While the world looks on in stunned paralysis, the US Empire unleashes its brutal and savage comeback, systematically devouring any remaining hope that our children might inherit a habitable future.
If the argument presented is correct, what does that imply? I think the expressed impatience for fundamental change might be promoting unrealistic expectations of people’s and nations’ capacities.
Russia isn’t close to its Soviet self in terms of military and economic strength, and its being beset with encroaching imperial threats from nuclear missiles in Poland and Romania, to potential regime change in Georgia. Add to that the bellicose rhetoric coming from England and Germany. Russia isn’t in a good position to impose its will on anything outside of Ukraine.
China, since the late 1970’s has been focused on China, and has invested its resources largely on forging economic relationships beyond its borders. To cite Russian and Chinese complicity in skirmishes and conflicts and wars as evidence that they are morally weak, is simplistic. Putin knows there are 100,000 Russians in Israel, and he isn’t about to help Iran turn Israel into a large graveyard, if that is avoidable. On the other hand, Iran has immediate access to Russia from its northern border with it, so regime change in Iran is an existential threat to Russia. Also, Trump’s angling to gain a foothold in Greenland is a threat to Russia from the Arctic.
As for China, it imports 40% of its crude oil from Iran, so that is a big motivation to act if the U.S. gets involved offensively against Iran. Both China and Russia have cooperation agreements with Iran, but as far as I know, neither country has defensive pacts with it.
One last point. The proxy war in Ukraine has been a catalyst for Russia to swiftly put its military industrial complex on hyperdrive, and this has illustrated the idiocy of the West which expected Russia to fold. At the same time, the empire has spent billions of dollars in weaponry only to see it blown up in Ukraine before it could do any damage. This is evidence of imperial decline. A vibrant empire doesn’t resort to deception at the diplomatic level and then fail at its stated goals to weaken the Russian state. Being repeatedly attacked in the Red Sea by Yemen, and being forced to retreat isn’t the behavior of a formidable imperial force. And now the imperial watch dog in West Asia is incurring damage unlike anything that it has ever experienced, and the empire is rattling its sabers, possibly preparing to enter the fray. There’s no question that the empire is more suit than man, and its hesitancy to immediately come to Israel’s aid after the first night of humiliating bombardment is without question a sign of decline. The simple fact that genocide has been greenlighted by Washington still another sign that the empire is losing narrative control. None of this means big change is coming soon, but it all suggests that things will get worse for a lot of us before they improve.
It is hard not to agree with such precision and clarity, Karim. I comprehend the Russian and Chinese torpidity fully, but am simultaneously profoundly flummoxed by the relative ease with which the western powers can mollify them. Both these countries possess stockpiles of nuclear weapons, but this fact serves as no deterrence to the United States’ march towards cosmocracy. Is it because they view these countries as equally indebted to the accoutrements of wealth? That they would not want to risk a debilitating war for fear of the obliteration of their beautifully constructed cities and obvious prosperity? Is this antithetical to the view held of Iran and North Korea since they are not afflicted with the senseless accumulation of wealth, are not narcissistic and vainglorious?
The United States has had a number of recessions in recent decades: some small and at least one significant recession. The country is left impecunious after each recession and extirpate funds from the fiscus meant for social and infrastructure programs. It is now a well known fact that the United States is approximately $36 trillion dollars in debt, a debt that must be serviced at regular intervals. It is my understanding, and possibly an oversimplification of the situation, that this gargantuan debt is responsible for asceticism and misery amongst its ordinary populace. It is noted that the average income of the middle class, a class that historically acted as a stanchion for economic prosperity because of its collective defrayment capabilities, has been declining and then stagnated since the middle 1970s.
I have witnessed over the years, at least since the first Trump presidency, the enmity between societal factions: politically, economically and socially. Trump’s current presidency has once again served as evidence of the deep fissures in that society. I cannot but concur with the sentiment that America is at war with itself and although there is no significant loss of life on its streets, I have to conclude that this internecine strife is a harbinger for an ineluctable change: good or bad.
Against this background, I find it challenging to homogenise your obviously erudite arguments Karim, with the American reality. Can a society with so many contradictions and incongruences and ostensibly fragmenting, rein into perpetuity?
I've been wrestling with those same questions, Lindsey. How does a society with a hollowed-out industrial base and streets filled with homeless encampments still manage to dominate every corner of the globe?
I strongly feel that the answer, as I've argued repeatedly in my shows, lies in the ultimate cheat code: dollar hegemony. When you control the world's reserve currency, you possess a money printer that never runs out of ink. Every weapon purchased, every military base constructed, every vassal bribed, every proxy army funded, every media outlet bought, every NGO controlled—all of it flows from this singular monetary superpower.
The rest of the world's failure to abandon the dollar system earlier represents perhaps the greatest strategic blunder in modern history. They've essentially been financing their own subjugation, handing the empire an infinite credit card to purchase their destruction. China, Russia, Iran—they all saw this trap decades ago, yet moved with glacial speed while the noose tightened around their necks.
