The European Empires
Have we seen the last of Imperialism? Once upon a time it was the European nations that owned the world. Holland, Spain, Portugal and France had their day. The “Thin Red Line” of the British Empire faded into the Commonwealth and disappeared as a strong force on the political scene. Italy and Germany, late to the table, picked up the leavings in Africa, tried to re-take Europe, and were pushed back within their own borders.
New Kids on the Block
Then it was the turn of the upstarts. America — the Industrial Revolution on steroids — glorified competition in arms, economy, and society. The law of the jungle in a business suit. Russia went completely in the opposite direction, trying to make everyone identical. From each according to his abilities; to each according to his needs.
After twenty years or so of tearing the world apart in proxy battles, the two main participants in the Cold War wore out and backed off. The Russian Empire collapsed under the weight of an autobureaucracy that proved itself not smart or trustworthy enough to run everything. At the end, they beggared their population and destroyed their environment trying to prove their system would work.
Now we have the American Empire deteriorating before our eyes, again due to glaring faults in their economic system. It turns out that unrestricted capitalism is incompatible with democracy, and both systems are suffering.
How Does That Work?
Well, everyone always knew that unrestricted capitalism would allow a small number of uber-rich men to take over and run the country to the detriment of the population. That’s history repeating itself, as well. The Roman Empire, the feudal system and the European Industrial Revolution created pretty much the same scenario. Interesting to compare the power of Bill Gates to the power of Henry VIII of England, who ruled by the Divine Right of Kings
But the US prides itself on being a bastion democracy, treating people more equally and giving power to the masses. This does not fit the Business Plan. With an educated population, the elite can’t overpower the hoi poloi, so they sideline them by divide-and-rule tricks, keeping their society segregated and stratified, undermining the poorest through a lack of opportunity, health and economic security and education. This has now come to a head, with the Leaders of Industry going to more and more desperate lengths to keep the people divided. The world watches in glee as the Americans chase their own tails and leave the rest of us alone.
The Sleeping Dragon
Don’t worry, I haven’t forgotten China. Their autocratic government has spent a century tinkering with economic and political manipulation of their people. They took peripheral interest in the Cold War, but only from an experimental point of view. Their main foray, into Korea, detoured into a stagnant ditch, where it still lies twitching. At the moment their Ponzi scheme still has enough new middle class buying in to pay for their economic expansion, but if they follow the historical pattern, sooner or later that middle class will want payback in the form of freedom and power. So far, they have managed to morph from sort-of communism to sort-of capitalism. With any luck, they’ll make the next stages towards democracy peacefully, and those problems will keep them too occupied to try to take over the world.
For the Future
Shudder in fear when the Canadian Empire takes over. Can you imagine a political and economic system that could take all the energy and resources the Americans are putting into their social and political battles, and channel it towards the good of the people?