Category Civil Society

Mar 20 2018

The Collapse of Society – Are the Doom & Gloomers Even on the Right Page?


Armstrong Economics Blog/Civil Unrest

Re-Posted Mar 20, 2018 by Martin Armstrong

QUESTION: Hey Marty,
Thanks for the incredible information you are sharing. I subscribe to your service and read your blog every day.
Do preppers have any justification in planning for a complete collapse, be it economic, political or otherwise? I keep a 30 day supply of freeze dried food but I have friends that are much more serious in their stockpile.

Thanks!

DL

ANSWER: The end of the world scenarios that the doomsday people forecast are over the top. If things unfolded as they proclaim, there would be no point in preparing for there would be nothing left. Movies like the Planet of the Apes were based upon this theory. The likelihood that there will be an economic and political upheaval is 100% on point. I have recommended keeping a stash of food, but not for the reasons they put out there by the doom & gloom people. The winters are going to keep getting colder. As they do, this will also disrupt the food supply. I have warned that historically, it is Global Cooling that kills off people – not Global Warming. Additionally, as political unrest rises, there will also be a disruption in the food supply. The majority of people are incapable of growing food for themselves, so society as a whole has this great vulnerability as was the case in in the eternal city of Rome. Historically, as taxes kept rising, and public safety became a growing concern in the urban life, more and more people began to migrate. There is simply a cycle where we all come together to form great societies, the ruling class becomes greedy, and then the cycle turns we migrate back to suburbia.

The political change we face is the collapse of socialism. That DOES NOT mean they go down without a fight. The French Revolution is where Communism began. They hunted the wealth of the rich, beheaded them, and they even seized all the property of the Catholic Church. Socialists always claim they are doing this to right all wrongs created by the rich, but in truth, they live in hate of anyone who possesses more than they do. I find it curious that this is listed in the Ten Commandments as something not to do, yet it is the cornerstone of the left. So even if someone does not believe in God and looks at the Ten Commandments simply as an ancient list of wisdom, this trait is still listed. Any way we slice it, religion aside, coveting their neighbor’s goods is the creed of a thief.

There have been uprisings against the rich and the bankers throughout history. When Florence was the financial capital of Europe, the banking family was the Bardi of Florence. They preceded the Medici and Rothschilds, yet remain unknown to most people. They were the famous bankers of the day. Because there was a dramatic shift in the silver to gold ratio, there was a major uprising when silver rose in value against gold because wages were paid in silver. An economic collapse unfolded and the people blamed the bankers when the source of the problem was the French king. They stormed the palaces of the bankers and set them on fire.

So history is littered with a cycle between all is well and then there is an economic collapse and civil unrest. This is the greate4st danger with the collapse of socialism, which the center portion is the collapse of the pension system. Rome also collapsed when it could not afford the promised pensions for the army. This led to generals rebelling and the troops followed sacking Roman cities that opposed them because they were ENTITLED to their promised pension.

History repeats because it is the same pattern over an over again. Those in power always promise everything assuming that the people are sheep to extract revenue whenever they need it. They fail to understand that EVERYTHING has its limit. Once they cross that line, the system collapses back in on itself. This is simply what we face. It is not a Planet of the Apes scenario and it does NOT even require World War III. It is already in motion and war will only be a result, not the initial cause.

 

