Economic Totalitarianism

[OROBTC]

...

galdur

I am extremely concerned about the various mishaps that could happen that would wreck our financial system, or even drive us into a totalitarian state.

There are already so many Swans up there flying that we can't even label many of them "Black", because we already know about them...  Yet, it is usually the Black Swans that hit the hardest, as they are considered so unlikely and unpredictable (by Taleb's definition).

These are scary times, and LOTS can go wrong.  Knowing this is one of the reasons I joined bitcointalk and bought BTC.  Gold too.

"Financial Tai Chi"

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[trollercoaster]

http://www.breitbart.com/london/2016/04/01/10000-millionaires-left-france-last-year-amid-rising-racial-tensions/

[OROBTC]

http://www.breitbart.com/london/2016/04/01/10000-millionaires-left-france-last-year-amid-rising-racial-tensions/

trollercoaster's link reminds us (Americans and others NOT from Europe) that there is relatively little time to go and see Europe as tourists before it changes completely.

Some 10 years ago our daughter was studying for a semester in France.  We went to visit her in Paris, and things had really changed in just the five or so years before that.

France is/was on the way to becoming a Muslim Majority by 2040 or so (year might be wrong, but you get the idea).  So get you & your kids or grandkids over there before Europe as we know it disappears forever.

[trollercoaster]

http://www.breitbart.com/london/2016/04/01/10000-millionaires-left-france-last-year-amid-rising-racial-tensions/

trollercoaster's link reminds us (Americans and others NOT from Europe) that there is relatively little time to go and see Europe as tourists before it changes completely.

Some 10 years ago our daughter was studying for a semester in France.  We went to visit her in Paris, and things had really changed in just the five or so years before that.

France is/was on the way to becoming a Muslim Majority by 2040 or so (year might be wrong, but you get the idea).  So get you & your kids or grandkids over there before Europe as we know it disappears forever.

I have been trying to get relatives to leave Europe, it's like they have their heads in the sand.

I probably should have visited, but it's really dropped off from my list of toursit destinations.

[CoinCube]

...

This thread is actually in honor of CoinCube (who started the very popular "Economic Devastation" thread).



But, that thread wanders into difficult philosophical terrain, and I am interested in hearing opinions (practical!) re what we can do about "Economic Totalitarianism":

Ha ha you hit the nail on the head with this one.

I standby my prior statement that a separate thread for practical solutions was a great and needed idea  

[CoinCube]

Below are the strategies I am pursuing to survive Economic Totalitarianism

1) Work to limit debt (easier said then done).
2) Avoid substantial property investments in cities with large numbers of impoverished or uneducated residents.
3) Own a small amount of gold and bitcoin.
4) Prioritize the education of children especially skills that facilitate independence from the state. For me this means Chinese lessons and coding lessons for all my children.  
5) Establish a strong moral foundation in your household (religion helps here).

[OROBTC]

...

This thread is actually in honor of CoinCube (who started the very popular "Economic Devastation" thread).



But, that thread wanders into difficult philosophical terrain, and I am interested in hearing opinions (practical!) re what we can do about "Economic Totalitarianism":

Ha ha you hit the nail on the head with this one.

I standby my prior statement that a separate thread for practical solutions was a great and needed idea  

I have been reviewing your thread, CC.  I have not been contributing.  Instead, I run off like a scaredy-cat.  

Just be thankful I am not screaming when I flee...

I note that in the past day or two (well as of the last I visited this afternoon) that Mighty TPTB has not chipped in any remarks re Orch OR or quantum consciousness...  Maybe you've found a subject he not an expert on.

Carry on then.  Maybe Mon or Tues I'll buy some gold.


EDIT: Your five suggestions are all good.  Our (one) kid is trilingual (Spanish & French), but fuggitaboutit teaching her Mandarin, or *shudder* coding...

Staying out of debt is (properly) at No. 1 on your list.

