by Andrew Korybko
“ Black Monday’s ” stock shock sent waves through the global economy, with all of Asia and most of the West experiencing some degree of market decline. The drop raised fears that the world is on the verge of yet another global recession, this time caused by China’s “ new normal ” phase of moderate growth and currency correction . The transition of the world’s largest economy from a starburst of runaway development to a stable supergiant in its own right is one of the most important processes of the coming decade, and the force that the Chinese economy exerts on the rest of the world is incontestable by this point. The US isn’t taking this sitting down, however, since it’s actively working to counter China’s catalytic creation of a new economic world order through the TPP and TTIP projects , and its decision makers, despite their noticeable losses stemming from “Black Monday”, most surely comforted themselves with the schadenfreude of hearing about China’s far worse stock market slump. This global rivalry between two superpowers is actually a global cold war, and it thus leads one to considering the topic of economic bipolarity and how it’s impacting the rest of the world.
The first part of the article begins by introducing the concept of economic bipolarity and describing its two most defining characteristics. Afterwards, it proceeds to examining the nature of “non-alignment” in this larger competition, and dissecting the three categories that compose this geo-economic concept. Finally, the last part uncovers some of the strategic interests that the US has in exploiting economic disruptions such as “Black Monday” in order to one-up its Chinese rival in the eyes of Europe and the Asia-Pacific.
The Nature Of Economic Bipolarity
The core of this geo-economic concept has many thematic shades of the prior Cold War between the US and the Soviet Union, albeit adjusted for the modern-day rivalry between the US and China. Here are the three legacies that are still in play today:
Ideological Competition:
The US and China have diametrically opposed grand strategies that are heavily influenced by their respective ideologies. The US is the world’s unipolar guard dog, and as such, it’s been viciously defending this state of affairs through a series of preemptive aggressions (The Wars on Iraq, Libya, etc.) and conspiratorial sabotage (Color Revolutions). Its main aim in altering the military-political status of key geostrategic locations is to procure eventual economic gains that can preserve unipolarity and deal a blow to the multipolar forces that have been organizing against it over the past 15 years. The overarching economic vision that the US has is to become the global nerve center in managing East-West trade, using the its prime location as the ‘world island’ to connect the Atlantic with the Pacific, which thus explains its obsessive focus on the TPP and TTIP in recent years. Should these agreements enter into force, and even more so if the US’ Latin American pushback succeeds in recreating a hemisphere of puppet governments, then they’d allow the US to retain and reinforce the existing system. The long-term goal that American decision makers are endeavoring to achieve via the combination of their geopolitical intrigue and global economic blueprints is a reconstructed economic reality that returns the US to its prior position as the world’s most important economy.
China, on the other hand, is adamantly opposed to the US’ plans, and while others such as Russia are too, the Chinese are the only ones capable of opposing this plot on an economic level (whereas the Russians can do so on the geopolitical/military-technical front, ergo their strategic partnership ). China foresees a future where multipolarity wins out over unipolarity, with the lion’s share of credit for this reorientation going to the New Silk Road projects that are expected to circle the globe and deal a progressive, long-term deathblow to the US’ decrepit system. Beijing believes that it and its counterparts’ advances in constructing alternative, non-Western-dominated economic and financial systems (the AIIB, BRICS Bank , and BRICS Contingent Reserve Arrangement ) could provide a suitable and timely replacement for the existing structure, and that the transition could proceed smoothly throughout the coming years so long as the current multipolar trends continue. What China is trying to attain, then, is a complete revision of the global system, a fundamental change which would play out to the detriment of the US, while giving ample opportunity for others to rise.
Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD):
China and the US are both capable of inflicting devastating economic damage to the other, but doing so would result in unacceptable consequences that would crash the initiator’s economy. For example, China could call in all of the US government debt that it holds, for but one example, but the resultant calamity this would unleash would certainly reverberate back to China in an instant. The sudden crash of the dollar and the subsequent collapse of the US economy would devastate the world’s official reserve currency and all those who use it, and it would also eliminate one of China’s largest trading partners and export destinations within an instant. On the other hand, if the US were to engineer a rapid breakdown of China’s economy through stock manipulation and/or social unrest, then it could also bounce back to harm its own economy through the global financial sinkhole that would develop (as hinted at by the “Black Monday” scare) and/or initiating the dreaded Chinese call-in of American government debt, among other blowback scenarios. The reason that neither has decided to make a major move on the other rests in the complex economic interdependence between them that assures the mutual economic destruction of each in the event that this occurs.
That doesn’t mean that it will always be that way, however, as both the US and China are exploring asymmetrical means by which to break the MAD cycle and place themselves in a less adverse position to initiate large-scale economic hostilities. China is mainly doing this through its pursuit of de-dollarization, which if successful in the long run, would greatly mitigate any risk that China would face from a calculated American economic collapse. The US is contrarily trying to deepen the dollar’s role in the global economy by tying it as an inseparable part of trans-Atlantic and trans-Pacific trade, so that in the event that the currency collapses, it would also take down China’s other largest trading partners, too, and thus boomerang back to Beijing. Another thing that the US is trying to do, but one which can allow it to initiate a significant economic offensive against China, is to incentivize American companies to pull out of China and move into the proposed TPP zone instead. Should this happen on a grand enough scale, then it would decrease the direct aftereffects that a Chinese collapse would have on major American businesses. China, in turn, has sought to correct the yuan to make it more competitive in an attempt to counter this move before it gains irreversible momentum.
The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM)
The US and China’s economic cold war also has its fair share of non-aligned members (albeit ones which ultimately identify closer to one pole or the other), and not counting those that are loyally tied to or dominated by one or the other (e.g. North Korea for China, Haiti for the US), they can be categorized into three levels:
Aspiring Poles:
Entities such as the Eurasian Union and the EU, as well as large markets such as India and Brazil, hope to become their own centers of economic gravity in a truly multipolar economic world. For the time being, however, economic bipolarity is still the state of affairs, but if China is victorious in its struggle against the US, then it’s expected to cede its ‘unipolar moment’ in favor of the genuine multipolarity which is fundamental to the new economic order that it’s constructing. Thus, the aspiring poles can be seen as ‘regional Chinas’ in this future arrangement, and this is both to their benefit as well as China’s. For the time being, although this category has a sincere self-interest in economic multipolarity, the geopolitical unipolarity of the US is heavily pressuring at least one of its members, the EU, to forgo this path of development and remain tethered to the US via the TTIP.
It’s forecast that other such power plays will be initiated against Brazil and India in the future as well, but it’s not yet possible to speculate on their chances of success until such proposals are first offered. As for the EU, it appears that there is a 50/50 chance that it’ll accede to TTIP, but that’s of course up in the air at the moment as it is. Overall, if China can turn the aspiring poles into supporters of economic multipolarity, then it’ll increase the odds of its grand strategic success; likewise, if the US can co-opt some of these entities or their leaders into mistakenly believing that they could benefit from prolonged economic unipolarity, then it’ll strengthen the existing system and make it more durable in withstanding multipolar disruptions.