The empire doesn't need factories when it can simply print the money to buy what others produce. It doesn't need social cohesion when it can export its chaos and import the world's resources. The dollar isn't just currency—it's the circulatory system of global domination, pumping imperial blood to every extremity of American power.
Once again, your reports and comments are appreciated beyond measure. Please never stop to enlighten us🙏🏽
On another subject: you have previously posted a thesis (?) on the psychology of capitalism on the self. Although esoteric, I found the article absolutely compelling. I would have read it a 2nd and possibly 3rd time to really understand, but it was removed. It would be appreciated if it could be reposted🙏🏽
Thanks for saying this out loud. You have thought that by now, in the evolution of human beings, we would be above suicide. But we just seem to make the technique more spectacular. After all, we are societies of "likes."
I have been a loyal follower of Dr. Wolff and Democracy at Work for a long time. What I have noticed is that in the last 2 years other organizations are taking Dr. Wolff's work and sensationalizing it with over the top graphics, music and overdubbing, turning his work into a click bait version of cliff notes.
I have complained to D@W about how others are riding on the coat tails of their work but nothing seems to be done about it.
Dr. Wolff does say that the empire is entered its last stage but he makes clear at Democracy at Work that he cannot predict when that will happen and that it very well could be a long way off. He also feels that in desperation the empire could very well take all of us with it.
I really appreciate this article and I would love to see Dr. Wolff come on your show to discuss the subject with you. I do not see Dr. Wolff as someone who would avoid constructive criticism of his work.
Changing subject, I just saw in the last hour that African Stream is closing down because it is unable to carry on after the assault on the credibility by Anthony Blinken who called them puppets of the Kremlin, this is a very sad loss Thanks for all your thought provoking journalism.
Yes, totally agree with you. But I do feel Wolff is good entry material but then it flat-lines. Every single show and interview he says the same basic stuff. US Empire is over, China is rising, people are unhappy "WAAAAUUUWW what is the US thinking!" (ever single talk he says this stuff).
Wolff is good for entry level people who need convincing, and after that people need to upgrade to people like Michael Hudson, Gerald Horne, Vijay Prashad.
And about Africa Stream. Yes, it reiterates what I have said for ages. We really, REALLY need to find a way to avoid Western tech. Easier said than done, I know.
Decline of the Empire is just propaganda enabled by McCarthyism that brought the academics, journalists, and artists to heel through corporate jobs, tenure, and for the prodigal doxxing and prison ah accelerated by the Patriot Act as warned by Snowden, Assange, and the Uhuru 3.
We need to kill it . By any means necessary.
Depressing as hell, but thank you for writing it.
If the argument presented is correct, what does that imply? I think the expressed impatience for fundamental change might be promoting unrealistic expectations of people’s and nations’ capacities.
Russia isn’t close to its Soviet self in terms of military and economic strength, and its being beset with encroaching imperial threats from nuclear missiles in Poland and Romania, to potential regime change in Georgia. Add to that the bellicose rhetoric coming from England and Germany. Russia isn’t in a good position to impose its will on anything outside of Ukraine.
China, since the late 1970’s has been focused on China, and has invested its resources largely on forging economic relationships beyond its borders. To cite Russian and Chinese complicity in skirmishes and conflicts and wars as evidence that they are morally weak, is simplistic. Putin knows there are 100,000 Russians in Israel, and he isn’t about to help Iran turn Israel into a large graveyard, if that is avoidable. On the other hand, Iran has immediate access to Russia from its northern border with it, so regime change in Iran is an existential threat to Russia. Also, Trump’s angling to gain a foothold in Greenland is a threat to Russia from the Arctic.
As for China, it imports 40% of its crude oil from Iran, so that is a big motivation to act if the U.S. gets involved offensively against Iran. Both China and Russia have cooperation agreements with Iran, but as far as I know, neither country has defensive pacts with it.
One last point. The proxy war in Ukraine has been a catalyst for Russia to swiftly put its military industrial complex on hyperdrive, and this has illustrated the idiocy of the West which expected Russia to fold. At the same time, the empire has spent billions of dollars in weaponry only to see it blown up in Ukraine before it could do any damage. This is evidence of imperial decline. A vibrant empire doesn’t resort to deception at the diplomatic level and then fail at its stated goals to weaken the Russian state. Being repeatedly attacked in the Red Sea by Yemen, and being forced to retreat isn’t the behavior of a formidable imperial force. And now the imperial watch dog in West Asia is incurring damage unlike anything that it has ever experienced, and the empire is rattling its sabers, possibly preparing to enter the fray. There’s no question that the empire is more suit than man, and its hesitancy to immediately come to Israel’s aid after the first night of humiliating bombardment is without question a sign of decline. The simple fact that genocide has been greenlighted by Washington still another sign that the empire is losing narrative control. None of this means big change is coming soon, but it all suggests that things will get worse for a lot of us before they improve.
