The Post-Partisan Emporium

 Thanks to Saint Jimmy (Russian American) for recommending this article... The bumpy road ahead for the world economy by   Gail Tverberg In the post-World War II era, the US has been known for its hegemony–in other words, its leadership role in the world economy. According to  one definition , hegemony is the political, economic, and military predominance of one state over other states. I believe that the US is not far from losing its hegemony. The conflict over future hegemony could lead to a major war. Hegemony is surprisingly closely tied to leadership in energy consumption. A country with a high share of the world’s energy consumption doesn’t have to depend on imported goods and services from around the world. It can manufacture weapons of war, if it chooses, in as large quantities as it chooses, without waiting for outside suppliers. One part of today’s problem is the fact that the world’s fossil fuel supply, particularly oil, is becoming depleted. Extraction is not rising suffici

  Dancing on the Brink John Michael Greer Back when I was sketching out posts for the first half of this year, I planned to go on this week to talk further about enchantment, exploring the way that the ebb and flow of enchantment seems to track the rise and fall of civilizations and sketching out a tentative hypothesis about why that is. The core project of this blog, like its predecessor  The Archdruid Report,  is the quest for ways to lead a meaningful human life in harmony with nature during the decline and fall of a vast and profoundly unnatural civilization. Our discussion of enchantment in recent months has a great deal to offer that project.  Just at the moment, though, it’s necessary to set that aside and glance at current events, because the decline and fall looks as though it’s nearing an inflection point of considerable importance. “All empires fall eventually. It is the way of things.” – Erin Morgenstern I covered the background to the impending mess back in the days of  Th