[CoinCube]

EDIT: Your five suggestions are all good.  Our (one) kid is trilingual (Spanish & French), but fuggitaboutit teaching her Mandarin, or *shudder* coding...

Staying out of debt is (properly) at No. 1 on your list.

May large cities on the coasts in the USA have Chinese school which is essentially 2-4 hour Saturday school.

There are options now for teaching your children coding for parents who like me are coding illiterate. Below is the one I am using.

https://www.codingwithkids.com/#!/

[TPTB_need_war]

Below are the strategies I am pursuing to survive Economic Totalitarianism

1) Work to limit debt (easier said then done).
2) Avoid substantial property investments in cities with large numbers of impoverished or uneducated residents.
3) Own a small amount of gold and bitcoin.

I would instead suggest following Martin Armstrong and investing in the US stock market when he gives the go signal. Also buying corporate bonds as he is shouting now to do. Bitcoin and gold probably haven't bottomed yet. You are probably premature. Armstrong continues to hit every prediction exactly. I don't understand the skepticism.

4) Prioritize the education of children especially skills that facilitate independence from the state. For me this means Chinese lessons and coding lessons for all my children.

English will be the language of international business because we need a common language and it is the defacto default. Also the coding geeks are driving the global economy and we demand fluent English speakers. I don't know why anyone would want to adopt the Communist/conformist culture and language. Encouraging them to marry a Chinese man? I love my kids and are proud of them but I'd prefer not to have kids with an Asian again, because of the inferior IQ (at the right tail) and conformance to authority genes (there is a study where Asian babies don't have a strong gag reflex to fight off having their nose covered, although my daughter seems to have in large part not inherited that or the filipinos may not carry that same trait). And I started off in life being anti-racist, and still am but I am also pragmatic about statistical facts.

 
5) Establish a strong moral foundation in your household (religion helps here).

With boys I'd prefer not to instill this religion delusion (but then that sort of makes it impossible to enforce on the girls if the men in the family also don't subscribe to the delusion), but with girls in the USA I can understand it is necessary to have an alternative structure to the their indoctrination via the media and public schools because females are typically incapable of long-range discernment on social indoctrination.

I grew up an atheist even though my grandparents wanted me to be a Baptist. Around 2006 I tried becoming a nondenominational Christian. It destroyed my life because instead of taking responsibility for myself, I blamed everything on sin and God and entirely lost my moral compass (yes religion is an excuse to have no moral compass because we all will sin is what the Bible says). My life has been improving since I regained my rationality.

Having said that, I don't spew venom against those who believe in a God. I can't falsify it.

[RealBitcoin]

1) Work to limit debt (easier said then done).

Debt is already taken in your name without your consent. It's called national debt, just look at your countries debt, and you will see, regardless of what country you live in.

[CoinCube]

Below are the strategies I am pursuing to survive Economic Totalitarianism

1) Work to limit debt (easier said then done).
2) Avoid substantial property investments in cities with large numbers of impoverished or uneducated residents.
3) Own a small amount of gold and bitcoin.

I would instead suggest following Martin Armstrong and investing in the US stock market when he gives the go signal. Also buying corporate bonds as he is shouting now to do. Bitcoin and gold probably haven't bottomed yet. You are probably premature. Armstrong continues to hit every prediction exactly. I don't understand the skepticism.

4) Prioritize the education of children especially skills that facilitate independence from the state. For me this means Chinese lessons and coding lessons for all my children.

English will be the language of international business because we need a common language and it is the defacto default. Also the coding geeks are driving the global economy and we demand fluent English speakers. I don't know why anyone would want to adopt the Communist/conformist culture and language. Encouraging them to marry a Chinese man? I love my kids and are proud of them but I'd prefer not to have kids with an Asian again, because of the inferior IQ (at the right tail) and conformance to authority genes (there is a study where Asian babies don't have a strong gag reflex to right off having their nose covered, although my daughter seems to have in large part not inherited that or the filipinos may not carry that same trait). And I started off in life being anti-racist, and still am but I am also pragmatic about statistical facts.