It is hard not to agree with such precision and clarity, Karim. I comprehend the Russian and Chinese torpidity fully, but am simultaneously profoundly flummoxed by the relative ease with which the western powers can mollify them. Both these countries possess stockpiles of nuclear weapons, but this fact serves as no deterrence to the United States’ march towards cosmocracy. Is it because they view these countries as equally indebted to the accoutrements of wealth? That they would not want to risk a debilitating war for fear of the obliteration of their beautifully constructed cities and obvious prosperity? Is this antithetical to the view held of Iran and North Korea since they are not afflicted with the senseless accumulation of wealth, are not narcissistic and vainglorious?
The United States has had a number of recessions in recent decades: some small and at least one significant recession. The country is left impecunious after each recession and extirpate funds from the fiscus meant for social and infrastructure programs. It is now a well known fact that the United States is approximately $36 trillion dollars in debt, a debt that must be serviced at regular intervals. It is my understanding, and possibly an oversimplification of the situation, that this gargantuan debt is responsible for asceticism and misery amongst its ordinary populace. It is noted that the average income of the middle class, a class that historically acted as a stanchion for economic prosperity because of its collective defrayment capabilities, has been declining and then stagnated since the middle 1970s.
I have witnessed over the years, at least since the first Trump presidency, the enmity between societal factions: politically, economically and socially. Trump’s current presidency has once again served as evidence of the deep fissures in that society. I cannot but concur with the sentiment that America is at war with itself and although there is no significant loss of life on its streets, I have to conclude that this internecine strife is a harbinger for an ineluctable change: good or bad.
Against this background, I find it challenging to homogenise your obviously erudite arguments Karim, with the American reality. Can a society with so many contradictions and incongruences and ostensibly fragmenting, rein into perpetuity?
I've been wrestling with those same questions, Lindsey. How does a society with a hollowed-out industrial base and streets filled with homeless encampments still manage to dominate every corner of the globe?
I strongly feel that the answer, as I've argued repeatedly in my shows, lies in the ultimate cheat code: dollar hegemony. When you control the world's reserve currency, you possess a money printer that never runs out of ink. Every weapon purchased, every military base constructed, every vassal bribed, every proxy army funded, every media outlet bought, every NGO controlled—all of it flows from this singular monetary superpower.
The rest of the world's failure to abandon the dollar system earlier represents perhaps the greatest strategic blunder in modern history. They've essentially been financing their own subjugation, handing the empire an infinite credit card to purchase their destruction. China, Russia, Iran—they all saw this trap decades ago, yet moved with glacial speed while the noose tightened around their necks.
The empire doesn't need factories when it can simply print the money to buy what others produce. It doesn't need social cohesion when it can export its chaos and import the world's resources. The dollar isn't just currency—it's the circulatory system of global domination, pumping imperial blood to every extremity of American power.
Once again, your reports and comments are appreciated beyond measure. Please never stop to enlighten us🙏🏽
On another subject: you have previously posted a thesis (?) on the psychology of capitalism on the self. Although esoteric, I found the article absolutely compelling. I would have read it a 2nd and possibly 3rd time to really understand, but it was removed. It would be appreciated if it could be reposted🙏🏽
Should be here: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/385887185_Where_Is_Capitalism_Unmasking_Its_Hidden_Role_in_Psychology
Thx. Much appreciated 🙏🏽
Thanks for saying this out loud. You have thought that by now, in the evolution of human beings, we would be above suicide. But we just seem to make the technique more spectacular. After all, we are societies of "likes."
Stark as Fork Lightning
I have been a loyal follower of Dr. Wolff and Democracy at Work for a long time. What I have noticed is that in the last 2 years other organizations are taking Dr. Wolff's work and sensationalizing it with over the top graphics, music and overdubbing, turning his work into a click bait version of cliff notes.
I have complained to D@W about how others are riding on the coat tails of their work but nothing seems to be done about it.
Dr. Wolff does say that the empire is entered its last stage but he makes clear at Democracy at Work that he cannot predict when that will happen and that it very well could be a long way off. He also feels that in desperation the empire could very well take all of us with it.
I really appreciate this article and I would love to see Dr. Wolff come on your show to discuss the subject with you. I do not see Dr. Wolff as someone who would avoid constructive criticism of his work.
Changing subject, I just saw in the last hour that African Stream is closing down because it is unable to carry on after the assault on the credibility by Anthony Blinken who called them puppets of the Kremlin, this is a very sad loss Thanks for all your thought provoking journalism.
Yes, totally agree with you. But I do feel Wolff is good entry material but then it flat-lines. Every single show and interview he says the same basic stuff. US Empire is over, China is rising, people are unhappy "WAAAAUUUWW what is the US thinking!" (ever single talk he says this stuff).
Wolff is good for entry level people who need convincing, and after that people need to upgrade to people like Michael Hudson, Gerald Horne, Vijay Prashad.
And about Africa Stream. Yes, it reiterates what I have said for ages. We really, REALLY need to find a way to avoid Western tech. Easier said than done, I know.
Decline of the Empire is just propaganda enabled by McCarthyism that brought the academics, journalists, and artists to heel through corporate jobs, tenure, and for the prodigal doxxing and prison ah accelerated by the Patriot Act as warned by Snowden, Assange, and the Uhuru 3.