Intentional Balancers:
The next category is composed of middle power countries that intend to balance between both poles in a semi-equal fashion, hoping to reap the resultant economic dividends from each. Some examples of these states are Indonesia, Vietnam, Iran, Turkey, Egypt, Ethiopia, Nigeria, and perhaps even Mexico one day. On a smaller but related scale, Myanmar and Cuba are also attempting to do this after having reconsidered their former allegiances and opting for what they view to be a more ‘even’ model of development. While the actual middle powers might be able to manage the complex balancing act involved in such a multifaceted policy owing to their relatively larger populations and market potential, Myanmar and Cuba are in less advantageous positions vis-à-vis these stabilizing prerequisites, and thus, could become destabilized as a result of their well-intentioned (but potentially misguided) policies.
Zones Of Competition:
As for the rest of the world, it mostly falls into being part of the zones of competition between both poles, which is specifically highlighted as comprising most of Latin America and Africa. Within this broad swath of territory, the states being competed over by the US and China are also sometimes linked to aspiring poles and intended balancers, thus complicating the situation. For example, Nigeria is an intended balancer that is aligning closer to China nowadays, and it extends its economic influence over to neighboring Niger and Chad. These are two countries that are clearly within the zone of competition are noticeably closer to the EU’s aspiring pole, specifically that of France, which, in both cases of overlap, falls under the US’ unipolar economic umbrella at the moment. The general trend has been for the US and EU’s traditional external markets of Latin America and Africa (the zones of competition) to move closer to China. Related to this category but not entirely within it at this point is the Mideast, especially the energy-exporting-dependent Gulf Monarchies, which may look more to China in the future for real-sector trade and investment as their natural riches continue to dwindle.
China’s Pain, America’s Gain
Whenever news of economic difficulty (“Black Monday”) or perceived controversial developments (yuan correction) emerges from China, the US always stands to gain a relative strategic advantage. Here are the three ways in which it tries to flip China’s challenges into its own opportunities:
Sully China’s Silk Road Reputation:
The US’ information contractors like CNN and Bloomberg have tended to jump on any negative economic news coming out of China in order to provoke larger doubts about the country’s systemic stability. While they have their own vested economic interests in doing so and are also in the business of literally selling news, this also accomplishes an ulterior, even if unwitting to them, objective, which is to sully China’s reputation among its New Silk Road partners. Whether intentionally done or not, this clearly satisfies an objective of the US foreign policy establishment, which is very interested in manipulating public consciousness within the balancer and zone of competition Silk Road-linked states. The more that it can decrease partner confidence in China’s economic fundamentals, the more that the US can increase the doubt that others have over the nature of China’s slowdown and subsequent capacity to finance these megalithic commitments.
The New Silk Road has already become a contentious political issue among the Sri Lankan elite, for example, with the country’s new pro-Western president freezing China’s $1.4 billion port investment in Colombo (while still moving forward with its equivalent in Hambantota). This issue is more closely related to geopolitics than to the US’ information warfare against its bipolar rival’s economic commitments, but if the latter comes into play as an influencing factor (whether actual or marketed as such) and results in further backsliding of Sri Lanka’s Silk Road cooperation with China, then it could function as an interesting case study for how far the confluence of geopolitics, geo-economics, and the US’ information warfare can go in pushing back against the Silk Road. Ideally, the US would like to repeat the proposed Sri Lankan scenario by having its proxies advance their anti-Silk Road agendas and then retroactively ‘justify’ them on the grounds that China’s economic slowdown has caused them to reconsider. It doesn’t matter if this is really the case or not, since the US only cares about the ‘plausibly deniable’ perception that its client state made the controversial decision without American interference.
Scare Investors Away From China:
It’s of course impossible for the US to ever completely succeed with this goal (nor would it want to do so in full), but what would play to its general interests would be using its information mediums to influence foreign investors to pull their capital out of China and transplant it to more ‘stable’ and ‘profitable’ markets such as Vietnam and the other proposed TPP states. At a time when investors and business owners are in a panic, now is the time when they’re most receptive to alternative ‘suggestions’ or inferences proposed by their ‘trusted’ information outlets and advisors to do just that.
There’s no doubt that China is undergoing a slowdown and that the “new normal” is here to stay, but the problem arises when panicked financial speculation takes precedence over level-headed assessment in adjusting a major investor’s economic portfolio in the region, and this is applicable for financial investors just as much as it is for real-sector ones like factory builders/operators.
Along the lines of what was written in the first section, the US would like to see this occur so as to minimize the economic blowback that it and its affiliated partners would endure in the event that the US decides to ‘get tough’ on its economic war against China. It’s not in any way forecasted that a major capital outflow will occur from China as a result of this exploitative information strategy, but it’s the steady exodus that could eventually compound into a larger trend which has some of the most disturbing implications for China and its multipolar economic vision.
Strengthen The US’ Relative Appeal:
The US is banking on its information contractors being skilled enough to simultaneously boost their patron’s appeal as they denigrate China’s. The absolute hypocrisy in this situation is that the same negative traits that they use in their attempt to attack the Chinese economy (“ uncertain ”, “ unregulated ”, “ opaque ”) can also be used to describe the US’, but with skilled enough perception managers at work, this can be mostly ‘explained away’ to the masses (if they’re even cognizant of the comparison, that is). For the US, the most important thing that it stands to gain by strengthening its appeal right now is in applying added pressure to the EU and the Asia-Pacific states to accede to the TTIP and TPP, respectively. Any comparative decline of China (whether real or imagined) plays into the US’ hands at this pivotal moment that it’s trying to ensnare both geographic markets into its fold. Given the enormous consequences at play with both of these initiatives, specifically that both transnational trade blocs would be prohibited from reaching external economic deals without their US ‘partner’s’ prior approval, it’s thus of the highest order of importance to identify how impactful the US’ economic information war against China has become when it comes to these countries’ comparative perceptions of the Chinese and American economies.
Concluding Thoughts
The “Black Monday” stock shock, while exaggerated to a certain extent (and taken out of context relative to China’s smaller market capitalization ), succeeded in making most people aware of the impact that the Chinese economy has on the rest of the world. The interlinked nature of economic globalization and China’s historic ascendency to the planet’s top economic spot inevitably meant that developments within its own market would reflect to some degree or another on every other country. Taking a step back and recalling how the last global panic was sparked by the US’ structural shortcomings (and in a lot more factual way than the hype being spread about China’s at the moment), the broad outlines of economic bipolarity begin to emerge, whereby the US and China form the respective anchors of the current order.
As with the previous bipolarity of the Cold War, this also carries with it implicit and high-risks competition, with each side trying to outwit and sabotage the other in pursuit of their ideological vision for the future of the global economy. Those that fall between them are associated more closely with one or the other state, and they can be categorized into a three-tiered hierarchy that more accurately explains their relationship to the large bipolar structure. Being that the US and China are in a heated global competition with one another, whenever Beijing stumbles, the US is there to mock it to its own soft and comparative economic advantage. The current case in point rests with “Black Monday”, which looks to be godsend for those in the American establishment interested in pushing their “Chinese climax” narrative that the country’s best days are now behind it. This self-interested spin is engineered to cast China’s Silk Road dreams as unrealistic and overly ambitious, with the ultimate intent of damaging Europe and the Asia-Pacific’s confidence in the country and consequently pressuring their regional states into acquiescing to the US’ grand TTIP and TPP plans. But what the US and its strategists aren’t considering is that even though this period of bipolarity will perforce end just like its predecessor, it might not be with the American victory that Wall Street is betting on.