 
5) Establish a strong moral foundation in your household (religion helps here).

With boys I'd prefer not to instill this religion delusion (but then that sort of makes it impossible to enforce on the girls if the men in the family also don't subscribe to the delusion), but with girls in the USA I can understand it is necessary to have an alternative structure to the their indoctrination via the media and public schools because females are typically incapable of long-range discernment on social indoctrination.

I grew an atheist even though my grandparents wanted me to be a Baptist. Around 2006 I tried becoming a Christian. It destroyed my life because instead of taking responsibility for myself, I blamed everything on sin and God and entirely lost my moral compass (yes religion is an excuse to have no moral compass because we all will sin is what the Bible says). My life has been improving since I regained my rationality.

Having said that, I don't spew venom against those who believe in a God. I can't falsify it.

I do not dispute the fact that gold and bitcoin might be premature but they both essentially lack counterparty risks (especially gold). This is appealing to me even if they underperform the US stock market over the short or even medium term. I view both of these more as mechanisms of wealth preservation rather than investments.   
 
Chinese is useful because it allows one to market to and interact with what will become the largest global economy. I agree it should be prioritized below English or coding.

Why do you think Asians have  inferior IQ (at the right tail)? I have not looked into it in depth but the studies I have seen show that East Asians (Japanese, Chinese, Koreans) overall have a very high IQ.

If you cannot falsify something then it is an error to call it a delusion for the term delusion implies logical or empirical falsifiability. I have written my thoughts on religion in Atheism and Health. I agree that not all religions are equally rational or equally healthy. Men are also indoctrinated via the media and public schools.

[OROBTC]

1) Work to limit debt (easier said then done).

Debt is already taken in your name without your consent. It's called national debt, just look at your countries debt, and you will see, regardless of what country you live in.

Actually, in at least one sense that is not true.  Government debt (financed by the Fed) was never meant to be paid off!  If they DO pay the debt down, they, in essence, have to withdraw FRNs from the economy, inviting DEFLATION, which no/few banksters want.

If you are concerned about the Debt (which I am), try gold!  The antidote for debt.  It is NO ONE's liability.  Once you have bought gold with your FRNs, you have already been paid!

[TPTB_need_war]

I do not dispute the fact that gold and bitcoin might be premature but they both essentially lack counterparty risks (especially gold). This is appealing to me even if they underperform the US stock market over the short or even medium term. I view both of these more as mechanisms of wealth preservation rather than investments.

I thought your first priority is getting out of medical school debt, before worrying about preserving wealth you don't yet have. And I ponder the argument that Bitcoin and gold don't have counterparty risk is dubious. If the governments institute capital controls, gold will be approximately as useful (short-term) as dirt. I realize this is debatable, but I think one prioritizes getting out of debt when in debt and not prematurely planning for a very difficult to predict chaos coming after 2017. I'd rather profit now, then readjust my lens in 2017 according to what is the best information then.

Chinese is useful because it allows one to market to and interact with what will become the largest global economy. I agree it should be prioritized below English or coding.

Largest in numbers I think will be India. Largest in monetary value probably China. I understand it adds a skill, I just worry about the exclusionary emphasis. I ponder you may be top-down planning your children's interests too much. Why not learn Latin, Spanish, and Chinese. I was taught Latin and French in high school.

Why do you think Asians have  inferior IQ (at the right tail)? I have not looked into it in depth but the studies I have seen show that East Asians (Japanese, Chinese, Koreans) overall have a very high IQ.

The average for the white Asians is reasonably high (but not as high as some ethnic Jews) but their variance on the right tail is truncated. This may have been only for the brown skinned Melanesians, I forget. Perhaps conformance sacrifices outliers, which is apparently the trait of females. Perhaps it originated from communal rice growing which is much more labor intensive than wheat farming.

