Posted on 01/02/2011 12:38:17 PM PST by theBuckwheat
Throughout history the rise and fall of empires isn't slow or cyclical, as we like to think, but arrhythmic...it mostly happens very, very suddenly. America is a superpower on the edge of chaos, according to economic historian and author Niall Ferguson. U.S. debt levels, he says, and its unwillingness to address the problem, has put it in the same category as other great empires which have collapsed throughout the ages.
Ferguson argues the world is changing. There's the rise of authoritarian China as a super-power; a Keynesian president leading a weakened United States; the re-emergence of democratic India as a great power; the continued decline of Japan; and the probability of continued global economic instability ahead.
Is the rise and fall of empires cyclical or arrhythmic? How does economic profligacy -- whether the result of arrogance or naivety -- contribute to the downfall of civilizations? Not to be missed, the address will offer a timely review of primacy, leadership, and the complex factors behind the rise and fall of great powers and civilizations.
Well it looks like they are going to have a darned good discussion about the debt and lol then they will raise the debt ceiling.
“The top White House economic adviser warned lawmakers Sunday that the United States faces a catastrophe if Congress does not raise the debt ceiling, as spend-averse Republicans indicated they’d be willing to support the increase so long as certain conditions are met.”
We are doomed!
Yes. I attended an event in which he spoke on the same subject. He was fantastic. Funny Paulson also spoke and of course they had two diametrically opposed takes on the outlook of our country, its solution, and analysis. I personally place more faith in Niall’s POV as did the majority of the audience. The even was last August.
The longer they kick the can down the road, the more cataclysmic the fall will be.
even=event. I wrote the timing of the event as I wanted to accentuate that Niall has been speaking about this for some time now.
A good friend has come to know Prof. Ferguson personally and he’s been very consistent on these themes for several years. He’s a person that our leaders need to hear, and hear well.
Niall Ferguson is the best historian writing today, by far.
ping
China is unlikely to be a serious contender for world power. Its weaknesses are worse than our own, except they are hidden while ours are on the surface. China is much more likely to fall apart in the next few decades than is the USA.
Russia is in even worse shape, as is much of Europe.
That we are in a mess does not mean others aren’t in an even worse mess. You may recall how Japan, Inc. was going to take over the world, and fell apart economically shortly after this was proclaimed.
IMO
Niall Ferguson bump for later.........
As for the US, things will only get worse until America defaults on its debt, sucks up the painful consequences, and then rebuilds, having learnt the harsh lesson of what happens when people and even nations live beyond their means... Of course, this also means that the dollar will have to forgo its position as the world's reserve currency, and the US will have to base its prosperity entirely on hard work and industry, rather than getting a free ride by printing out trillions of dollars to fulfill worldwide demand for dollars....
Thanks for posting. Mr. Ferguson is very engaging and effective in delivering the message.
It is such a shame that only Paul Ryan really gets it. The future looks very bleak.
I don't know who. I don't know where. But I do know that the world has gone a long time without a big, serious war. I can hear a clock ticking.
Okay, that was a little more than scary.
Yes. He is right on the money so to say. Your friend is very lucky. I know Paulson and Justice Breyer heard his message this summer and many media head types, but will it sink in? Sadly not when it is counteracted with liars and deceivers saying things such as "we are fine," "we are on the road to recovery. We just need to raise our debt ceiling/" The media and the liberals are usually nothing less than delusion head in the sand types on the true issues that will cause us failure as a nation or that are truly a threat to us.
I have great respect for Niall's and his courage on delivering the message we all need to hear. I wish I could have met him this summer.
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