Conspiracy of Dunces – Fat Tail Daily | Australian Markets

“The first time, I had two things to do — run the country and survive; I had all these crooked guys,” Trump mentioned in an interview with the Atlantic. “And the second time, I run the country and the world.”

Trump is the Big Man. He believes his writ needs to be law and that wind and waves — at home and overseas — ought to bow to his will. His followers consider it too. They didn’t vote for 50% tariffs. Or for deporting toddler residents. They voted for Trump — Pompey, Caesar, and Augustus multi function…the person…and so they trust him to do what must be completed, no matter it could be.

There is nothing actually uncommon about this. The Greeks observed 1000’s of years in the past that democracy tended to grow to be much less consensual and more dictatorial as time glided by. The Big Man supplied simplification, retribution and justice. He didn’t essentially include a coherent program, however he promised to smite the common man’s enemies. And that was enough.

And regardless of all of the wailing and whining within the mainstream press, there’s nothing to say that the change from collaborative democracy to Big Man rule represents a degradation within the high quality of authorities. When issues need doing, the Big Man is ready to do them. He is much less restrained by guidelines and establishments, which by this time have grow to be largely parasitic and self-serving anyway.

All political preparations, being half of life itself, decay over time. Constitutions are re-interpreted. Public mores grow to be more elastic. Bread and circuses have a tendency to exchange modest, restrained management.

All empires rise and fall, with an average life-span solely barely longer than a Bowhead whale. America’s empire – judged from when it took over the Philippines after a jingoed-up battle with Spain — is already more than midway there. Arguably, it has been in decline for a quarter of a century. And what it wants now — from this historic perspective — is a chief who will proceed the downward development. Mr. Trump could also be that man.

But no one runs a authorities alone. Even Louis 14th — an ‘absolute monarch’ — relied on legions of troopers, tax collectors, informants, sycophants, suck-ups and public servants. And as Elon Musk put it on X (accurately, however maybe unwisely): “Hitler didn’t murder millions of people; public sector employees did.”

A sensible and highly effective ruler can stop mass homicide. Or trigger it. He may even halt, at the very least quickly, the decline of an empire. But in that, too, he wants supporters, lackeys, fixers, and followers.

On Monday, we checked out how simple it could be. There are actually two key threats to the US empire. They are the standard ones — money and navy. Typically, the money runs out and the navy runs wild.

We checked out how each issues might be simply solved — in idea.

But there’s more to the story; there are the connivers, the skilled patriots and informal traitors. For instance, there’s no purpose to spend $1 trillion per 12 months on the Pentagon. Except that, these public sector workers — conspiring with the firepower industry — wish to see the money keep coming… all the way in which to chapter. Open Secrets:

Defense firms spend tens of millions yearly lobbying politicians and donating to their campaigns. In the previous 20 years [to 2021], their intensive community of lobbyists and donors have directed $285 million in marketing campaign contributions and $2.5 billion in lobbying spending to affect protection coverage. To additional these objectives they employed more than 200 lobbyists who’ve labored in the identical authorities that regulates and decides funding for the industry.

The likelihood of an invasion of the US is roughly zero. No nation has a fleet that would assist a sea-borne assault. No nation has an financial system that would assist such a fleet. No nation might develop such a fleet, unobserved. And if by some miracle the means had been discovered…and the need to waste trillions of {dollars} by some means took maintain of an enemy nation…the poor invading power could be obliterated long earlier than it reached the center of the huge ocean.

The solely actual menace comes from the air, the place America’s ‘Triad’ protection — land-primarily based missiles, submarines, and long-range bombers — is more than enough to satisfy the problem. That Triad, by the way in which, requires few troopers…and no overseas bases. Its price may be very modest, a fraction of the ‘defense’ price range. The relaxation of the ‘defense’ price range will not be meant for protection in any respect… however only for projecting US imperial energy and directing a whole lot of billions to America’s firepower industry.

The thought of a ‘conspiracy’ is that people get collectively to realize some underhanded objective. For instance, there are people — apparently sane, apparently wise — who consider Donald Trump is definitely an asset of the Russian authorities. They say he was recruited as early as 1987 and to everybody’s shock ended up as president. Business Insider:

The KGB cultivated Donald Trump as an asset for 40 years, and he proved a extremely beneficial asset in repeating anti-Western Russian propaganda within the United States, a former KGB operative advised The Guardian.

As surprising because it may be, it doesn’t matter. Mr. Trump might completely nicely come to his positions on his own. Biden favored Zelensky. Trump favors Putin. So what? Conspiracy or not, the battle is none of our business…and no menace to the empire.

Likewise, the slaughter in Gaza could also be of concern on ethical grounds… or ideological grounds. It could also be known as a ‘conspiracy’ too, by which each Republicans and Democrats are in impact paid ‘assets’ for a overseas trigger. The Intercept:

AIPAC (America, Israel Public Affairs Committee)…funded Republican, Democrat, and impartial candidates alike. AIPAC [in 2024] supported 233 Republicans with a complete of more than $17 million in funds, 152 Democrats who acquired more than $28 million…

Mayhem within the Near East could also be a distraction and an pointless expense, however so far as the ‘defense’ of the US is worried, it simply doesn’t matter.

The conspiracy that actually issues is the plain one. Home-grown politicians, the Pentagon/Intelligence Establishment and the firepower industry — all conspire towards the public curiosity for his or her own gain..

And unwittingly drag the empire to the graveyard.

Regards,

Bill Bonner,
For Fat Tail Daily

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