Category Archive: 5.) Charles Hugh Smith
Our Selfie Society Is Incompatible with Democracy
Now that the U.S. is a neoliberal selfie society, we have the worst of all possible worlds in terms of a failed, doomed democracy. Each individual's liberty to do whatever you want, be whatever you want, go wherever you want, etc. (within the legal boundaries set by the state) is the core of the American Dream. The individual's civil liberties and right to the unlimited pursuit of happiness is sacrosanct.
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Our Impoverished, Pathological Society
If asked what's intrinsic to human happiness, most people in consumer societies will offer up answers such as money, status, a nice house, etc. But as Sebastian Junger observes in his book Tribe: On Homecoming and Belonging, what's actually intrinsic to human happiness is: meaningful relationships within a community (i.e. a tribe); opportunities to contribute to the group and to be appreciated; being competent at useful tasks and opportunities for...
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MACRO ANALYTICS – 08-26-16 – “Fly-In-The-Ointment”! – w/Charles Hugh Smith
ABSTRACT: http://financialrepressionauthority.com/2016/09/01/charles-hugh-smith-the-fly-in-the-ointment-stagnant-wages-hidden-inflation/
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The “Secret Sauce” of the Byzantine Empire: Stable Currency, Social Mobility
One of my reading projects over the past year is to learn more about empires:how they are established, why they endure and why they crumble. To this end, I've recently read seven books on a wide variety of empires. The literature on empires is vast, so this is only a tiny slice of the available books. Nonetheless I think these 7 titles offer a fairly comprehensive spectrum:
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The Fly-in-the-Ointment – 08-26-16 – FRA- w Charles Hugh Smith
ABSTRACT: http://financialrepressionauthority.com/2016/09/01/charles-hugh-smith-the-fly-in-the-ointment-stagnant-wages-hidden-inflation/
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Central Banks = Welfare for the Wealthy
The fact that central banks provide welfare for the wealthy is now entering the mainstream. The fact that all central bank policies since 2008 have dramatically increased wealth and income inequality is now grudgingly being accepted as reality by mainstream economists and the financial media. The central banks' PR facade of noble omniscience on behalf of the great unwashed masses has cracked wide open.
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Trump By a Landslide?
If we believe the mainstream media and the Establishment it protects and promotes, Trump has no chance of winning the presidential election. For starters, Trump supporters are all Confederate-flag waving hillbillies, bigots, fascists and misogynists. In other words, "good people" can't possibly vote for Trump.
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China’s Great Divide: A New Cultural Revolution?
In Asia, it's generally seen as unpatriotic to criticize one's country in public, even if you disagree with its direction and leadership. The cultural norm is to maintain the "face" of one's country by hiding its ills from outsiders. This reticence is especially evident in China, which suffers from the memory of being subjugated by the Western imperialist powers in the late 19th century and early 20th century.
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What Are the Odds that the 2020-2022 Olympics Will Be Cancelled?
In the modern era (1896-present), the Olympics have only been cancelled in wartime: 1916 (World War I), 1940 and 1944 (World War II). But world war is not the only circumstance that could derail the Olympics; a global crisis in energy, finance or geopolitics could send the risks and costs of the Olympics beyond the reach of most participants.
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The Deep State’s Catch-22
What happens if the Deep State pursues the usual pathological path of increasing repression? The system it feeds on decays and collapses. Catch-22 (from the 1961 novel set in World War II Catch-22) has several shades of meaning (bureaucratic absurdity, for example), but at heart it is a self-referential paradox: you must be insane to be excused from flying your mission, but requesting to be excused by reason of insanity proves you're sane.
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What the Fed Hasn’t Fixed (and Actually Made Worse)
The Fed has not only failed to fix what's broken in the U.S. economy--it has actively mad those problems worse. The Federal Reserve claims its monetary interventions saved America from economic ruin in 2009, and have bolstered growth ever since. Don't hurt yourself patting your own backs, Fed governors past and present: it's bad enough that the Fed can't fix the economy's real problems--its policies actively make them worse.
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It’s Time to Abolish the DEA and America’s “War on Drugs” Gulag
It's difficult to pick the most destructive of America's many senseless, futile and tragically needless wars, but the "War on Drugs" is near the top of the list.Prohibition of mind-altering substances has not just failed--it has failed spectacularly, and generated extremely destructive and counterproductive consequences.
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The Odds of a Global Food Crisis Are Rising
Given the current abundance of food globally, confidence in permanent food surpluses and low grain prices is high. Few worry that the present abundance of food could be temporary. But the global food supply is more fragile than we might think, despite historically low grain/agricultural commodity prices.
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Why Wages Have Stagnated–and Will Continue to Stagnate
Mainstream economists are mystified why wages/salaries are still stagnant after 7+ years of growth / "recovery." The conventional view is that wages should be rising as the labor market tightens (i.e. the unemployment rate is low) and demand for workers increases in an expanding economy.
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Charles Hugh Smith – A Radically Beneficial World
SpokenTome.media Audiobooks presents Charles Hugh Smith in conversation with Mark Jeftovic. Charles discusses his book “A Radically Beneficial World”, the monetary system, and creating meaningful work for all.
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[5/20/16] – 61. The War on Cash with Charles Hugh Smith
The show notes page for this episode can be found at: http://www.wakeupcallpodcast.com/war-on-cash Charles Hugh Smith, proprietor of oftwominds.com and author of “Why Our Status Quo Failed and Is Beyond Reform,” joins Adam Camac and Daniel Laguros to discuss the war on cash, negative interest rates, bail-ins, and other forms of financial repression.
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Charles Hugh Smith on An Economy of One
Charles Hugh Smith joins Doug Miller on An Economy of One to discuss ways to develop skills that will make you more employable in today’s challenging economy. The article: http://www.oftwominds.com/blogmar16/min-wage-purgatory3-16.html You can find Charles’ blog at www.oftwominds.com His books: http://www.oftwominds.com/CHS-books.html
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Charles -Hugh- Smith – Nearly- Free- University
http://www.oftwominds.com/blog.html Like #Berniesanders, economist, author, and financial blogger Charles Hugh Smith believes college should be free (or nearly free.) The way to do this, he says, is not by taxing others, but by re-thinking traditional educational delivery methods (ex: expensive buildings, classrooms, professors, etc.) and taking advantage of modern technology. Higher education as currently delivered, …
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MARO ANALYTICS – 02 16 16 – US$ & THE GLOBAL “PEG PAIN TRADE” w/Charles Hugh Smith
See Macro Analytics Home Page for a full abstract of this video LINK: http://www.gordontlong.com/Macro_Analytics.htm
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