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Home » Opinion » Book review
Modern Dark Ages dawn for declining American giant
By Wan Lixin |
June 27, 2009, Saturday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
MICHAEL J. Panzner's "When Giants Fall: An Economic Roadmap for the End of the American Era" is a book that builds on the worsening economic woes.
So far this crisis has been understated as mere economic recession, depression, or financial Armageddon.
Panzner explains why America's dominance is approaching its end, warns of the subsequent political upheavals, and advises how to prepare for the troubles ahead.
"For many Americans, the years ahead will be nothing short of a modern Dark Ages, where each day brings forth fresh anxieties, unfamiliar risks and a deep sense of foreboding," the book predicts.
As the whole world now knows, the US has been spending more than it can afford for several decades, thanks to globalized trade and its prerogative to print the greenbacks.
American extravagance led to an era of unprecedented "growth" in manufacturing and consumption.
This cannot be sustainable.
"Rising budget and trade imbalances have transformed the United States from the world's largest creditor to its largest debtor," the author observes.
The problem with borrowed money is that it has to be repaid, and here the creditor is usually much more anxious than the debtor.
Meanwhile, one of the biggest creditors and suppliers of cheap consumer goods on earth is reassessing the destructive impact of globalization.
The rapid replacement of traditional values with a consumption-driven lifestyle has triggered serious social dislocations, in addition to putting tremendous pressures on natural resources, energy, and the environment.
Some Chinese have been questioning the wisdom of exporting their limited natural resources, at the cost of poisoning the air and water, in return for the dollar, which is fast sinking in value.
But decoupling from this process is clearly difficult.
Economists and politicians around the world have taken alarm at the sudden letup in decade of hectic growth and as a result the whole earth is reverberating with clamor for stimulus.
Apparently few are willing to come to terms with the reality that the age of abundance has ended, or will come to an end anyway.
This end is made inevitable by the human beings who are turning against life-giving mother earth with growing voracity and brutality.
Reflections on globalization's painful dislocations are sure to energize the degloblization process, as some sensible countries strive to decouple themselves from the process.
The author believes that as America's economic might falters, its global military power will also decline.
Few will argue that America's position as an economic power is being eroded, but it is naive to suppose that the only military superpower in the world will sit by idly as this takes place.
Even given the regional instabilities the US caused in recent decades, America has shown unusual restraint in the use of force.
That is not the result of humanitarian considerations, but of the simple fact that the US has been getting the things it wants through globalized trade, without having to invoke the military.
Panzner talks of the capabilities of "economic firepower" and the "arsenals of economic weaponry," but in his obsession with metaphors the author has somewhat lost sight of what military force per se is for in the first place.
Obviously the sole military superpower will not stand by doing nothing in the face of the "emerging leadership vacuum" and "a shakeup of political, economic and military alliances around the world."
But the book does proffer some useful tips on how to survive when the age of abundance has come to an end.
"[Expect] a world in which working hours are climbing, pay and benefits are falling, opportunities are disappearing, and growing anxiety about what each day will bring is a disheartening fact of life," the author says.
Panzner advises against following the crowd, because you could all end up in the slaughterhouse together.
Change your lifestyle now so that you spend less and conserve what you earn.
Some may even need to do several jobs just to get by.
So far this crisis has been understated as mere economic recession, depression, or financial Armageddon.
Panzner explains why America's dominance is approaching its end, warns of the subsequent political upheavals, and advises how to prepare for the troubles ahead.
"For many Americans, the years ahead will be nothing short of a modern Dark Ages, where each day brings forth fresh anxieties, unfamiliar risks and a deep sense of foreboding," the book predicts.
As the whole world now knows, the US has been spending more than it can afford for several decades, thanks to globalized trade and its prerogative to print the greenbacks.
American extravagance led to an era of unprecedented "growth" in manufacturing and consumption.
This cannot be sustainable.
"Rising budget and trade imbalances have transformed the United States from the world's largest creditor to its largest debtor," the author observes.
The problem with borrowed money is that it has to be repaid, and here the creditor is usually much more anxious than the debtor.
Meanwhile, one of the biggest creditors and suppliers of cheap consumer goods on earth is reassessing the destructive impact of globalization.
The rapid replacement of traditional values with a consumption-driven lifestyle has triggered serious social dislocations, in addition to putting tremendous pressures on natural resources, energy, and the environment.
Some Chinese have been questioning the wisdom of exporting their limited natural resources, at the cost of poisoning the air and water, in return for the dollar, which is fast sinking in value.
But decoupling from this process is clearly difficult.
Economists and politicians around the world have taken alarm at the sudden letup in decade of hectic growth and as a result the whole earth is reverberating with clamor for stimulus.
Apparently few are willing to come to terms with the reality that the age of abundance has ended, or will come to an end anyway.
This end is made inevitable by the human beings who are turning against life-giving mother earth with growing voracity and brutality.
Reflections on globalization's painful dislocations are sure to energize the degloblization process, as some sensible countries strive to decouple themselves from the process.
The author believes that as America's economic might falters, its global military power will also decline.
Few will argue that America's position as an economic power is being eroded, but it is naive to suppose that the only military superpower in the world will sit by idly as this takes place.
Even given the regional instabilities the US caused in recent decades, America has shown unusual restraint in the use of force.
That is not the result of humanitarian considerations, but of the simple fact that the US has been getting the things it wants through globalized trade, without having to invoke the military.
Panzner talks of the capabilities of "economic firepower" and the "arsenals of economic weaponry," but in his obsession with metaphors the author has somewhat lost sight of what military force per se is for in the first place.
Obviously the sole military superpower will not stand by doing nothing in the face of the "emerging leadership vacuum" and "a shakeup of political, economic and military alliances around the world."
But the book does proffer some useful tips on how to survive when the age of abundance has come to an end.
"[Expect] a world in which working hours are climbing, pay and benefits are falling, opportunities are disappearing, and growing anxiety about what each day will bring is a disheartening fact of life," the author says.
Panzner advises against following the crowd, because you could all end up in the slaughterhouse together.
Change your lifestyle now so that you spend less and conserve what you earn.
Some may even need to do several jobs just to get by.
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