Samasiam's Blog

Musings from a guy who's problem is he sees too much…

Samasiam

Samasiam
Location
LA'ish, California,
Birthday
June 01
Bio
"All change has to start with someone, somewhere, doing something differently and others observing the results and choosing to follow suit. What influence anything may ultimately have, is not predictable, but what is predictable, is that acting on the intention to do so, will always be a cause which initiates every change that will ever occur, no matter how large and immutable the existing paradigm and the attitudes which support it may appear to be. Everything is a choice."

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Salon.com
MARCH 9, 2012 1:40PM

Why the American Empire Was Destined to Collapse

Rate: 3 Flag

Well worth the read.  An interview with Morris Berman, author of "Why America Failed" on the culture I've referred to as "Amway America".  WhyAmericaFailedBookCoverHis observations and conclusions add subtance to the idea that "fixing" what we've always had in America is not going to happen and it's not going to solve anything if we did.  A new paradigm is necessary and while most won't see it or agree, those of us who do must create it. 

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politics, society, economy

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I offer this not to add to the pyre, but to support the idea that we must choose where to allocate our resources: Will it be criticism or creation? We have to accept that we may never know the ultimate results of our efforts, but we do know what will happen, if all we do is to rail against the storm. And this, from someone who thoroughly enjoyed that hobby...
Samasiam
March 09, 2012 01:48 PM
Its a little early to write us off yet, although there is no question that certain "internal contradictions" have come down the pike that can't much longer be evaded, if they can be evaded at all.
Don Rich
March 09, 2012 03:03 PM
The concept of American Empire began with the Mexican American War, but didn't really come to maturity until the Spanish American War. The peak of American Economic Imperialism drove home in the fifty years following WWII which wasn't due to the superiority of the free market, but to the fact that the economies of Europe and Asia were utterly devastated. We went from approximately 29% of the world's GDP to over 67% in less than ten years. Today we now contribute approximately 30% of the world's GDP most of that in intellectual property, computer, insurance and financial services. GM, Chrysler, Ford, Caterpillar, US Steel, Exxon, Phillips, Chevron and most of the Fortune 500 are multinational corporations... our ascendancy was an historical anomaly and our decline is nothing more than and adjustment back to balance.
JMac
jmac1949
March 09, 2012 08:22 PM
Empires don't last. The Brits were the first to actually realize this before it happened, and that is why they were relatively successful in their damage control. Time is running out and the sooner we realize this the less damage we will endure. Thank you for the heads up and the link, my friend. R
Thoth
March 09, 2012 11:50 PM
Sounds like an interesting book...I agree, a new paradigm is needed instead of trying to go back to some ideal, which never really existed in the past. We need a less violent paradigm for sure.
clay ball
March 30, 2012 06:08 PM
The US will hardly fall. The US people are self-sufficient and responsible enough to survive it. As a finance empire it will lose the current privileges certainly.
Dex Wittal
May 22, 2012 05:52 PM