Notes from the edge of civilization: Sep. 2, 2023
Hope in Argentina? What BRICS+ means for us. Drone parties in NYC. And more news.
Your weekly roundup of collapse news and perspectives from around the web.
Near the end of the Roman Empire, productivity waned and people came to depend on public largesse. There were more than 200 public holidays and 93 days “devoted to games at the public expense,” according to historians. Bread and circuses back then. Uber Eats and Only Fans today.
Contributing to Doug Casey’s International Man newsletter, Chris MacIntosh asks: “As welfare states expand around the world today and entertainment options get ever more immersive, we are forced to ask a question: Is this Post-Industrial Civilization Rome, Part II?” Are we doomed, as MacIntosh suggests, to allow the very power and prosperity of our civilization to set the stage for its collapse?
Doug Casey, in considering that very question, explains how one bright light on the horizon may be Argentina, a country better known for hyperinflation, failed economic policies, and crushing regulations. A libertarian, anarcho-capitalist political outsider named Javier Milei just won the presidential primary and Casey says, “Milei is cause for optimism in the world at large.” He adds:
The average Argentine is fed up with being ripped off. Milei’s support is greatest among the young and what’s left of the middle class. Estimates are that half the country is hard-pressed to feed themselves. They desperately and enthusiastically want radical change, and only the most stupid can’t see what fascism, socialism, and other varieties of statism have done. The main supporters of the status quo are the unions and welfare mooches. Everyone else hates them.
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He [Milei] deals in basic concepts of good and evil, right and wrong. That’s something that no politician anywhere discusses, certainly not in South America. It’s the equivalent of hitting a donkey between the eyes with a two-by-four to get his attention. Everyone intuitively understands that the political class is essentially criminal — but only Milei is brave enough to say it. The average guy wants to do the right thing, the moral thing. That’s what Milei is pointing out to people and why they like him. He doesn’t use doubletalk, brook compromise, or support half measures.
Argentina is one of six countries that just joined the BRICS bloc of nations. At a summit in South Africa last week, the original members — Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa — agreed to admit Argentina, along with Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. Can you think of a more ragtag band of nations? What, you might ask, brings them together? Well, one answer may be “grievance”. Read more about what this means for those of us who live in the West:
Why you should be concerned about last week’s BRICS meeting
Speaking of South Africa, that country is experiencing a merciless energy crisis resulting in crippling rolling blackouts. The Orwellian-sounding National Rationalised Specifications Association of South Africa recently released a proposal that increases the plan for rolling blackouts from the current 8 stages to 16 stages, the worst of which would involve 24 hours of blackouts in a 32-hour period.
If you wonder how you would feed your family when the lights are only on for a few hours a day, have no fear. South African supermarket giant, Woolworth’s, just released a glossy loadshedding cookbook with cheery ideas like prepping and batch-cooking a big pot of rice, or steaming a chocolate cake. When life gives you lemons, why not squeeze them over some shrimp and make ceviche? No power needed for that!
If you’re having ceviche and sipping sangria in New York City this Labor Day weekend, you may want to keep an eye on the sky. The Police Department announced on Thursday it would use surveillance drones to respond to complaints about large gatherings — including private events.
On Friday, Mayor Eric Adams had to hold a press conference to respond to the strong public backlash, saying: “We have to push back on the sci-fi aspects of drones — nobody’s going to be monitored.” He then went on to clarify that, instead of sending actual cops out to do their actual jobs, if a 311 call is made about loud music or disruptive behavior, “they’re going to utilize drones from a safe distance up, not down flying in someone’s backyard to see what they have on a grill.” Feel better? No, neither do we.
The Alan Parsons Project: Eye in the Sky