Surely you've just answered your own question.
not really
seriously, do you actually think the u.s. will ever make good on its debts to other countries???
do you actually think that u.s. trade deficit is sustainable?
and, if not sustainable, what will be the nature of the "correction" to the system?
please address these questions before you accuse me and others of economic millenarianism
Yeah, perhaps the US will initiate a WW to desperately try to maintian its global hegemony, perhaps it will fire off nukes at random in an evil bid to destroy the whole world, perhaps - shmerhaps.
i didn't say nuclear war
but certainly u.s. grab for control of middle east (iraq, iran) could be interpreted as competition vis-a-vis all other economic powers -- again, the overarching purpose of such wars is not to "build democracy" but to have control over oil, at least enough control to make sure it remains largely denominated in dollars
so if u.s. were to attack iran, might this not be seen by china as a provocation??? might it not be seen by all other capitalist powers as contrary to their interests-- or at least as strong-arming them to continue to value dollars?
I would be prepared to give more credance to this if it weren't so obvious that the US is incapable of maintianing the will to fight a Low Intensity Conflict in the Mid East in support of establishing a democracy, let alone going to war with everyone on the planet out of spite.
spite combined with urgency and desperation
much more powerful spurs to action than lofty ideals -- especially when nobody buys into the lofty rhetoric, save for a few
problem, of course, is getting americans to realize that (A) they're plebians of the imperial center and (B) that it'd be in their material interest to remain plebians at the center rather than pauperized barbarians at the periphery of a new world order
Anyway, I think that the collapse of US economy would be very bad for the rest of the world - it's one of the twin dynamos (along with China) of modern capitalism.
how is the united states still a dynamo? isn't it more like a keynesian state that could be replaced by europe and japan, after a decade or so of painful transition?
or if the u.s. is not so easily replaced, then maybe the world capitalis order is about to come to an end? in which case you should be a millenarian too
Think that your cushy American life has also left you dangerously short of the mark. If you want to experience life in an economic disaster - move to the third world. There's lots of places to choose from, and the beers always cheap! (Provided, of course, that they sell beer). But why do you think that people migrate from the third world in any case?
you don't think there were aspects of life during 1930s depression-era American superior to today's culture? or of 1980s northern england preferable to blairite england?
my point is that if u.s. economy were to collapse, it would not in fact be the end of days -- in some ways, life might well be better -- and yet i also said that i fear the pain and fear the unknown
in treating me as a simpleton, you don't come off as wise
and as for why people of the third world move to the u.s., must i really address this question? b/c obviously america has the highest material standard of living in the world right now, coupled with the rule of law -- but the material standard of living is based on a false economy . . . .
It's all interconnected - I don't think that the post-crash US will simply just become more like Belgium and then everything continues as before but without as many bullish Republicans starting wars they can't be arsed to finish.
yes, well that's the question, again, isn't it? will the global capitalist system survive the collapse of the u.s. economy, if the u.s. indeed collapses
and, yes, i do agree that it is quite foolish and ignoble of u.s. not to end a war that it started. on the other hand, the level of political discourse in this country is so low and deceitful, that there was never any real support for the war -- so this is what happens -- sad but true . . . .
i mean only that a world economic order dominated by the chinese central bank, or even by brussels/frankfurt, will likely be none too sympathetic to the plight of the ordinary american post-crash
who's going to provide the capital to put americans back to work, once the dust has settled
and if they do put americans back to work, who's going to pay them a decent wage?
OR rather, this is simply my fear of the unknown
as an american, the prospect of a post-american world is a source of some anxiety
Stop listening to Rage Against the Machine?
never have, mate
merely acknowledging my ambivalence
Won't it be great to be poor and hungry, oh the solidarity it will breed! Give me a break, if you want to experience that kind of life, go and tell your boss to fuck himself, throw away all your money and live on the streets, battling for every meal.
again, i already acknowledged as much above = "isolated, bitter, ashamed"
you should be a bit more sporting in your manner of argument
Leave the rest of us out of it.
it's got nothing to do with anything i do or say, i can assure you