By the late 3rd century AD, the Roman Empire was a shadow of its former self. Beleaguered by mass migration and invasions across its frontiers, vast resources had been poured into fighting off the invaders, while at the same time, endless civil wars had created an ongoing crisis of leadership. Rampant inflation had destroyed the currency. The solution came in the form of a vastly more complex state under the emperor Diocletian (AD 284–305). A ballooning bureaucracy presided over a welter of new laws that, among others, tried to fix prices, lock workers into their occupations and prevent movement, while levying crippling taxes.
With an already huge proportion of the city of Rome’s population dependent on state benefits – something that harked back over 400 years to when the wealthy had stolen land from free peasants, recently returned from war service, who then fled to the city in search of work and security – self-reliance and resilience had long been sapped.
This, in essence, is the thesis of Doug Casey, a veteran speculator and investor, whose theory that “wokeism will be the downfall of America” is covered in the Mail:
He told Dailymail.com that there are now seven clear signs that he believes show that Western civilization is facing an end.
He said: “I’m unhappy about Western civilisation winding down, because it’s by far the best civilisation in world history.
“In fact, it’s the only civilisation in world history that even matters, quite frankly.”
Casey believes that there are important lessons to be found in the fall of the Roman Empire, which occurred after the Romans expanded not only by sea but also by land, leaving the Empire facing excessive taxation and inflation.
Casey identifies the destruction of free thought as a key sign of the impending doom, as well as the dedication of those who believe in the state to coercion:
One of the warning signs is that Casey believes that free thought is central to Western civilisation, but is currently being washed away.
Casey said: “Free thought, which is actually unique to the West, that’s being washed away by cancel culture and political correctness and thought crimes.
“Free thought is being washed away, followed by free speech.”
Casey said that other warning signs include the decline of free markets: the fall of Rome saw growth in the state.
He said: “People who believe in the state believe in coercion, and they believe the government has a right to direct these things. That’s on the upsurge as well.”
Numbers bear out Casey’s ideas: over the past 100 years, the cost of government has gone from just 5 to 10% of GDP to 40% and even 60% in countries like France and Italy, according to Cambridge research.
Casey said that there are many parallels to the fall of Rome, where power became more and more centralised, and former soldiers became the recipients of welfare.
The Punic Wars of the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC were victories for Rome, won at enormous cost, but the consequences for ordinary farmers started the rot:
He said: “After wars, particularly the Punic Wars, the Yeoman farmers that went off to defend the interests of the Republic came home; their farms were in disrepair and bankrupt, so they’d have to move to the cities where they became recipients of welfare. There are a lot of parallels to that in the modern West.”
Casey identifies the destruction of rationality because it’s “too white”, and there are plenty of other consequences of that train of thought:
“A lot of these people in the world today hate progress because it leads naturally to inequality, because not everybody is as strong or as smart or as honest as other people, so they don’t like that – the idea of primacy that’s really been washed away. That’s the danger of this era of safe spaces.”
The erosion of the idea of property rights – in an era where everything from cars to smartphones are rented rather than owned – is another key sign, Casey warns.
He said: “You’ve heard this from the Davos people. You’ll own nothing, and you’ll be happy, and you’ll get a guaranteed annual income with three hots and a cot. So property rights are being washed away.”
Another sign is that cash is being abandoned.
Casey said: “Cash allows you to build wealth on your own, privately. And what seems to be on the runway are central bank digital currencies, CBDCs.
“If those are instituted, there will be zero privacy of what you own, what you buy, what you sell, everything will be known in a very powerful computer, especially with AI.
Power became more centralised and more Romans moved out of the Empire, leaving the Roman empire vulnerable to collapse.
Casey said: “It’s the second law of thermodynamics, everything winds down and becomes corrupt.”
Add on to that the collapse of the rule of law in the face of micro-regulations, and it’s hard to see what other direction Western civilisation is headed in. There is no end to doom-mongering these days, some of it absurdly negative, but Casey really does seem to have a point. The parallels are obvious. The sheer teetering complexity of Western civilisation has led to governments ceaselessly failing to deliver on ever more extravagant promises while presiding over enervated, demoralised and increasingly resourceless populations trapped by debt and incarcerated by laws that both crush and silence them. Free speech and free thought are becoming luxuries of the past.
Meanwhile, crime grows ever more out of control, the rich shore themselves up in enclaves and the state spends its time thinking of more taxes and more rules.
Worth reading in full.
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