Mar 17 2018

Culture – Law – And Different Ways


Armstrong Economics Blog/Rule of Law

Re-Posted Mar 17, 2018 by Martin Armstrong

Several women have written in and disagree with what I wrote about prostitution. They argue that 75% of prostitutes come from broken homes, which today is over 50% of marriages. They also state that these girls were abused as children in every way possible and many are runaways. Some also argue that these girls turn to prostitution because they are addicted to drugs and became pregnant at very young ages in their teens and have to support a child on their own.
All of that said, I agree that there are girls that fall into each of those categories. However, There are strikingly different cultures and different solutions around the world that warrant looking at both in Asia and Europe. In Thailand, they have a different culture and sex is not looked down upon as it is in the West. The girls are not drugged out or abducted. They are there to make money typically to support their families, which include their parents. Many also do dream of meeting the right guy in the process. In fact. studies show that 15% of the women in the Thailand sex trade marry their customers when they are foreign men (see a study published by Khon Kaen University).
Amsterdam is also strikingly different. The girls are not drugged out and they fall more into the professional category and some may cling to that dream of meeting Mr. right while others have probably given up on the dream of love at first sight and the knight in shining armor will come to carry them away. Both Thailand and Amsterdam show that even prostitutes do find love, which was the story-line of Pretty Woman.
Similarly, in Japan, there are a few private clubs where the girls are virgins and if you wish to select one, and she agrees, you paid $250,000+ and she was yours. You then had to provide her an apartment in Tokyo and support her as a concubine. She would be there for you whenever you were in Tokyo. They did this to be taken care of and a portion of the money always went back to her family. There are different cultures around the world and different morals.
I know in East Europe, men were going there and pretending to want to marry. They entered into the arranged marriage and took the girl and then promptly sold her into sex slavery. That was common when the Wall Fell in 1989, and parents are wise to that scam these days.  There is just a stark difference between what we see in Thailand and Amsterdam compared to where prostitution is illegal. My point is that if there is a legal industry then the girls are protected and this would tend to reduce the abductions.
I have written before when I was in New York standing on the corner in front of the Plaza hotel during the day, this girl came up to me dressed in genes. She asked if there was anything she could do for me. That is using the words spoken by a hooker, but she looked like 13 to me. I was confused and said no, and she asked again. I was not sure and was giving her the benefit of the doubt because she looked so young. I thought perhaps she wanted money for food or something. Then the doorman came over and told her to get out and she turned and cursed him. I then asked was she a hooker? He said yes she bothered the guests routinely. She was probably a runaway working for someone I suppose.
I knew a girl who worked for me once who was raped by her step-father between 7 and 10. She ran away to an aunt in another State. She was strong enough to tell me the story when she was 25. She did not become a prostitute. I respected her strength and she put her life together.
You can pass all the laws you want. It will not stop the abuse. Amsterdam, Japan, and Thailand are a different issue and there are girls who do hope to meet that special someone.
  • Outlaw booze and you created the Mafia.
  • Outlaw prostitution and you create abduction.
There has to be a better way. Girls are abducted and sold into sex slavery only because it is profitable. Remove the profit with legal competition, and you just may end the abductions. Promote safe-houses for runaways and you may save a life.
Mar 16 2018

Amelia Earhart: Lost and Found


Published on Mar 16, 2018

We finally know what happened to Amelia Earhart. Although it’s a tragic ending, her story remains a tale of courage against all odds.
Mar 13 2018

Direct Democracy – Is it Possible?


Armstrong Economics Blog/Basic Concepts

Re-Posted Mar 13, 2018 by Martin Armstrong

 

The advancement in technology today certainly allows us to scrap the Republican form of government with pretend representation of the people by career politicians. There is no reason we cannot vote from home on every bill and that no bill may be merged with any other subject matter. There should be no sneaking spending for military tucked inside a Clean Water Act. Direct Democracy can work ONLY if it respects a Bill of Rights that precludes SOCIALISM no matter how noble the goals. It must also EXCLUDE all legislation to do with religious morals so no outlawing abortion or even prostitution no matter how much it will offend some. Do not forget that is another religious group get control, they will reverse it and retaliate again their opposition. No law will EVER eliminate either action and the most one can do is to restrict where it is and require a license to ensure it is conducted in a safe environment and leave God to judge.

Every tourist who has ventured to Amsterdam visits the famous red light district where girls are in shop windows typically wearing bathing suits (not naked). The street is packed probably with 99% tourists rather than customers, but it is famous, safe for both the people and the girls, and certainly a curiosity. They are not walking down the streets as they still do in LA, New York, Chicago, or Boston. Girls are not abducted and forced into prostitution. There have been movies on that subject like TAKEN, which are very real.

I have often told the story about flying back from London with my girlfriend into JFK and I went to the curb waiting for the car and she went to the bathroom. There was a very famous Supermodel I did not know at the time standing there and she started to chat. I had flown in on the Concord and she knew that but she had stiletto high-heels and a very short leather mini-skirt. I did not notice her on the plane so I assumed she was a hooker looking to pick up passengers when they land in NYC, which is very common. When my girlfriend came out and saw me talking to her she got jealous. She said I can’t leave you alone for 5 minutes you are talking to a supermodel. I said what are you talking about? She was a hooker! I was just being polite! She then said she was on the plane. Based on the provocative dress, it seemed to me like the standard hooker uniform in New York City. I remember staying the Excelsior Hotel on the Via Vittorio Veneto during the 1970s and having to push through prostitutes just trying to walk down the street to go to dinner. NYC 42nd street used to be that way as well.

Direct Democracy will never work once you cross the line into perceived morality. One person’s moral principles will differ from another. When I travel to the office in Abu Dhabi, I am impressed that you see the freedom of religion in play. There are men with their four wives in burqas and women dressed in western style. Neither objects to the other. Women are free to wear two-piece bathing suits on the beach and this photo I took shows. They cannot walk the streets or go to a mall dressed like that, but there are places in the USA that object to that as well.