Andrew, another very coherent presentation from you on a dense subject. You cut through the gobble guck deftly.
I will be emailing this to my friends. It sums nicely the geopolitical war fought by treaty trap and hegemony.
One thing about investment fleeing China as it did Russia. The Chinese encouraged overseas investments and there also was a hedging by billionaires and millionaires, as well as trillions stolen by “Foxes” now being hunted down. The boom in real estate in London, NYC, LA, SF, Vancouver and Toronto is mostly Chinese money. (Some Russian oligarchical money is staged in London and NYC, also.)
The Chinese may feel some pressure to call back some of those investment dollars, out of need for more liquidity and as a weapon to depress US real estate values.
The use of Chinese wealth is ‘nuclear’ in impact. It can build infrastructure around the world as they have planned, or it can subvert the Hegemon, also.
You nicely point to that in this article.
Thanks for another splendid piece.
Thank you Larchmonter445, and also for your splendid commentary! Enjoy your weekend!
In unrelated news, Putin has publicly rehabilitated “liberal reformer” Anatoly Chubais —- architect of the 1990s “privatizations” which created the oligarchs and impoverished Russia, other disastrous economic reforms, and the troubled state-owned technology company RUSNANO — and his allies. At a time when Russian companies are struggling for money to fund import substitution and overcome low oil prices and sanctions, RUSNANO plans to invest heavily in the Israeli technology sector to help Israel’s economic development.
http://top.rbc.ru/technology_and_media/26/08/2015/55dc98c39a7947ddd7ab8803
http://ria.ru/economy/20150827/1211663140.html
He continuously disappoints me. But I’m stuck with supporting him until someone better comes around.No matter how much I disapprove of some of his policies the Empires are so much worse for the World.That there is no comparison between them.
“But I’m stuck with supporting him”
How do you support him?
How do you square this report from the Putin-hating NYT?
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/28/world/europe/russian-liberal-who-aided-post-soviet-overhaul-comes-under-attack.html?_r=0
Seems the opposite of your charge that Putin has rehabilitated him.
Good,I was hoping it wasn’t true.He and ones like him are a bane on Russia.
Chubais is one of those people who even Putin cannot subject to any criticism without risking the wrath of the Western media, pro-Western Russian newspapers (e.g., Moscow Times, Vedomosti), the US government, Wall Street, and/or Jewish groups. (Chubais is allegedly of partial Jewish ancestry, exposing critics to allegations of antisemitism.) Even the Russian security services — who reportedly loathe Chubais — have struggled trying to convince Putin to stop protecting him and other remaining Yeltsin-era officials.
Putin’s decision to suddenly rehabilitate Chubais may have been a calculation that the latest fight would be more trouble than it is worth or that it would alienate the economic reformers on whom Putin relies to stave off economic catastrophe. There certainly is precedent: Putin protected Chubais even after the massive May 2005 power failures linked to his then-ongoing privatization of the Russian power grid so as to avoid conflict with the West. Rejecting widespread calls for Chubais be dismissed and prosecuted, Putin allowed Chubais to keep his job running the power grid and later supported his becoming head of Rusnano.
This 1999 Los Angeles Times article about the “Chubais clan” may be of interest: http://articles.latimes.com/1999/sep/12/opinion/op-9170
@ Mats,
Per your link:
“Mr. Chubais is despised by the siloviki (“strong men”), loyalists of Mr. Putin’s who came from the secret police or the military. They see Mr. Chubais as a liberal symbol of an era in Russian history in which they lost power.” – NYT
Of course, when Derschowitz and his ilk go after Finkelstein and terminate his tenure at DePaul university, not a peep from the NYT.
Add to that the fluffy and ambigious use of [highlighted] words and phrases [without a shred of verifiable evidence] and you’ve got your usual NYT white noise on a platter.
Next!
Warning, the second web link has malware.
Yandex issues a warning when you try to open the page.
Good job, Anonymous.
You talk out of your ass and infect computers. Multi-tasking.
I got no warning for http://ria.ru/economy/20150827/1211663140.html and accessed it with no problem — and an onine scanner site did not detect a problem. Perhaps it was only temporary, or a flase positive for some reason?
Google search for “ostrich head in sand”. Please do not make it into a habit to post image links without text. /Mod
https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=ostrich+head+in+sand&biw=1304&bih=683&tbm=isch&imgil=L6H12Cn0WTyrsM%253A%253BEdlT0X-DCrY2PM%253Bhttp%25253A%25252F%25252Fgerdleonhard.typepad.com%25252F.a%25252F6a00d8341c59be53ef013488b614d8970c-popup&source=iu&pf=m&fir=L6H12Cn0WTyrsM%253A%252CEdlT0X-DCrY2PM%252C_&usg=__xTUYzB70RblV_LZ-jaybecRF4GU%3D&ved=0CCwQyjdqFQoTCKyYsKiK1McCFWQY2wodhxoGng&ei=VK7kVayeC-Sw7AaHtZjwCQ#imgrc=L6H12Cn0WTyrsM%3A&usg=__xTUYzB70RblV_LZ-jaybecRF4GU%3D
@anonymous 3:10
A stark example of the enormous influence that specifically Judaic interests wield in Putin’s Russia. IMO that influence still receives far too little attention in the general run of alternative media analysis of geopolitics. As Gilad Atzmon recently opined, the measure of real Judaic power is its continuing ability to prevent any serious discussion of it.
The loyalties involved cut right across Nation State considerations (except perhaps those of Israel). If history is any guide (that’s real history as opposed to the various official narratives with their respective enormous skeleton cupboards), then its not much of a stretch to see that influence being the determining factor when fateful decisions are made.
On this article itself. WOW! one of the very best analyses I have read in a long time. Thank you.
OT
The most detailed and current look at Russian participation in the Syrian war at the link below. It is disturbing that Russia didn’t previously supply Syria with satellite reconnaisance of the enemy, while NATO supplied it to ISIS. Unwillingness to confront NATO in even such a small way? Weakness? A split in the Russian decision-makers? Taken together with “freezing” of Syrian purchase of Interceptors, and failure to deliver anti-aircraft weapons to Iran it is really hard to understand.
It appears that there is now cooperation of sorts between the Saudis, US, Russia & Iran in attacking ISIS (tho not necessarily Al Qaeda). Meanwhile we are asked to believe that Turkey is defying the US to a degree in still helping ISIS, simultaneous with Turkey’s complete obedience to the US is cancelling Turkstream.
I understand that as of the 22nd the CIA had set up a “govt in exile” for Crimea, to legitimize Ukrainian/Tatar hostilities. http://www.4thmedia.org/2015/08/the-russian-army-is-
Iran has satellites too.
AQ has pledged its support to ISIS.
What small, tiny AQ group is still operating as AQ in Syria?
