Naked Cap offers maps and more details of how canny, competent and efficient the Russians, along with their Central Adian peers, have been in thwarting Western sanctions (road and rail connections, trade agreements etc). As Galbraith suggested, the Russians could do without Swift, but we could not do without foodstuffs, raw minerals and fertilizer ! It’s an article for a rainy day!
Has anyone considered that the “economics” that sanctions come from are part of a paradigm that is now obsolete? That virtually all of the assumptions about economics as we have known it are now under severe question with many economic students questioning their field and agitating for a new economics for the new paradigm? DIGITAL has destroyed everything the West was operating on. Complete ruble at this point. All the “narratives” are failing. While other parts of the world are building new narratives for their context, the US/West is quite literally refusing to reorganize itself.
Has anyone considered that the direct reason for this is that there are no elites to step up in the West and guide the civilization? Zero elites. Not a one. While China, India, Russia and others have purposeful programs in place to develop an elite class to guide their civilizations in the coming century.
Corollary: given that the Russian sanctions function equivalently to import protection for Russian business, maybe free trade isn’t all it’s cracked up to be?
The reality is that every arm of government as well as most parts of the corporate and media world have been taken over by ideologues. The Long March Through the Institutions is complete. These institutions probably cannot be saved. Time to start building from the ground up.
If our annual SOTUs are any indication, this is the absolute truth. The only path now is the dismantling of the institutions that power our imperialism, which must also include a very high cost to those who run them. Or else they will simply reload and relaunch.
Galbraith gets it. There are only two countries on earth who have the potential to be entirely self sufficient; The United States and Russia. It’s impossible to economically or militarily destroy either one. It’s too bad we didn’t team up after the collapse of the Soviet Union, but we wanted it all for ourselves, and that was never going to work for long. The U.S. will survive after all is said and done, but I’m not so sure about the European Union.
Agreed. I think South Africa could be sulf-sufficient if they fix some own goals in the agricultural sector and properly fix their infrastructure instead of continually patching it up - the power network most particularly. They have abundant natural resources and mineral wealth and could substitute oil imports to a great extent. The problem of course is cronyism, and no one so far has shown much interest in seriously tackling that.
We have to be careful about semantics here. The "US" probably won't survive, but "America" will in some form. Likewise, the "European Union" is probably doomed, and a good thing too. However, pockets of Old Europe will probably hang on. I predict that now we've been left holding the Ukrainian baby by the US, we will at some point make kiss-and-make-up moves towards Putin for the sake of our economic survival. However, this can only happen after the current raft of maniacs in charge are tossed into oblivion. Oh, and assuming that Russia survives the forthcoming French invasion!
Thanks for this very astute analysis. When I saw "Galbraith" and "economics professor," I thought it might've been the same guy who wrote an excellent history of economics that I read in college. Turns out it was his dad, Ken, who would have been 120-ish by now. Oh well, I guess the apple didn't fall far from the tree.
Naked Cap offers maps and more details of how canny, competent and efficient the Russians, along with their Central Adian peers, have been in thwarting Western sanctions (road and rail connections, trade agreements etc). As Galbraith suggested, the Russians could do without Swift, but we could not do without foodstuffs, raw minerals and fertilizer ! It’s an article for a rainy day!
https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2024/03/from-isolation-to-containment-washingtons-economic-war-against-russia-gets-a-rebrand.html
Has anyone considered that the “economics” that sanctions come from are part of a paradigm that is now obsolete? That virtually all of the assumptions about economics as we have known it are now under severe question with many economic students questioning their field and agitating for a new economics for the new paradigm? DIGITAL has destroyed everything the West was operating on. Complete ruble at this point. All the “narratives” are failing. While other parts of the world are building new narratives for their context, the US/West is quite literally refusing to reorganize itself.
Has anyone considered that the direct reason for this is that there are no elites to step up in the West and guide the civilization? Zero elites. Not a one. While China, India, Russia and others have purposeful programs in place to develop an elite class to guide their civilizations in the coming century.
Corollary: given that the Russian sanctions function equivalently to import protection for Russian business, maybe free trade isn’t all it’s cracked up to be?
Steve Sailer had a nice piece on that today.
It wasn't exactly 'rocket science', Yuri Gaga Ron's birthday notwithstanding... 😜
Gagarin... God dawned ogle antocorrupt...
Yuri Gagarin.
The reality is that every arm of government as well as most parts of the corporate and media world have been taken over by ideologues. The Long March Through the Institutions is complete. These institutions probably cannot be saved. Time to start building from the ground up.
If our annual SOTUs are any indication, this is the absolute truth. The only path now is the dismantling of the institutions that power our imperialism, which must also include a very high cost to those who run them. Or else they will simply reload and relaunch.
Did you see the hopeless GOP Sotu response? They DELIBERATELY botched it. These guys would rather lose than see Trump win.
I did not but I read about it. This is a direct result of the demockracy we have been sold.
It's time to dismantle the Ivy League and confiscate their massive multi-billion dollar endowment cache, "for the greater good of humanity."
Galbraith gets it. There are only two countries on earth who have the potential to be entirely self sufficient; The United States and Russia. It’s impossible to economically or militarily destroy either one. It’s too bad we didn’t team up after the collapse of the Soviet Union, but we wanted it all for ourselves, and that was never going to work for long. The U.S. will survive after all is said and done, but I’m not so sure about the European Union.
Agreed. I think South Africa could be sulf-sufficient if they fix some own goals in the agricultural sector and properly fix their infrastructure instead of continually patching it up - the power network most particularly. They have abundant natural resources and mineral wealth and could substitute oil imports to a great extent. The problem of course is cronyism, and no one so far has shown much interest in seriously tackling that.
It's not we, it's Zionism that wants it all.
We have to be careful about semantics here. The "US" probably won't survive, but "America" will in some form. Likewise, the "European Union" is probably doomed, and a good thing too. However, pockets of Old Europe will probably hang on. I predict that now we've been left holding the Ukrainian baby by the US, we will at some point make kiss-and-make-up moves towards Putin for the sake of our economic survival. However, this can only happen after the current raft of maniacs in charge are tossed into oblivion. Oh, and assuming that Russia survives the forthcoming French invasion!
Good points. We all know the French are invincible.
Monty Python had something to say about that:
https://youtu.be/QSo0duY7-9s?si=OuJKJGrjw1E0jcbG
Fighting Russia worked out so well for Napoleon.
It wasn't just Napoleon who harassed the Ruskies, they have a long history of backing powers like the Ottomans against Russia.
Make dysentery great again!
Thanks for this very astute analysis. When I saw "Galbraith" and "economics professor," I thought it might've been the same guy who wrote an excellent history of economics that I read in college. Turns out it was his dad, Ken, who would have been 120-ish by now. Oh well, I guess the apple didn't fall far from the tree.
Interesting he lives in China. If he was in Europe he probably would not feel safe writing questioning the official Western narrative on Russia.
https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/news/articles/is-america-the-real-victim-of-anti-russia-sanctions
Fascinating analysis from Galbraith on the “cutting off your nose to spite your face” school of economic sanctions.
True…