Frankly I am not as enamored with the physiques of Asians any more. No buttocks. No hips. Frail bodies. The Chinese faces are no longer appealing to me as they were when I was Asian-crazed in my 20s and 30s. Don't get me wrong, there are still some Asians that I think are hot, but for the most part I am burned out on Asia. Been over here half of my life.

I guess I distaste China's combination of conformance with "who you know is more important than what you know" and their corrupt and low-quality approaches to business. On the filipinos, although I love their playfulness, I grow weary of other aspects.

If you cannot falsify something then it is an error to call it a delusion for the term delusion implies logical or empirical falsifiability. I have written my thoughts on religion in Atheism and Health. I agree that not all religions are equally rational or equally healthy. Men are also indoctrinated via the media and public schools.

I really needed to edit my statement about females, because it is difficult to explain what I mean in a soundbite. See the thread I started in the Politics & Society this past week. Females have their priorities around family and society. They are not interested in disrupting power structures. Thus they are more likely to fall prey to "political correctness".

Yeah boys are being totally stripped of their masculinity by the politically correct feminism. I just don't see how adding another religion on top of the feminist religion is going to help them gain objectivity. Boys need a firm grasp on objectivity early on.

Believing in what can't be falsified is a delusion. One can't make a rational assessment of what they can't measure. Religion exists collectively for a reason as you pointed out in your recent analysis. Whether it is best for myself and my family is dubious to me. But then again, I don't have a good conceptual plan of how to raise kids within the society we have now. The society will have now looks like a Frankenstein to me.

I don't have all the answers. I am just saying religion made me more confused. What is driving me now is the desire to be a positive force in society and to maximize my role as a man, which means I am not going to pretend that a man doesn't want to have sex with more than one woman. I am not going to deny my male evolutionary strategy and make myself feel guilty for being a man. The Bible would make a man crazy. Do you know how many times I refused to have sex from 2006 - 2010 because I was thinking about what Matthew 19 says about bonding in the flesh means you are married to every one of those women. I realized now that is absolute horseshit. If I find the one woman I want to be exclusively partnered for the rest of my life, then great. If not, great. So instead of being confused, I can be more pragmatic about making sure all the choices I make, I am responsible for them instead of seeing my choices as weaknesses that only God can control. I have to be the man I want to be. Nobody and no God can be it for me. Having said that, I don't believe in hurting women or their feelings, but I do think gaming their hypergamy is a valid evolutionary strategy.

Is there a higher force? Yeah probably, but not an omniscient entity, i.e. God. More like a frequency or a harmony.

[TPTB_need_war]

Links about Google's alleged involvement in the Benghazi, Hillary Clinton, Libyan, Middle East war machine.

https://www.armstrongeconomics.com/international-news/north_america/2016-u-s-presidential-election/hillarys-emails-very-disturbing-show-link-to-google/
https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jared_Cohen&oldid=705613599
https://www.google.com/search?q=site%3Aarmstrongeconomics.com+Benghazi

The following are provided for the succinct verbal summaries, not to promote a specific religion:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cu41CPQw0hg#t=78
https://www.armstrongeconomics.com/armstrong-in-the-media/the-forecaster/hollywood-ready-or-not-here-we-come/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPshSBNzb6U#t=125

[minor-transgression]

Y'all make yourselves comfortable, this one will take a little time.

I'll begin with the thought that to really mess up an economy, some
form of centralised decision making is needed. That's very different
from Adam Smith's invisible hand and its implied equal distribution of
power and insight that enable each individual to perfectly understand
the future and to have the fortitude to maximise his or her personal
outcomes irrespective of short term gains. Indeed, that perfection
presupposes that each individual is born into the world with perfect
knowledge. The real world is somewhat different.