ISIS has taken over every AQ group. They submit or die.
The whole Crimea Tartar thing is Turkish PR. The idea is to create an event with bloodshed so the radicalization of Tartars is imbedded.
As for an armed unit lasting 15 minutes in Crimea, I’d bet 10 minutes is the longest it will survive.
These are wet dreams of Erdogan and Langley.
Mats,
The link I gave says US still supplying satellite data live to AQ; it’s nonsensical of course & probably means they’re supplying it to ISIS.
I think the Ukraine/Tatar “govt in exile” & some sort of demo in Crimea is just for PR purposes– to de-legitimize Crimea in the MSM.
The whole situation as you show it, is why I believe that it would be better for China (and the World) to concentrate on her internal development more than global trade.And the same is true of the other large BRICS states.Modern countries grew in wealth when they first developed their own countries.Trade with other nations was a “side benefit” never the core of an economy.Only smaller countries,or countries with little population were tied to foreign trade.Britain,Portugal,and the Netherlands (Spain also,though Spain’s situation was a bit unique) were three of the first great World trading countries in Europe.But they all three had few resources in their countries .And trade was all they had to develop their economies. And in the Netherlands and Britain’s cases to pay for needed food imports.Later,countries like Germany and the US got heavily into World trade.And near the end of the 19th century Japan joined them.Japan for the same reason as Britain and the Netherlands did.Lack of resources in the homeland.But for many,many,years in the US foreign trade easily took a backseat to the economic development inside the US.And that was also,though on a lesser scale true of Germany too. China and India in particular are well placed for internal development.They have enormous populations,and their internal economies are very underdeveloped.They need to concentrate on development of their home markets.If they could bring the level of living in their countries up to the Japanese standard.There wouldn’t be anything they make that could not be sold right in their own countries.And along with their internal markets they are surrounded by countries also undeveloped in the main.Countries in some cases with fairly large populations that if traded with,and their living standards raised could also be a huge source to sell goods to.As for the needed resources for China’s and India’s development.Quite a lot of them or in the countries to start with.Or very close by,with Russia alone being a storehouse of mineral wealth they would be happy to sell.And the ME (Iran and Oman) is very close to India.I don’t see the point in those countries searching for development in far away places when they have it right in front of them.If your intention is to strengthen your country,that is how you do it.If your intention though, is to make some fat cats in your country richer.Then maybe the foreign trade search is the way to go.I suppose its all about your priorities.
Sidenote: Don’t think I don’t believe in foreign trade and the exchange of goods,I do.But I believe unless a country has to do so,that should never be your main source of wealth in your economy.Russia,and with far more reason,Saudi Arabia are suffering today because their economies are so tied to the export of a product to other countries.In Russia’s case if her internal market was developed as it should have been that would not be the problem it is.
Uncle Bob,
Russia and the other countries categorized as “developing” are not permitted to issue their OWN domestic currency except in response to import earnings. This skews such countries’ entire economy towards export. The independence of the Central Banks and their money-creation from their respective govts is accomplished by the IMF/Fed system. In the case of Russia, the US thoughtfully put it into their constitution at the collapse of the USSR. This is why only 25% of Russia’s circulating currency is in rubles; there is a scarcity of rubles & therefore of investment capital.
I’ve been repeating this until I’m green, but obviously I am not getting thru, so I will soon look up all the quotes & links demonstrating this, and I’ll post them.
I agree w you that the domestic economy and its attention to supplying the wants of the population ought to come first. Instead, many formerly food-self-sufficient countries have become food-importers as their ag-land has been given over to money-making or luxury export crops.
Here is a single source that is handy: Video of economist Starikov: http://russia-insider.com/en/politics/nikolai-starikov-how-escape-western-economic-system/ri8781
3:00 “In order you were inscribed in world economy you have to play by certain rules. . . IMF, certain standards, independent central bank and . . . creation of money only like reflection of the sold resources abroad.
5:02 “And we cannot refuse this system at once because the world will not recognize our currency and our country and there will be a big blockade. The way of small steps towards creation of the alternative center of issue will be more correct.
5:59 “Therefore a return to the multipolar world has to begin with the alternative center of issue. [of money]
6:30 “Staying in this system is more favorable to China at the moment than a one-stage gap with it. China grows in this system, plays by the rules. China has huge gold and foreign exchange reserve and Americans cannot tell it is just paper and computer zeros.
I agree with you on that problem.But that is what amazes me,that it isn’t changed.Its like having a log stuck in your driveway.You might bemoan the fact its there.And you might drive your car around it .But the thing to do is “just move it” and get it out of the driveway.Stop bemoaning its there and move it.Its that way with the situation in Russia.Change the constitution and remove that problem.It wouldn’t be the first,or the last time,a country changed their constitution,to remove issues that cause problems.Its the “inaction” I deplore,more than the problem itself.But having said that.The other issue of the internal development, is to me even more of a problem than that issue.
“Change the constitution and remove that problem.”
They don’t want to – that is THE problem.
The USA has completely lost its way with its drive to become the sole power in a uni-power world. Whatever the negative aspects of Xi and Putin the US is missing a golden opportunity to establish a relatively peaceful multipolar world. The people in charge in Washington are sorely lacking in morals (Witness their “to big to fail ” banks and their violent and corrupt police) and also lacking in real intelligence. Unfortunately for them their demise will eventuate as it does with all despotic regimes. They are masters at controlling their image and the image of their opponents, through control of the media, This prolongs the tumultuous period it seems the world must endure at the hands of the wealthy western elite but eventually they will be exposed for the greedy hate-filled warmongers they are. Like the White South African jailers that Nelson Mandela spoke about they are afraid because their lifestyle and safety appears to depend on keeping someone else suppressed. Thus they become prisoners in their own home, unhappy and afraid. One should feel sorry for them but given their egregious crimes that is more than I can do.
Exactly! That is really the saddest part for me.Instead of the US accepting a muti-polar World (which it should,and will be in the future anyway).They are willing to do any vile,evil,thing to prevent it.Even to risking the survival of the entire World.
@ Andrew Korybko,
Thank you for yet another journalistic gem to shine light on something that looks more like a moral Gordian knot, presented against the backdrop of an audible impression of a sophisticated sociopath’s justification as to why s/he has to commit heinous crimes, than history in the making… Many thanks.
Q; The US is the world’s unipolar guard dog
R: We used to have a guard dog and he only attacked when provoked or to defend any one of us. The US is therefore an attack dog, one that snaps at anything that moves in the opposite direction.
Thank you Daniel, and you’re quite right — the US does function more as an attack dog nowadays.
@ Andrew Korybko,
I’m not the kind of guy that butters up people, but you’re really a breath of fresh air in a world where modern journalism leaves behind a rancid, bitter taste way too many times and I find myself looking forward to your contributions.
The fact that you choose to share your book with the world for free, instead of ogling $$$, puts you into another league all together.
You have my respect.
Utter nonsense. Wall Street sent equities into a sharp correction going into September because of the Fed’s talk about raising interest rates, in essence forcing the Fed to back off (not that they would ever raise rates anyway).
