Once upon a time, the sun never set on the Empire.
Its Army and Navy unrivaled, it was like something never seen before. In many ways, it hasn’t been seen since.
But in its glory it fell into decadence and it found its downfall.
Overly dramatic? The trope-filled realm of what passes as drama these days?
Perhaps, but we’re not as far from it today as we’d pretend. I think a lot of people can feel it, and it shows.
The Good Ol’ Boys
I’m looking at us — the U.S. us — and I can’t help but think of what came before us.
The British economy hit its peak through the 19th century.
The companies founded by charter — think the India companies, among many more — had carved up huge swaths of the world, effectively acting as governments.
Wealth and raw goods poured into the home isles, and finished goods poured back out.
Yet the advantages they possessed soon eroded.
The British government found itself in a tough spot. It was an exporter of goods that were increasingly less advanced and valuable, finished textile goods in particular.
The colonies of America were ascendant and challenging the British Empire on more and more fronts.
Yet the British government refused to adapt. It became insular. It turned in on itself.
The British government was packed and backed with business interests and they had the means to demand protection through governmental decree.
Domestic spending had to be slashed but the moneyed interests wouldn’t take on any portion of the burden of fiscal austerity.
Domestic wages fell as British workers had to compete with the global interests of an untouchable class of British elites.
It wasn’t long before the country would fall into a steep decline. Public outcry led to socialist policies to protect workers, but they failed.
Finally, two great world wars finished what was already in motion, and the Empire was no more — a bankrupt husk looking backward to its old glory and not forward.
It’s Not Too Late
There is a lot of worry in the U.S. today. Though people can’t put a finger on it, I think it is because we’re at a peak and starting to accelerate downward. We’re afraid of how far down it can go.
I think people on both sides of the aisle, so to speak, are desperate to change the course.
The calls to push to extremes aren’t unfounded, they are just horribly flawed.
There is a real reason to be outraged.
There is a protected, very small class of elites that have the government wrapped around their little finger.
They don’t have to bear the brunt of the erosion of pensions and retirement plans. They don’t have to send their kids to crumbling schools and worry about contaminated water.
As long as our government chooses to act solely in their interests, we should be very worried.
But, on so many fronts, it’s not too late.
The U.S. may be decadent but it is still on the cutting edge of technologies that will radically alter the world around us.
It still is a global superpower, yes militarily, but more importantly, economically. When the world is uncertain, people turn and invest in the U.S.
I think we just need to admit to ourselves that our modern version of capitalism is a perverse one.
It’s been twisted just enough to be a mockery of what it should be. It cannot function as a form of profit protection for a tiny circle of elites and keep the dynamic, vibrant, evolving structure that makes capitalism work so very well.
This raging debate of socialism vs capitalism? It is so poorly worded and the terms at the core of it so poorly defined.
We owe it to ourselves and each other to set this straight. The U.S. is not a capitalist country. It is a crony capitalist country.
A mad dash towards socialism will do nothing to dislodge the elite.
If anything, it will only enshrine their interest further by flooding the government they already have captured with more money for them to tap.
Capitalism doesn’t deserve the reputation it has with the disaffected, and socialism isn’t the answer they’re looking for.
Don’t take it purely at my word though. Just ask the British. They’ve gone down this path before.
