Eisenhower’s America was peaceful, productive, safe, kind, thoughtful, and civilized. No wonder so many people remember it fondly. But others consider it artificial, racist, and oppressive—the epitome of what’s wrong with the West.
To be sure, America has never been perfect, and there were always some people who didn’t do well under its system. But opportunity was so widespread that most who fit into that category had primarily themselves to blame. This author’s mother grew up as a dirt poor sharecropper, but worked hard, eventually lived in a beautiful home, and sent all four of her sons through college to respectable and productive professions. Many non-white mothers and fathers did the same.
Today, the most affluent and opportunity-laden country that has ever existed is consistently portrayed as totally oppressive and evil, while the revolutionaries who seek to destroy it and build utopia in its place are said to be progressive, tolerant, loving, joyful, and any other adjective that just makes you feel good.
Utopia, of course, is both a home for and entirely consists of perfect people (it has to by definition; it’s a perfect place). In the West, it’s not an earthly place. It’s in heaven, populated by angels and justified, sanctified, and glorified saints. In the Marxist world, however, there is no place for the spirit or the spiritual. Utopia is created and maintained by those in charge—the more equal animals. If the imperfect are to have any place there, they must be reeducated (by propaganda), reformed (in the Lubyanka), re-homed (in the gulag), or reconstituted (as worm food).
Modern Marxists excuse the myriad of Marxist regime failures that litter history by saying those earlier despots didn’t do it right. So what does the current crop do differently? Well, they’ve had to resort to a different strategy to topple Western governments. The proletarians here didn’t feel themselves adequately oppressed, so a deeply offended class had to be created. By setting non-European-origin Americans and Third World immigrants against white European-origin Americans, they found a winning strategy, and that process is well along in its progress.
But when it comes to the tools of revolution, they’re pretty much the same. Constant and vicious agitation, myriad promises of something for nothing, and lies—lots of lies. Because Marxism (and its many variations) does not work, nor does it have much to do with reality, the gap has to be filled with repurposed words. Lots and lots of them. So lies become the currency of the regime, and pretty soon they trickle down to every part of society. If it seems like lies are everywhere these days, that’s the legacy of Marxist revolution—whether it goes by that name or not.
David and Kevin take some time this week to look into this problem by digging down into the use of words. David has seen the ravages of Marxist revolution, having witnessed a variation of it firsthand in South Africa. His advice, analysis, and words of warning are well grounded in history and experience. Take some time to listen to or read the transcript of the program for some invaluable insights on this process and the need for truth in our lives and our relationships with others.
Key Takeaways:
- Words are immensely powerful tools—for good or ill
- When two massive bubbles deflate into another bubble, you get a really big bubble
- No pressure, Jay; only the future of the world is at stake
- Gold powers ahead
The McAlvany Weekly Commentary: CIA & FBI Pressures Narrative
David and Kevin communicate about communication this week. We all know that words can not only communicate meaning, they can hide meaning, they can communicate different messages to different audiences, they can communicate false information or intent, they can miscommunicate, and much more. All of these things are of course common in this day of easy and abundant communication. The hosts discuss the power of language with family anecdotes, and then expand the concept as they look at events on the national and world stages. Using inflammatory or misleading language, Marxists/fascists have destroyed competing sources of authority at the family, church, local, and state levels. They are well along in destroying limited Western governments in favor of socialism and fascism. They talk equity and justice, but they deliver bondage and poverty. David watched this happen during his youth as he joined his father for many journeys to South Africa. Even as the African National Congress’s ascendancy during the 1990s resulted in some immediate benefits, it set in motion many long-term problems. Today, South Africa can’t keep the lights on and has four times as many private security guards as police. The state has failed to protect its citizens, so they protect themselves—or at least the wealthy ones do. Many of the same steps are being taken in America today as were taken in Russia, China, Cambodia, Uganda, Venezuela, and many others. Revolution, similarly and ostensibly on behalf of the oppressed, is well along in its progress here. Mark Zuckerberg has now openly admitted that he was pressured by the CIA and FBI to censor Facebook users who wrote opinions or conveyed information the state didn’t like. “The interference in the election was irrefutably from the CIA and FBI as evidenced by the Twitter files, as evidenced by the very words of Mark Zuckerberg last week discussing the instructions he followed.”