So the Fed sent out an official, Dudley, on Wednesday to tell Wall Street traders what they wanted to hear: rate hike postponed yet again. He also hinted at another round of QE if necessary. And equities skyrocketed: biggest two-day rally in history.
They’ve played that game over and over in the last seven years.
Yet, tons of people still don’t get it apparently.
And it will go on indefinitely… as long as Russia and China don’t grow a pair and finally reject the dollar. Looking at this objectively, I think the world may wait a very, very long time.
Yep, While I don think this article is nonsense. it does make sense some of what you write. Step number one bypass the dollar but this will hurt mainly Chinas dollar reserves, so the question is would China dare to start with it? China is very pragmatic but they should realize that if they keep feeding the dollar, they keep feeding/supporting the American military which will target them sooner than later.
“…For example, China could call in all of the US government debt that it holds, for but one example, but the resultant calamity this would unleash would certainly reverberate back to China in an instant. The sudden crash of the dollar and the subsequent collapse of the US economy would devastate the world’s official reserve currency and all those who use it, and it would also eliminate one of China’s largest trading partners and export destinations within an instant. …”
The USD value is controlled in the US in US markets, and internationally in US controlled markets. The big US commercial banks have unlimited position capability in US futures markets. This came out during the last financial crisis. Think about what that means for price control. Settling/clearing are also controlled, and voiding of trades. Also, regulatory capture and lapses vis-a-vis illegal market operations like bear raids and painting the tape run by the big commercial banks support price controls/dictation. That, in conjunction with the ESF operating out of the NYFRB, means that the vulnerability of the USD is essentially an urban myth. Only when the US loses control of US and international financial markets and international trade policy will there be any problems for the USD. The Fed can support the value of treasuries at any level desired.
The thing mentioned by Prof. Hudson would be highly problematic for the value and use of the USD: settling of international balance of payments in gold rather than in USD/treasuries. And so you are highly unlikely to see any such thing any time soon.
You seem to know what you are talking about (I have my doubts about 90 percent of the people I read) so how about this: the big bullion banks are able to keep a lid on the price of gold and silver (on behalf of the Fed I suppose) by short selling paper gold (and the paper gold outweighs the real gold by about 125 to 1). In addition there are 50 or 60 hedge funds that by short selling oil have managed to lower its price into the thirties. Then it was revealed that China has sold more than 100 billion dollars of Treasury bonds in the last little while (since it devalued the yuan), and presto, the price of oil suddenly skyrockets. I think something big is going on behind the scenes, haven’t heard of any strikes over Syria lately by the US or Turkey, can’t be sure whether the Syrians did not shoot down an Israeli jet, the Ukrainians haven’t attacked in force, Poroshenko can’t get backing for an attack. The Russians don’t appear to be backing down on Assad. They have very good electronic warfare. Finance and politics are becoming very close I think.
Uncle Bob,
Russia and the other countries categorized as “developing” are not permitted to issue their OWN domestic currency except in response to import earnings. This skews such countries’ entire economy towards export. The independence of the Central Banks and their money-creation from their respective govts is accomplished by the IMF/Fed system. In the case of Russia, the US thoughtfully put it into their constitution at the collapse of the USSR. This is why only 25% of Russia’s circulating currency is in rubles; there is a scarcity of rubles & therefore of investment capital.
I’ve been repeating this until I’m green, but obviously I am not getting thru, so I will soon look up all the quotes & links demonstrating this, and I’ll post them.
I agree w you that the domestic economy and its attention to supplying the wants of the population ought to come first. Instead, many formerly food-self-sufficient countries have become food-importers as their ag-land has been given over to money-making or luxury export crops.
Here is a single source that is handy: Video of economist Starikov: http://russia-insider.com/en/politics/nikolai-starikov-how-escape-western-economic-system/ri8781
3:00 “In order you were inscribed in world economy you have to play by certain rules. . . IMF, certain standards, independent central bank and . . . creation of money only like reflection of the sold resources abroad.
5:02 “And we cannot refuse this system at once because the world will not recognize our currency and our country and there will be a big blockade. The way of small steps towards creation of the alternative center of issue will be more correct.
5:59 “Therefore a return to the multipolar world has to begin with the alternative center of issue. [of money]
6:30 “Staying in this system is more favorable to China at the moment than a one-stage gap with it. China grows in this system, plays by the rules. China has huge gold and foreign exchange reserve and Americans cannot tell it is just paper and computer zeros.
Anonymous, you said, “That, in conjunction with the ESF operating out of the NYFRB, means that the vulnerability of the USD is essentially an urban myth. Only when the US loses control of US and international financial markets and international trade policy will there be any problems for the USD. The Fed can support the value of treasuries at any level desired.”
I agree. So many people more knowledgeable than I have said that the dollar must collapse cuz of debt. Yet, I personally don’t see it.
Other than the conditions you mention I see only one other way the dollar could be brought down: BIS could do it. Weren’t they the imm’y trigger of the 2008 crash– by increasing the reserve ratio commercial lenders must hold? I have always imagined that this is the reason that US banks were left holding all that toxic derivative waste. I mean, didn’t they mean to pass all of it onto others before the plug was pulled?
Penelope, I am the second “Anonymous” who wrote the dribble about the bullion banks etc. I believe China is at the point of bringing down the dollar by selling its Treasuries. I often write first and think later; my thinking is that having unlimited dollars, the US can overwhelm the gold market, which it has, and even the oil market, which I think it has; and this keeps the dollar strong via keeping gold and oil “weak”. They are prepared to do this, and even make money at it, at the cost of a global depression just to stay atop the garbage heap. Now China has said it is ready to get rid of more than a trillion dollars of treasuries, which is being called “QT” or quantitative tightening, the opposite of QE; and that will certainly bring down the dollar. This is at the same time that the western propaganda is at its absolute worst against Russia-China. I read somewhere the western strategists saying the new war is 85 percent propaganda, and I think it may be 100 percent, because in the end the only weapon the US has is control over people’s thoughts. It is a powerful weapon, but eventually the truth is revealed even to the most stubborn tv zombie, after it has been seen by everyone else. I am hopeful a wider shooting war is even now being averted, I don’t think it would take much to make the US think twice, for all their bravado and sabre rattling. Now I am going to look at the link you put up by Starikov, I have wondered why the ruble is so weak.
David George, you said, “Now China has said it is ready to get rid of more than a trillion dollars of treasuries”.
Are you sure she mentioned a specific amount of treasuries? So far this year she’s sold less that $300 B. The following short paragraph gives a motive for China’s sales of treasuries:
8/13/15 zerohedge: When China wants to weaken the Yuan, it funds US Treasury purchases by buying USDs; when China wants to strengthen the Yuan, it sells Treasuries, receives USDs and sells the USDs for Yuan… The bottom line is that if one expects China to continue to allow the Yuan to depreciate, then Treasury yields will continue to tumble.
—
The following paragraph, surprisingly, counters the widespread belief that China is in a position to ruin US:
http://www.brookings.edu/blogs/up-front/posts/2011/09/07-china-currency-kroeber
China holds just 8% of outstanding US Treasury debt; American individuals and institutions hold 69%. China holds just 1% of all US financial assets (including corporate bonds and equities); US investors hold 87%. Chinese commercial banks lend almost nothing to American firms and consumers – the large majority of that finance comes from American banks. America’s banker is America, not China.
