Even if it was more by accident than design, the 1929 meltdown had the effect of transferring massive amounts of wealth (i.e. REAL stuff) from the hands of the many into the pockets of the few. The few haven't looked back since. Indeed we are forced to live in their paradigm to this day.

Maybe it's time for that shark to take another lunge at the carcass of humanity.

Trouble is, there's the little matter of the US nuclear stockpile. They didn't have that back in the roarin' 20's. And the United States of America is the tribe that lost it's head. It's a caution.

- and who needs enemies when you have far-seeing political cronies like John Howard?

people who write about history do not necessarily understand how it is made. i believe human society is an organic creature driven by basic forces, the composite desires of people. intellect is present as a tool, but is not the pre-eminent factor in personal or social decision making. we want what we want and we use intellect to get it, but might well simply use force when that seems effective.

this author assumes the primacy of intellect because that is where he makes his living. he is wrong to imagine intellect is equally important to others. even if it were, what an intellectual wants is not necessarily rational. consequently, talking about missed opportunities is wrong. the 'fog of war' is really the fog of life: birth, struggle, death, for individuals and for societies.

What the Chinese say is "may you live in interesting times" and it is meant as a curse. We sure live in interesting times now but I am not sure who is responsible, but the USA hubris is a good candidate.

The demands on manufacturing during WWII and post war recovery was a major factor in USA recovery from the Depression but the War against Terror is only a negative.

Great article Demos,

It is not the intellect that drives mankind in everyday life on this planet it is the need to survive. The biological need to survive, food on the table, roof over the head.
The intellect is but a servant or a tool to attain this. Mankind will do what ever it takes to survive. This means that the biological instinct to survive is driving the show and will override the intellect that says its wrong to kill, when wars are used to gain resources.

This is why mankind comes up with all these religious and political reasons (excuses) for going to war because the notion that they are controlled by basic intincts when it comes to survival at a high level (not in poverty) , goes against their belief that they are controlled by intellect and reason. That is too frightening for them to face.
Especially the idea that other men are also driven by this and that they will not be able to reason or peacetalk their way out of being attacked if the other lot deem it necessary to better or enhance their survival chances by using agression.

I too think the West is on the eve of destruction if they dont come down out of the intellectual stratosphere and see that the river of life will carry them on to greater destiny if they will just understand that it runs along at the biological level. If they do not begin to understand this they will be swept away by that same river by stronger biological forces.

You can swim with the current or against it that is your only choice. The river will flow on regardless.

The underlying plates of global power are building pressure, but not moving. The Anglo-saxon alliances have yet to be really tested. Some techtonic plates are already shifting - Cold war rhetoric is returning to Russia as US sponsored misile sites go up in former eastern Bloc countries, the zealous new members of NATO. India is being coaxed into the US alliance.

But the slow moving giant tectonic plate is China. China is trying to define itself in the world as the emerging superpower. In the last decade, it has been presenting itself to African heads of state as the champion of Africa, but in reality is just into the same resource exploitation game and propping up some of the world's worst tyrants such as Robert Mugabe and Omar Basier with their country's resources for arms deals.

The early tremors of a major earthquake are coming from within China itself. The huge disparity of incomes, rampant corruption, environmental degradation, injustice are all explosive areas as China consistently grows more powerful with double digit growth year after year. The communist party is trying to find solutions to address an increasingly vocal population with asperations for a quality of life beyond luxury goods. How China resolves these internal pressures for change will define world politics and alliances for the next millenium.