We cannot judge others by our own moral beliefs. That is God’s role – not man. Yes, there is the famous saying of Arnaud Amalric (died 1225) who said:  “Novit enim Dominus qui sunt eius.” (“Kill them. For the Lord knows those that are His own.”). I have previously written about the right to Freedom of Religion which means we must remain free from moral laws imposed by a majority upon a minority. That is why the Christians were persecuted and when they became the majority, then the Christians persecuted the pagans. We kill so freely proclaiming we are doing God’s will and yet so many claim to know God’s will. We have terrorists waging Holy Wars in the name of God whose will they have interpreted. This is why I wrote:

“This question is probably the greatest conflict morally that humanity faces, with the likelihood of any solution being impossible. If Mormons want to have more than one wife, that is fine, provided it is a local issue. Others who disagree have no right to say they are wrong and use the federal law to prosecute them. The freedom of movement is essential for if you do not believe in the culture of a local region, you should be free to leave and join a community that you agree with. Without this respect, society cannot function free of conflict, violence, and war. Perhaps this is just our fate. To some extent, we need to stop judging others by what we believe and let God sort that out on Judgement Day.”

The Ten Commandments form the core of fundamental principles that are actually essential to the foundation of society. The prohibition against killing can have no exception that it is OK to kill as long as the head of state says so. Every person has the right to self-defense, but not to invade another’s home or nation. There can be only a single standard for which a person’s liberty may be restricted, which was best articulated by John Stuart Mills:

“That the only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilized community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others. His own good, either physical or moral, is not a sufficient warrant … Over himself, over his body and mind, the individual is sovereign.” (On Liberty)

There was the Prohibition period where women demanded alcohol be outlawed because men became drunk and failed to be a proper husband and/or father. This was certainly not the majority of men, but they then imposed this law upon them all. All they did was fund organized crime and that led to countless killings. Many farmers were imprisoned for making their own alcohol.

You simply cannot legislate morality. Only a fool will try. This is what is so deeply wrong with SOCIALISM, for it defies the Ten Commandments, created hatred and divides the nation, has always led to more bloodshed than any other division (Communist Revolutions) and has hopelessly condemned society to a violent cycle of endless war.

When the economy turns down, class warfare rises and is used as the excuse to punish those who have more. If we are EVER going to end the cycle of violence, we must begin with a Direct Democracy eliminating career politicians, but it must also be confined prohibitin it to impose any morality by law. There will always be women who prefer prostitution. It cannot be outlawed, but we can license it and restrict it to specific areas as you see in Amsterdam. It is God’s role to judge others – not ours. As soon as one person stands up and demands laws to enforce their personal religious belief, they must respect that they will create a violent response from the opposition. When the opposition gains the majority, then the tables will be turned.

Direct Democracy can work ONLY when restrained from trying to create morality by law. ONLY if someone violates another then the law should apply. As Mills said: “the only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilized community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others. His own good, either physical or moral, is not a sufficient warrant … Over himself, over his body and mind, the individual is sovereign.” We cannot legislate morality. The sooner we stop this nonsense, the sooner we will all enjoy true liberty. I must defend someone’s right to disagree and speak their mind, for to deny that person the right to speak will become just a hypocrisy.

Mar 10 2018

Victor D Hanson; (NEW) A Thorough Explanation of California’s Failing Utopian Vision


Welcome to California….! It is a state of a perfect set of laws – at least in the minds of those wedded to the legislative pursuit of social justice. Under the one-party Democrat rules, spending on fairness tops $100 billion every year. Meanwhile, the basic infrastructure of the state, so necessary for the economy long and short term, is collapsing.

Mar 10 2018

Hating God


You know something’s wrong when people are publicly villified for offering prayers. Do we really want a godless America?

Mar 10 2018

Crossing the Rural/Urban Divide


American cities are seeing a massive influx of renters and a decline in home ownership. What does this mean for the traditionally suburban Republican party?
Mar 7 2018

Paradoxes of the Sexual Revolution


As part of CCA III: The Sixties, Mary Eberstadt, author of An Anxious Age: The Post-Protestant Ethic And The Spirit of America, gives a lecture at Hillsdale College on the Sexual Revolution.

Mar 5 2018

WALKING INTO MORDOR


Oikophobia — fear and hatred of one’s own culture and people. It has brought down civilizations since there have been civilizations. And now we’re infected, too.

Mar 3 2018

Let’s Try Bank Shaming


An article in the NYT suggests that banks should not allow their credit cards to be used to purchase weapons. Unfortunately, it probably wouldn’t work because it’s doesn’t address the root problem: the existence of evil people.