If you’re going to read Starikov, I highly recommend the free online book. Alternate chapters deal w history that reads like a novel. The other chapters explain how the constitution has enshrined the “independence” (from the govt) of the Central Bank– and hence blocked the power to print rubles.
http://lit.md/files/nstarikov/rouble_nationalization-the_way_to_russia%27s_freedom.pdf
Do please comment on what you think; so far I think I have failed to inspire a single person to read it.
Regards
–P
PS: Your comment about strengthening the dollar by weakening gold & oil. I’m not sure. Certainly that’s the idea behind shorting gold. But if there is less demand for the petrodollar cuz oil is cheap (& demand is also lessened due to recession), won’t less demand for dollars weaken the dollar? Zerohedge had an article today that referred to this, but I have to study it; didn’t really understand.
Dear Andrew,
Thank you again for another excellent article. Let us hope that in this battle the multi-polar world wins through. Any country foolish enough to sign up for the TTIP/TPP will rue the day when they are left floundering unable to trade with anyone else but the US. Another trick/cheat to maintain their hegemony.
People need to wake up about the speculative stock market and realise it doesn’t reflect the economies of countries and is so over inflated. Another Western ponzi scheme. Is Facebook really worth what they say? As you say its the US’s ability to spin stories to their advantage that is the worrying factor.
Rgds,
Veritas
Although I agree that the coming decade will be fraught with the global economy realigning towards a China-led or BRICS-led “new normal,” this adjustment is going to have to be centered not on the US dollar or the yuan, but on either a reformed IMF or the CRA, at whatever capacity the two institutions should interact.
China Institute President Su delivered a speech to the China Consulate in NY last Thursday, in which he said (in preparation of Xi’s visit to Washington), “With regards to the new normal of bilateral relations, both sides probably need proper adaptation to it” “Both need to have more understanding and tolerance, and give one another more room for cooperation. The zero-sum game mindset is not conducive to each other’s interests.”
I can’t say it’s brilliant, but
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Is3aneXwkxI
“CrossTalk” Recession 2015?
Published on Aug 28, 2015
Are we experiencing the Great Recession of 2015 or merely a painful paradigm shift in how the global economy is run? Many in the West quickly blame China for mismanagement of its economy and currency. This may or may not be true, but this is only a small fraction of a much bigger story. Has anything been learned since the financial crisis of 2008?
CrossTalking with Mitch Feierstein, Stephen Keen, and Mark Weisbrot.
Recorded from RT, CrossTalk, August 28, 2015
is an episode worth watching.
I hope everyone will know about Jeremy Corbyn
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKH6v8_Kd88
CrossTalk: Fighting Corbyn
Published on Aug 21, 2015
Jeremy Corbyn calls himself a democratic socialist and he is vying to lead Britain’s Labor Party. Some polls and a growing grass roots campaign suggest he is very much in the running. Seen as a moral savior by legions of supporters, he is deemed as a dangerous political joke by his opponents. Suddenly, British politics is interesting again.
CrossTalking with Lindsey German, Steven Fielding, and Chris Bambery.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_tTaEgp9l-Q
An Evening With Jeremy Corbyn. 18.08.2015 Newcastle Tyne Theatre
“China’s Pain, America’s Gain”
Can it really be so?
http://www.globalresearch.ca/its-official-china-confirms-it-has-begun-liquidating-treasuries-warns-washington/5472492
You cannot properly understand US actions, I believe, without considering the psychological make-up of the ruling US elite, and that of the archetypal
‘Good American’ citizen. I believe that when you do so, you can quickly understand just why the USA is so relentlessly aggressive everywhere on Earth, will always remain so, and why this aggression is a fatal threat to continued human existence.
The US elite truly believe that they are ‘Exceptional’, set above the rest of humanity, by God. The ferocity of hatred for Putin ticked up to the current totalist fury when Putin, justly, ridiculed and criticised this evil insanity. It is a narcissistic excess that, if anything, has been worsened by the take-over of US elite power structures in politics, business and the MSM/entertainment complex by Jews, whose religion also asserts just such a super-human status for the ‘Chosen People’.
The US religion of Exceptionalism is also bought by vast numbers of the US populace, even the lowest, most exploited, most impoverished and less able to say that the American Dream is anything but a waking nightmare. Being ‘Exceptional’ over ‘foreigners’ helps them forget how inferior they are in their own brutal and brutally unequal society.
The USA, thanks to the auto-intoxication of its Divine Mission doesn’t seek mere ‘unipolarity’. It demands that every country on Earth bow down before them and their quaint ‘Moral Values’. No exceptions are permissible, not even for ancient world civilizations like China and Russia. The US elite will only be happy when Russia is reduced to a string of powerless statelets ruled by Yeltsin clones, and China has similarly been sundered. Both countries represent an existential threat to US ‘Full Spectrum Dominance’, forever, so long as they remain intact and powerful. And the US elite have NO compunctions on killing as many as necessary to achieve the ends. Indeed, if faced by a generalised collapse of their eternal Empire, the US/Israel duumvirate are highly likely to launch a thermo-nuclear war, in both a Samson and Masada demonstration of the bottomless fanaticism.
“the USA is so relentlessly aggressive everywhere on Earth, will always remain so”
Always remaining so is predicated on always remaining.
“The US religion of Exceptionalism is also bought by vast numbers of the US populace, even the lowest, most exploited, most impoverished and less able to say that the American Dream is anything but a waking nightmare.”
Belief is a vector of bathos.
“Always remaining so is predicated on always remaining.”
“Belief is a vector of bathos.”
As is ignorance.
http://www.strategic-culture.org/news/2015/09/01/ron-paul-and-lost-lessons-of-war.html
An unholy alliance of Judaic choseness and the historic Gentile power it has ceaselessly steered and suborned to its own unique purposes.
You are right; neither has the least concern for common human decency when its interests or common agenda are threatened. I think your Samson-Masada allusion is apposite. If they can’t have what they are dead set on having, then they will make damn sure no one else can.
That I think is the true measure of what we are facing and it is scary.
Wikispooks, both the English and US elites at the height of their power began to see themselves as having inherited the mantle of God’s Chosen People from the Jews. Apart from those mad enough to buy the original tribal propaganda as true, this fitted well with that ubiquitous Judeophobia that always arises as the Jews take control of a country’s finances, and hence its political power. It’s a convenient cover, too, when exploiting Africans and Indians to the death-tens of millions of deaths, to pretend that ‘God’ is on your side. As it is when murdering millions of Koreans, Indochinese, Iraqis, Afghans etc and having your stooges murder millions more. Of course it now results in the sordid, bathetic, spectacle of the USA pretending its ‘Exceptionalism’ and ‘Manifest Destiny’ entitle it to ‘Full Spectrum Dominance’ over the planet, when the original Chosen People have taken over its politics, MSM and finance. There is a tension there, between the ruling tribe and the unChosen natives, that no quantum of Sabbat Goy stooges will keep repressed forever.
