Comments

1

Good. This deplorable shit hole country can't perish soon enough. Fuck America.

2

I'd phrase that as "what WAS known as the Washington Consensus." The IMF in particular is firmly opposed to austerity these days; they were changing course even before the '08 crisis.

There is no consensus at present among the large/powerful international organizations on how to finance and foster development. Unfortunately this does not mean they're all trying lots of different things now-- instead they're all being too cautious, holding back when they should be moving ahead.

3

RIP Cecil the Lion

4

So Marxists are now PRO WTO.
Sounds like another good reason to leave it.
(Didn't the great unwashed progressive masses protest against (and riot against) the WTO in Seattle just a while back?)

5

Speaking of imperial collapse, and I’m not trying to be alarmist here,
buuuuuuuuuuuuttttttt:

We’re now in a very late cycle of the soon-to-be second longest economic expansion ever.

The Chinese stock market has crashed, Shanghai down 20% from its high.

The US stock markets are flat YTD even after Big Brother and the Holding Companies blew their tax cut loads in billions of stock buybacks—US down 10% from its high.

Short and long-term bond yields are close to inverting. This has predicted every single one of our recessions.

These are exactly the kinds of stories that were buzzing around in the spring of 2008, and then… jus’ sayin’.

6

Amerikkka!!

Am-I-right, Unoriginal Andrew?

7

@1, and you think you'll survive that collapse exactly how?

8

@7,
I made no claim that I'd survive

10

ROTFLMAO. People on here constantly sound like a bunch of those crazies who know the last day, Hour, minute and second of the world and then drink Kool-aid just to prove it - except for the few not entirely convinced and don’t drink it so they can prove their point another day. It’s flippin hilarious!

13

108 articles about the history of of the British Empire by someone who appears to be a learn-on-the-job writer...what other new exciting avenues of cutting edge journalism will you reveal to us next, Stranger?

14

The British Empire certainly wasn't perfect.
However it was head and shoulders above every other system out there for several centuries.
And the nations and peoples it touched were fortunate.

The cause of America's fall is rot from within.
Our culture, values, lifestyle choices; rotten.
We no longer even know how; let alone try; to raise our children into productive independent contributing adults.
Nothing will halt our downward slide until we hit a bottom.
Social, economic collapse.
Chaos.
Suffering.
A lot of rot to rip out and cast on the dungheap of history.

Only then canned will a new America regain it's purpose.

15

and I'm OFF, Fridays. Brilliant!

16

Until we shutter bases, are evicted from nations, begin losing battles etc etc this is just noise.

Perception is not reality, unless you’re in marketing. In that case you obviously have telekinetic abilities and can move mountains, divert rivers, etc with mere thought.

In reality the empire has recently picked up a chunk of land in Syria.

17

"With the British Empire, its undoing was two successive world wars and massive economic crash."

Not to mention a major ally which pushily advocated for de-colonization, and pointedly refused to provide any resources -- even in the midst of the greatest war ever seen! -- to save said empire. (No, that particular ally did not have a Marxist government, or even claim to have one...)

Speaking of that ally...

"...an empire that began in 1783..."

Huh. See, Britain had 20 American colonies in 1775, but had somehow lost 13 of those by 1783. So, 1783 is kind of when that British empire ended, not when it began. (I don't think this lecture series owes much to actual historical facts...)

@13: Charles' seemingly inexhaustible ability to find low-effort ways to extend his employment should be an inspiration to us all, not a point of criticism. Had the British Empire ever had the luck to find such a genius at the helm, we'd be buying from Amazon in quid, there would now be tea plantations as far out as the lesser moons of Neptune.

18

Eh, they repaid the loan for effectively every boat on the eastern seaboard in the past ten to twenty years.

19

Speaking of Empire (and Lucky colonies):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7tvauOJMHo
John Cleese on what have the Romans ever done for us?!

“Cecil Rhodes … once said: ‘To think of these stars that you see overhead at night, these vast worlds which we can never reach. I would annex the planets if I could; I often think of that. It makes me sad to see them so clear and yet so far.’ ”

Was this guy maybe just a bit ahead of his time, and, given decent Technology, mightn’t have gone ahead and annexed all the stars? In the name of Jesus or whichever King sat on his gilded throne, or whatever, and we* could be Owners / Overseers / Profiteers! of all that we saw. And beyond. Think of the RICHES we could possess! Other people’s! Peoples! Well, maybe not ‘people,’ per se but definitely lesser life forms.

And obviously, being the brightest beings in the Universe (ask God), they’ll love working for us (we’ll give ‘em McDonalds for chrissakes!), but there’s gonna be a bit of Austerity, well, quite a bit – till we get all the bugs worked out.**

Remember – there’s a Better Life,™ waiting for you, in the “next” one!

*the ‘royal’ we – which does not include YOU.
(you’re most likely a Freeloader)

**they’re gonna hafta Earn Their Keep from now on. NO more freeloading Aliens, freely mooching off their own Planet. (that’s OUR Job) Fuck. That.

Go, Capitalism!
Don’tchya just Love it!?

21

Yeah hasn't global capitalism caused massive income inequality and poverty in America, which then led to populist anger and the election of Trump? I don't agree with much that Trump says, but trans-national finance and trade agreements on the whole benefit the wealthy and screw over the working class and the environment.

If you are looking for the signs of a dying empire, it's not the loss of GDP you should be lamenting, but the gutting of the livelihood and rights of everyday Americans by unchecked capitalism.

22

So you’re mad at Jose, Mitesh, and Kyu.

Got it.

23

Good Evening Charles,
Completely off the subject of America as an Empire which I don't believe it is, have you read the news coming out of Venuzuela? Inflation has apparently gone bonkers. I believe it is at 13,000%. I read that 1 million bolivars (their currency) equals $0.29. I might be off but still, the rate is insane.

Ostensibly, it is a Socialist country. What's your take?

24

I'm still eagerly waiting for our AG Superman, Bob Ferguson, to quietly and triumphantly declare "Checkmate", stick a fork in Mein Trumpfy's, Mein Pencefy's ad nauseum's asses, let the Evil Empire burn, and call it DONE. The Fall of the RepubliKKK shouldn't be long now.

25

Which will happen first the collapse of America or Charles actually exercising? Hmmmm. Maybe your right this time Charles.

27

“… Second, he's terribly confused about governments and industry. The Multi-national corporation would be the closest thing to empire these days and even those companies are under tighter and tighter control by governments.” --Mistrial

Not. by. Ours.
Who’s confused here?

The unbridled, unhinged unprincipled Capitalists have LEGALLY purchased ‘our’ Government, and are keen on drowning it in the bath whilst drowning US in a sea of pollution, obfuscation, and rising oceans.

And there’s also a sea of far-alt-right wing wingnuts taking over European governments, so look for Corporate Overlords soon, up your (not your's -- the royal your's) ass.

29

Oh, they'll be comin' for you too soon enough, jk.

30

btw, the evacuation of Dunkirk happened in 1940.

31

@30: Not only that, but Charles linked to a review of a recent fictional movie based upon the Dunkirk evacuation, not to any historical record or documentary.

This should tell us just how close to relating any actual history his latest plagar— er, project will come.


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