In a way reminiscent of the Big Bang theory, microscopic advantages can
play out over long periods of time to create Empires and Catastrophes.
The key to this amplification is referred to in monetary terms as
compound interest. Compound interest sets in motion the idea that
something can grow exponentially forever. In a finite world, and given
differences that are far from microscopic, despite best efforts at
competition, one entity can eventually buy everything. This is the
perfect capitalist monopoly, something the game called "Monopoly" was
intended to demonstrate.

This illusion depends on the assent of a vast majority of the
population. The very idea of money is the outcome of a belief that debt
will be paid, and this in turn depends on social norms collectively
agreed. To the extent that monopoly and competitive capitalism
exists, it owes its existence to these conventions. There is thus
a paradox in the concept of Perfect Communism : The State owns
everything including the individual, but then requires the consent of
everyone for its existence. The Perfect Capitalist has a similar
paradox: his dependence on the legitimate monopoly of violence of the
State for his or her existence, but owning everything not owned by the
State.

Some may find difficulty in understanding that  Perfect Communism and
Perfect Capitalism should coalesce to the same solution, but from the
point of view of an owned individual, these differences are at best,
academic. Individuals find economies of scale in mutual cooperation,
and such conflicts that do arise are settled in a market of buyers
and sellers. The mutual satisfaction of these deals is unavailable in
the winner-takes-all world of grand strategies, that usually forces
war onto one or more of the players.

For the State and the Capitalist, War is a convenience for demanding
complete subservience and loyalty in their populations, while at the
same time diverting attention from the conflicts of interest writ large.
Chief among these are the paradox referred to earlier: the moment that
Perfect Control is manifest, it becomes the moment that collapse begins.

Left to itself, the system would endlessly cycle through the rise of the
Individual, the rise of the State, the rise of the Capitalist, and into
Collapse. As a consequence, political and monetary systems have grown to
mitigate these long wave cycles, seeking to move to a quasi-stable
equilibrium that maximises the wellbeing of elite sectors within
populations. Despite protestations, it is clearly not in the best
interests of any elite that resources, information and power structures
should be diffused through the population because that would strengthen
the invisible hand of the majority to produce an outcome that may more
effectively promotes the interests of society as a whole.

Consider Durkheim's New Religion of the West: The cult of the Individual,
finding expression in the Enlightenment, in the French Revolution, and
more recently in the youth movements of 1960's, and 1970's. Did
prosperity bring individual freedom, or did individual freedom bring
prosperity? Can proof by contradiction provide an answer?   

Consider, for example, the waging of war. As explained above, war is
almost never in the interests of the mass of individuals but most often
an unintended outcome of the narrow concentration of wealth and power.
Those waging war are certainly conscious of the enormous costs, but
calculate that the burden of these costs is either worth paying or
will be paid by others. Rarely are the costs paid for in advance, but
almost always by increases in public debt. Indeed, in today's world,
public debt, that burden upon the taxpayer, is the only available
recourse. Were the elite forced to pay for that war themselves it would
entirely negate the reason for their existence. 

Thus the Elite faces a choice: War, and poverty for the masses, or share
as an individual and invite prosperity. Thus, individual freedom comes
first and prosperity for all follows.

Well, that's the theory. How does this work out in practice?
In the long run, you get a steady drift toward totalitarianism and the
pretense of economic "stability" followed by catastrophic collapse and
war. Keep an eye on economic inequality as this tracks the progress of
power moving into the hands of the PriviLeged.

In the near term? That depends on where you live. Nothing says
instability like the gulf between the actions of the ECB in propping
up the EuroZone's financial structure, and action in real life to
forestall a wave of migrants seeking a home in Europe. There are less
obvious contradictions in Asia, and in North America, but Europe is
the game in play at the moment. To state the obvious, Germany could
have transferred work to Greece, but preferred to keep the work
within its borders and to invite migrants from outside the EU to
grow its GDP. Weren't the Spaniards, Irish, Poles, Ukrainian workers
good enough, or desperate enough?