“And the US elite have NO compunctions on killing as many as necessary to achieve the ends. Indeed, if faced by a generalised collapse of their eternal Empire, the US/Israel duumvirate are highly likely to launch a thermo-nuclear war, in both a Samson and Masada demonstration of the bottomless fanaticism.”
Part of the exceptionalism that the US has practiced consistently has been the notion that they “know best”.
Perhaps practice has shown that they don’t know best.
It would appear that you reflect these practices with your assertion of “highly likely”.
Sadly,I have to concur with almost all of that.But let me add a point (I disagree with the point but most Americans don’t). The people (I’m not sure about the elite) don’t believe there is anything wrong with that thinking.They believe the US is unique to “guide” the World.That the “old” World has screwed everything up in history.And its up to the “new” World (the US) to set it straight.They really truly believe that.They don’t consciously think of it everyday of course.But its the basis of “American ideology” and so to most people its just “a given”.Our history books subtly suggest that thinking and we learn it in school. Such as we “know” that “we” almost alone saved Europe from the “dreaded Hun” in WWI.Forget about the millions of European soldiers that fought and died in the 3 years before the US got into the fighting.It was the year we fought that “only” gave Victory.We also “know” that the US saved the World from Hitler.Sure the others Britain,France,Poland,etc,and oh yeah, the USSR “may” have helped “some”.But without the US Hitler would have won.No doubt at all to most Americans,our history books “say that”,so it must be true.And the US alone,ended the Cold War.Sure Gorbachev,”may” have had “something” to do with it.But “certainly” the US did most of it.All those type of things are totally believed by at least 90% of Americans.Like night,follows day.And the sky is blue.The role of the US as the “exceptional” nation is just a “given” to people.There isn’t even any real debate on it.When you are faced with that kind of almost a “religious faith” thinking,how can you expect anything different.
“The people (I’m not sure about the elite) don’t believe there is anything wrong with that thinking.They believe the US is unique to “guide” the World.”
This may be a product of your belief which in the abscence of verifiable data is an assertion.
Access to verifiable data depends on the existence/production of verifiable data.
The bringing into existence of verifiable data is fraught with difficulty, some of which are alluded to in the following link.
“http://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/aug/27/study-delivers-bleak-verdict-on-validity-of-psychology-experiment-results
Some of whom you allude to as the “elite” understand this including some of the contingent vulnerabilities.
This is part of the reason for big data and the surveillance state – a marker of insecurity not strength.
However for various reasons including some alluded to in the Guardian link above the big data project is likely to fail, partly because neither sole agency nor stasis exists.
A question that may have eluded you is:
What is the significance of your assertion that
“”The people (I’m not sure about the elite) don’t believe there is anything wrong with that thinking.They believe the US is unique to “guide” the World.” ?
Andrew Korybko is a very young and very talented political analyst, with a global view and a great capacity of synthesis. The dichotomy as exposed by Andrew is very clear, and the military (re)occupation of Europe by the US makes sense. I think that all this Nato’s muscle flexing is less oriented against Russia, for the simple reason that a war with Russia would mean the end of the US, than against Europe itself. The military control of Europe and russia bashing will help to implement the TTIP. In Asia the US make use of the same strategy against China.
The pending question is : does the succes of the silk-road strategy depends on the incorporation of Europe into the project, or does Eurasia will be self-sufficient, considering that it is the most populated area on earth and the richest with minerals ? Does a protectionist and self-sufficient greater eurasian zone will be an alternative to world trade or an atlantic trading zone with a declining real economy and very poor in mineral wealths ?
“The pending question is : does the succes of the silk-road strategy depends on the incorporation of Europe into the project, or does Eurasia will be self-sufficient, considering that it is the most populated area on earth and the richest with minerals ? Does a protectionist and self-sufficient greater eurasian zone will be an alternative to world trade or an atlantic trading zone with a declining real economy and very poor in mineral wealths ?”
Perhaps as a consequence of the binary logic you use in an iterative way, you fail to perceive other questions based on lateral logic?
It is sometimes held that binary logic and its perception has validity within a limited paradigm -a paradigm being a binary of within and withoutness – and within limited time “frames”.
However the world is analogue and multi-factor laterally interactive through time, so I suggest that posing such questions illustrates a limited facility in strategy formulation and implementation, giving rise to surprises subsequently excused as “unintended consequences” in order to reaffirm the validity of the use of binary logic: a possible illustration of confirmation bias.
I have heard that in “American” parlance this is referred to as “doubling down”.
“I have heard that in “American” parlance this is referred to as “doubling down”.”
Doubling down is a process of ignoring, the proper definition of ignorance.
The opponents intelligence displays charachteristics of cargo cults.
https://soundcloud.com/rttv/nsa-continue-despite-snowden
At the “conclusion” of the tale Emperor’s New Clothes the procession moved on, but some remained to tell the tale.
“Doubling down is a process of ignoring, the proper definition of ignorance.
The opponents intelligence displays characteristics of cargo cults.”
It would appear so.
http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-cyber-spy-20150831-story.html
Perhaps another illustration of doubling down.
http://www.truth-out.org/opinion/item/32560-self-plagiarism-and-the-politics-of-character-assassination-the-case-of-zygmunt-bauman
Very interesting article, as usual. Thanks for this “broadcast”.
This excerpt I found very true:
“(….)which since the dawn of the humanities, continues to produce self-anointing thought police who operate more like micro fascists, policing what is acceptable to thinking, and whose all too political agenda’s are less concerned with the quality of the work, than condemning those who provide a fundamental challenge to their sense of privilege and their self-imposed illusions of grandeur. So a reality check is needed for the likes of Walsh and Lehmann. You are not standing on the shoulders of giants. You are but one entry in the employment inventory of intellectual surveillance.”
Actually, it can be applied to many facets of life, and many areas of work that are not only the university.
And, the problem of Fascism would not be a problem if it were not for these widespread micro-fascism in which it sits, because every time we are in possession of a minimum share of power, except most honorable exceptions , take the opportunity to purge what challenges us, what bothers us, what question us, and above all, which reminds us of our own mediocrity …..
(….)”not only historical fascism, the fascism of Hitler and Mussolini – which was able to use the desire of the masses so effectively – but also the fascism in us all, in our heads, and in our everyday behavior, the fascism that causes us to love power, to desire the very thing that dominates and exploits us.”
“take the opportunity to purge what challenges us, what bothers us, what question us, and above all, which reminds us of our own mediocrity”
Quite so, there are many examples as perhaps you will have noticed.
Some other broadcasts were transmitted and received by some audiences with facility, but not “published” for others. Of course all datastreams have utility, especially for lateral thinkers.
“Very interesting article, as usual. Thanks for this “broadcast”.
Perhaps these broadcasts will illuminate.
/the-moral-yardstick-of-the-ukrainian-war-saker-rant/comment-page-1/#comment-139661
/the-moral-yardstick-of-the-ukrainian-war-saker-rant/comment-page-1/#comment-139969
Well, everything that you say, in some ways, enlightens me, but what is the need to use an arrogant or dismissive tone, especially when you’re hosted by someone?