Credit Bubble Bulletin: ‘D’ for Dis-Equipoise
“Analysis that disregards the impact of unprecedented debt growth, monetization, market manipulation, and deeply ingrained speculative dynamics will fail to recognize key cycle inflection points. How was virtually everyone blindsided by developments in September 1929?” Good question. How can you explain that crushing feeling in your left foot if you’ve ignored the elephant in the room? But that seems to be the modus operandi of the financial media and investment world. To bring light to the subject, Doug analyzes the financial sphere and the economic sphere separately. Describing the US’s bubble economy as “more unbalanced than weak,” he explains that though there are indications of trouble, there are balancing indications of strength. When it comes to the financial realm, though, the situation is more one-sided. “It is not hyperbole to suggest that the ‘financial sphere’ today is a real quagmire… To simplify, I would highlight three momentous Bubbles: the global ‘yen carry trade;’ the ‘AI/tech’ global arms race Bubble; and the U.S. domestic ‘basis’ and ‘carry’ trades Bubble.” He then gives compelling evidence that the first two are deflating, which is tending to inflate the third. And after laying out the data, he concludes that, “Faltering ‘yen carry’ and ‘AI/tech’ Bubbles have triggered a major decline in yields and significant loosening of financial conditions. There’s a decent argument that this is coinciding with peak ‘basis/carry trade’ speculative Bubble. Moreover, I will posit that this is a precarious situation.”
Hard Asset Insights: Moment of Truth
Surveying the volatile landscape of the week just passed, Morgan updates the scoreboard and then further notes that the US 2s10s Treasury yield curve un-inverted after a record 793 days of inversion. “While an inverted curve has preceded and predicted every single recession over the past 50 years, it’s the un-inversion after an inversion that really starts the clock ticking on the economic slump that follows.” From there, he turns to the labor market, noting that mounting evidence shows significant weakening in employment. Both outplacement firm data and the JOLTS report confirm that hiring is low and job cuts are high. In short, “the ‘strong labor market’ narrative and suggestions of a ‘booming’ economy are now rapidly collapsing.” With labor stats like that, it’s no surprise that consumer spending is also down, as are real estate sales. Morgan then turns to the expected rate cut from the Fed. It will be a watershed event. Will Powell return to the inflationary policies of the past “or chart a new course more in line with the reality of increased inflationary tail winds”? “One thing is clear…an absolutely critical year for Powell, the Fed, and the policy trajectory of the Western world starts on September 18th.”
Golden Rule Radio: Why Gold Is Primed for Strong Performance in Today’s Market
Miles kicks the program off, noting that the conversation will focus more on the metals and less on political developments than in recent episodes. Gold and silver were down from the previous week’s print—gold a little, silver a little more. Tory points out that while present moves are down, gold and silver are both up 21% ytd (as of Aug. 31) and 30% y/y. Not bad for barbarous relics. Rob asks Miles for a deep dive on the gold chart, in response to which Miles does not disappoint. The chart itself is a thing of beauty, but, as Miles points out, the most recent (August) high not only established a new record but did so in a breakout manner. It was a case of strength surpassing strength, and has been followed by stubbornly high prices rather than any significant retracement. “At this point, any type of correction we see back down is obviously just opportunity [to buy gold at lower prices],” says Miles. He spends a few minutes discussing the value of charts in looking at an asset’s performance over time, and using historical action as a basis for anticipating future behavior—but carefully, seeing that history doesn’t repeat exactly; it might rhyme, but it sometimes goes free verse. This fact emphasizes the value of broader knowledge, humility, conquering fear and greed, and learning and maintaining investing disciplines, all of which the hosts repeatedly encourage in the program.
