Signifyin(g)Monkey Posted October 13, 2023 Share Posted October 13, 2023 Interesting read in Der SPIEGEL on South Africa’s descent into failed state status. It will be really interesting to see how the generation that is growing up now having never experienced apartheid reckons with the situation. I wonder how common (or uncommon) the outlook expressed by the youngster cited at the end of the article is. Also, am I the only one who can see the US careening towards this kind of dysfunction, just at a slower pace? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commissar SFLUFAN Posted October 13, 2023 Share Posted October 13, 2023 1 hour ago, Signifyin(g)Monkey said: Interesting read in Der SPIEGEL on South Africa’s descent into failed state status. It will be really interesting to see how the generation that is growing up now having never experienced apartheid reckons with the situation. I wonder how common (or uncommon) the outlook expressed by the youngster cited at the end of the article is. Also, am I the only one who can see the US careening towards this kind of dysfunction, just at a slower pace? This article captures a pretty significant factor as to why a BRICS+ political/economic bloc is a really, really long time away from challenging the dominance of the United States-led economic system, even as that system is unquestionably in its terminal decline phase. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TUFKAK Posted October 13, 2023 Share Posted October 13, 2023 That quote from the 60 yo man is more shocking to me than the feelings of the younger generation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commissar SFLUFAN Posted October 17, 2023 Share Posted October 17, 2023 @Signifyin(g)Monkey - this video popped up on my YouTube Subscription feed today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
outsida Posted October 17, 2023 Share Posted October 17, 2023 That was an awesome video Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Signifyin(g)Monkey Posted October 17, 2023 Author Share Posted October 17, 2023 7 hours ago, Commissar SFLUFAN said: @Signifyin(g)Monkey - this video popped up on my YouTube Subscription feed today. It seems to be turning into political economy's African version of the Argentinian anomaly--rich, developed state gets stuck in a perpetual quagmire and degenerates into a less rich, developed state. It's puzzling. And it just shows what happens when you don't have a strong middle class. Non-authoritarian states truly do need a normal distribution of outcomes amongst their citizenry to function properly. Whodathunkit? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commissar SFLUFAN Posted October 18, 2023 Share Posted October 18, 2023 16 hours ago, Signifyin(g)Monkey said: It seems to be turning into political economy's African version of the Argentinian anomaly--rich, developed state gets stuck in a perpetual quagmire and degenerates into a less rich, developed state. It's puzzling. And it just shows what happens when you don't have a strong middle class. Non-authoritarian states truly do need a normal distribution of outcomes amongst their citizenry to function properly. Whodathunkit? To a certain degree, I believe that this can be applied to Brasil as well which has been both fairly and unfairly described as "the country of the future and always will be." 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commissar SFLUFAN Posted October 21, 2023 Share Posted October 21, 2023 @Signifyin(g)Monkey - WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO?!? ANOTHER VIDEO ON THIS SUBJECT APPEARED ON MY YOUTUBE FEED TODAY! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fizzzzle Posted October 21, 2023 Share Posted October 21, 2023 1 minute ago, Commissar SFLUFAN said: @Signifyin(g)Monkey - WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO?!? ANOTHER VIDEO ON THIS SUBJECT APPEARED ON MY YOUTUBE FEED TODAY! Probably you watched another Warographics video? Warographics is actually pretty good. I don't like that they go click-baity with the titles (like with the title "is south Africa on the brink of collapse?" and at the end they go ".... eh, possibly, who knows"). I'm not an expert on... well, anything, really, but I find that they do a pretty balanced approach to most things. I imagine, if you compare Warographics to Wendover, Wendover will spend months on a single video. Warographics does not, it's closer to weeks. In some of their coverage of the current war in Israel, they'll turn around a video in like 2-3 days, which pretty much guarantees that there will be inaccuracies and that a lot of the information will be proven to be inaccurate over time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commissar SFLUFAN Posted October 21, 2023 Share Posted October 21, 2023 24 minutes ago, Fizzzzle said: Probably you watched another Warographics video? I'm more referencing that since @Signifyin(g)Monkey posted the Der Spiegel article, there have been two videos covering the situation on my Subscription feed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
outsida Posted October 21, 2023 Share Posted October 21, 2023 People keep talking about BRICS challenging the normal order yet most of the members are on the brink of collapse. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fizzzzle Posted October 21, 2023 Share Posted October 21, 2023 1 hour ago, outsida said: People keep talking about BRICS challenging the normal order yet most of the members are on the brink of collapse. Like @Commissar SFLUFAN said, "they're the countries of the future and always will be." I think the main difference, and I'm being honest here, is that places like the US and the EU have essentially legalized corruption. The corruption is (mostly *ahem* US military budget) somewhat accounted for. There's a reason Louisiana is a shit hole, and it's because it's pretty much the last state wherein corruption means "walk into the meeting with a briefcase full of cash." It's not like other states are less corrupt, it's just that the corruption is laundered. That makes it predictable. People will invest in corrupt systems if the corruption is predictable and growth is inevitable, and they are both important. Some African warlord going ape shit and completely seizing all assets from top to bottom.. not predictable. Think about how America was born. The wealthy merchant class that birthed the revolution were ALL smugglers and slavers. They are essentially trying to legitimize their operations so that they were... Predictable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Signifyin(g)Monkey Posted October 21, 2023 Author Share Posted October 21, 2023 2 hours ago, Commissar SFLUFAN said: I'm more referencing that since @Signifyin(g)Monkey posted the Der Spiegel article, there have been two videos covering the situation on my Subscription feed The algorithm my friend…it’s watching you…the faster you click, the more it thinks you want more… Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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