When I did that analogy to “score”, which is nothing more than a figure of speech here when you recognize that someone is right, you said that “you and your associates” did not use the information as a weapon, but then, what is that about call people ignorant? You may not realize it, but sometimes you sound arrogant, and that is not the best way to reach people, don´t you think?.
I understand that you want to confront us with our own ignorance, which is good, at least for me, because it allows me to learn more, but a little of kindness could do no wrong, .
“what is the need to use an arrogant or dismissive tone”
Perception is often a hologram of expectation based on prior experience.
“what is that about call people ignorant?”
It may be that context is not understood; my exposition is professional.
The proper definition of ignorance is a process of ignoring.
“when you’re hosted by someone?”
My associates and I broadcast content. Whether it is “published” or not on this blog is an option offered. Perhaps your notions of blogs, their characteristics and uses are limited.
“When I did that analogy to “score”, which is nothing more than a figure of speech here”
It is a marker of ideological immersion in a linear system of “winners and losers” – the notion of zero sum. This is a barrier to the transition to equal and different.
“but sometimes you sound arrogant”
Some perceive arrogance rather than a level of confidence based on testing and reviewing hypotheses before broadcast; omniscience never being an option in any lateral system.
“that is not the best way to reach people, don´t you think?.”
Testing and reviewing hypotheses shows that it is, subject to how audience and/or “people” are laterally perceived.
“a little of kindness could do no wrong, ”
Testing and reviewing hypotheses shows that it is often used as a deflection option to minimise the content.
BTW, I have read all that interchange you have linked, and I will say you that omniscience is a widespread evil…..
“that omniscience is a widespread evil…..”
No.
Omniscience doesn’t exist, only its illusory hologram.
It is similar to the seeking of full spectrum dominance, a vector of its own demise.
“Omniscience doesn’t exist, only its illusory hologram”
Of course, I wanted to mean that there are people, widespread, who think that they know already all…..
I have understood a while ago that you are a professional and hence your cryptic style and accurate links.
About why Mr. Mitrione lost his psychopathic eyes, I found a documentary about this which I am going to see on the weekend, because it is a bit long. I´ll tell you my impressions after.
Anyway, your last comment about this, brought back that feeling I had at first , when I met you the first times, that you wanted to scare me. it’s like that?
BTW, very interesting that link about Ron Paul, which mentions Clausewitz, whom you recomend many times. On this topic I have made a comment in The Saker´s last analyse.
“when I met you the first times, that you wanted to scare me. it’s like that?”
No.
On one level the broadcast contained a cautionary precaution, as did the previous broadcast using shark metaphors.
The notion from at least the 1980’s onwards has been – does a drowning man suit your purpose; if not how to drown a drowning man with the minimum of blowback.
Blowback can be deflected/minimised but not completely prevented.
However blowback that cannot be prevented simultaneously affords lateral opportunities to minimise opportunities for future blowback.
For example:
http://russia-insider.com/en/politics/kiev-riots-herald-coming-more-chaos-ukraine/ri9470
On another level the Mitrione question was akin to the “Whatever happened to Stepan Bandera” question.
These were posed to highlight many inadequacies including notions of sole agency, homogeneity of organisations, the notions of opponents and cooperators being restricted to “nation states”, complicity whether conscious and unconscious, and the benefits of useful foolery to name just a few.
Also it would be wise to understand that broadcasts can be widely received.
“Of course, I wanted to mean that there are people, widespread, who think that they know already all…..”
You also gave opportunity to reaffirm to some audiences the lateral opportunities afforded by holgrams of omniscience, hence the formulation of response – the why, why now and why in this form tests apply.
elsi on September 01, 2015 · at 11:06 pm UTC said:
“BTW, I have read all that interchange you have linked, and I will say you that omniscience is a widespread evil…..”
I haven’t read those links – can you provide a summary as to why omniscience is a widespread evil?
” I haven’t read those links”
So read them if you are interested and form your own hypotheses to test.
Why expect to be spoon fed?
“omniscience is a widespread evil…..”
http://fortruss.blogspot.ru/2015/09/the-us-opens-new-fronts-of-confrontation.html
Perhaps “evil” and “contfrontation” should be replaced by – opportunity.
Looking at
http://thediplomat.com/2015/06/eurasian-silk-road-union-towards-a-russia-china-consensus/
and
http://thediplomat.com/2015/05/at-russias-military-parade-putin-and-xi-cement-ties/
saying:
Besides their joint remembrance of history, Putin and Xi signed agreements further linking their countries’ strategic and economic development. Most notably, they agreed to formally link the Russian-led Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) with China’s vision of a Silk Road Economic Belt, linking China to the Middle East and Europe via Central Asia. “The integration of the Eurasian Economic Union and Silk Road projects means reaching a new level of partnership and actually implies a common economic space on the continent,” Putin said, according to RT. As a sign of that cooperation, China agreed to invest $5.8 billion to extend the Moscow-Kazan high speed railway into China.
Russia’ Gazprom and China National Petroleum Corporation also signed an agreement outlining the basic framework for China to begin receiving Russian natural gas through the “western route” (also called the Altai route). In May 2014, China and Russia inked a $400 billion deal paving the way for China to import Russian gas through the “eastern route” …
The two leaders signed a joint declaration “on cooperation in coordinating development of EEU and the Silk Road Economic Belt.” Moscow and Beijing declared a goal to coordinate the two projects in order to build a “common economic space” in Eurasia, including a Free Trade Agreement between the EEU and China.
Then
http://www.rt.com/business/256877-russia-china-deals-cooperation/
Russia and China have signed a number of energy, trade and finance deals on Friday aimed at strengthening economic ties. The two countries have multiple mutual projects which “achieved a unity of views on a wide range of issues.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping have signed a decree on cooperation in tying the development of the Eurasian Economic Union with the “Silk Road” economic project.
“The integration of the Eurasian Economic Union and Silk Road projects means reaching a new level of partnership and actually implies a common economic space on the continent,” Putin said after the meeting with his Chinese counterpart. President Xi Jinping arrived in Moscow on Friday for the 70th anniversary celebration of the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II.
What emerges in my thinking is the creation of options to the imperialist hegemony.
On one hand it is opt-in optional for Europe, and that would help the economy of all concerned. But it is also opt-out optional for Russia and China, and which ever Eastern nations are involved in the silk road, in that it can function as an alternative to and without Europe, particularly western Europe — which is already less than a solid trading partner now.
If trade falls off between EU and Russia/China then it doesn’t matter if it falls via the existing trade hubs or the new Silk Road hub — but silk road providing an alternative hub will in any case, trade falling, rising, or staying, be advantageous for Russia/China, which does have the economic power to sustain themselves without the west.
Valdemar, Regarding success of the Silk Road.
8/20/15 http://www.voltairenet.org/article188453.html Estados Unidos controla los «espacio comunes» –los océanos, el aire y el ciberespacio– y, en segundo lugar, corta las posibles rutas continentales. Destruir el Estado iraquí es cortar la «ruta de la seda» que une China con el Mediterráneo. Destruir el Estado ucraniano es cortar el proyecto de corredor Pekín-Berlín
corta = cut une = unite