But 2025... that is way too optimistic in my mind...

Oh and one last thing.... we are in the middle of a Constitutional crisis. All this not being able to do a thing in DC is a crisis, nor does it help that the political class, on both sides, is unaware of the train wreck, and more interested in their own careers and access to power, On the bright side, not that many here will appreciate this, once the collapse happens... I don't expect either party to survive in their current form.... and on the down side, the rightward shift by th at same political class will continue as they blame each other for the fall... when they finally realize it has happened.