I'll give the EuroZone another two years, a little less if the UK votes
to exit this year, could be longer if they get lucky. All of the
leaders that could potentially hold the thing together are now damaged
goods, and well past their sell-by date. But to try to keep things under
control, there will be more pressure to reduce individual freedoms.
"We are all in this together" - well Mr Cameron, some are more "in it"
than others, and as Mr Hollande (18% popularity) found out, Edicts do not
always pass. 

And what do the migrants, perhaps 80% young unskilled men do once
they set foot on a southern mediterranean shore where the unemployment
rate among young unskilled nationals approaches 50%? Make matters
much worse, and they will keep coming until the balance of economics
compels them to stay in their home country, or migrate elsewhere.
That is almost as absurd as paying people to dig holes and others to
fill them in again thus boosting GDP and giving a fake impression of
growth. Or, in a more technically advanced setting, bomb a country's
infrastructure back to the stone age and them provide billions in aid
to rebuild it in exchange for resources.

Ah, yes, resources. Scarce resources. When resources become scarce,
they either get rationed or monopolised, and my bets are for more
rationing, which means more controls, more government, less freedom.
And that in turn means less growth, specifically, lower global
productivity, and down that road lies collapse via hyperinflation
and depression. Everywhere.

Hang onto your bitcoin, and neither a debtor nor a lender be. 
 
PS: And the latest? There seems to be competition to see who can cause
the biggest unnecessary crisis in Greece (see IMF). Do they actually
think they are in control of this?

[trollercoaster]

Everyone must prepare differently for their situation, but for everyone I believe you should begin growing your own food indoors.

Get rid of your personal debts.

Follow the market trends, MA is best equipped to forecast trends.

Most importantly, get comfy and enjoy the fireworks as the west self destructs.

[RealBitcoin]

In a way reminiscent of the Big Bang theory, microscopic advantages can
play out over long periods of time to create Empires and Catastrophes.
The key to this amplification is referred to in monetary terms as
compound interest. Compound interest sets in motion the idea that
something can grow exponentially forever. In a finite world, and given
differences that are far from microscopic, despite best efforts at
competition, one entity can eventually buy everything. This is the
perfect capitalist monopoly, something the game called "Monopoly" was
intended to demonstrate.

Thats nonsense, compound interest is based on an interest rate which may fluctuate depending on the health of the economy.

Of course if there is a central bank that sets it, then it's bad, it should free-float.

For example if there are tons of depositors, the rate is low ,and everyone can borrow and spend.

If people are poor, they work hard, and they start depositing but less, then they earn big interest and aquire capital. Now people are more producers and less consumers.

Its a balance between production and consumption.

[OROBTC]

Everyone must prepare differently for their situation, but for everyone I believe you should begin growing your own food indoors.

Get rid of your personal debts.

Follow the market trends, MA is best equipped to forecast trends.

Most importantly, get comfy and enjoy the fireworks as the west self destructs.

troller, ya wrote:

"Everyone must prepare differently for their situation, but for everyone I believe you should begin growing your own food indoors."

Yes, we are all different, with different situations.  My wife and I are only willing to go "so far" in preparing.  And if it gets REALLY REALLY UGLY, well I don't know if I would even want to live it...

But, I don't *think* it will be that bad ("TEOTWAWKI"), so your advice to get comfy, sit back and watch is also sound.  Don't forget the popcorn.

[BitsandBites]

Everyone must prepare differently for their situation, but for everyone I believe you should begin growing your own food indoors.

Get rid of your personal debts.

Follow the market trends, MA is best equipped to forecast trends.

Most importantly, get comfy and enjoy the fireworks as the west self destructs.

Growing food is a good idea, though I doubt many here have the capacity to do so.
However, I'm not really sure it will get that bad so soon, so I'm still calm.

[trollercoaster]

MA is also expecting the climate to drop rapidly which is why I suggest growing food indoors.

Here is some yummy bread deep fried in machine oil which the plebs ate during the seige of Leningrad, it may seem nuts to imagine this scenario but shit happens..