International Male: What made big American cities attractive places to live in the past?
Doug Casey: Well, it’s not simply American cities; it’s cities in general. Throughout all of history, cities have equated with civilization.
Cities provide safety, convenience, wealth, and community. They’re a medium for individuals to exchange ideas and trade quickly. The Climb of Man is constructed on cities and would not have been possible without them. Civilization is all about specialization and division of labor. The larger the city, the freer the society, the greater the possibilities.
American cities have been amongst the very best in history because America itself has actually provided more liberty and less government constraints than anything in the past.
It’s no secret why American cities need to have been so excellent in the past, but things are changing. To destroy cities is to ruin civilization.
International Male: American cities have noticeably weakened throughout all metrics over the last few years.
For an increasing number of people, the value proposal of living in cities no longer makes sense.
What is your take?
Doug Casey: I presume everyone’s heard the mnemonic, “Tough times create strong guys, strong males create good times, good times develop weak males, and weak men produce hard times.”
Regrettably, American civilization has reached the stage where it’s getting soft, weak, and degraded.
I position the State– government– at the root of this collapse. It’s carried out welfare, which not only enables however motivates people to take in without producing. So-called “democracy” has actually created class warfare, where everyone attempts to acquire control of the federal government to get wealth and power. It’s developed an unstable society, inventories of individuals that have actually been correctly called “worthless mouths.” They’re incapable of anything beyond consuming and ballot.
Governmental policies have actually turned the cities into cesspools.
That little aphorism about weak men that we estimated earlier can be viewed as a variation of the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics– one of the few laws that I believe in. It states that whatever unwind over time unless there’s an adequate input of energy to keep things going. In other words, to stay healthy, they must produce more than they take in. However that’s no longer true. Numerous American cities are now net drains pipes on the country.
The collapse that American cities are experiencing has been extremely quick from a historic point of view. You can lay part of it to the basic deterioration of society, which has actually been actively promoted by academic community, the media, and the show business. Wokesterism, an approach of neo-Marxism, racism, and wild collectivism, has totally captured federal governments everywhere. However specifically in the cities, from which their corrupt and degraded ideas expanded to the general population.
International Man: What will happen to the already tight budget plans of lots of cities as their most productive residents continue to leave in increasing numbers? What are the implications?
Doug Casey: Well, the destruction impacting American cities is really nothing new. It’s taken place throughout time and area throughout history. Babylon rose and fell and returned to dust. The Egyptian, Hittite, and Assyrian Empires all disappeared. The golden era of Athens lasted less than 100 years. After Rome collapsed, cows and goats grazed in the forum throughout the following Dark Ages.
It doesn’t have to occur that way, however that’s the general trend of things. At this point, the American empire is collapsing, and its cities are blazing a trail.
International Male: If not cities, where would you suggest people think about living?
Doug Casey: Well, certainly not the residential areas. They used to be a good option that enabled some space, sunshine, and other advantages of a rural environment while preserving a lot of the advantages of a city. However no longer. If you’re going to get out of the city, forget the residential areas.
It’s finest to head for towns, specifically those in red states. If you narrow the focus even more, choose a town on a body of water– the ocean, a river, or a lake, preferably with mountains close by. Those things make them more recreation-oriented. More pleasant and open, drawing economically effective people. California was best 75 years ago. But, as they say, that was then. And this is now– a various world.
International Man: A recent article in the NY Timesdeclared there are over 26 Empire State Buildings worth of empty workplace in New york city City.
What are the implications of this trend on business property and monetary markets? Are there any speculative chances you see?
Doug Casey: That’s a pretty shocking fact.
It’s still way too early to jump in. There’s going to be a collapse that substances upon itself. Lots of office buildings will be permanently emptied as services contract. Additionally, people don’t wish to come into the city anymore. They’ve discovered they can work more effectively from home at least a couple of days a week, and they want to avoid both financial the expense and the wild-goose chase associated with commuting.
As more structures end up being see-through, most of the stores and dining establishments that catered to service individuals will likewise close. As that happens, those buildings become even less desirable. It’s an unfavorable feedback loop.
Can office buildings be repurposed into property condominiums? Not easily. They don’t have the needed plumbing for bathrooms and kitchen areas. They’re primarily not set out in such a way that enables economic conversion.
On top of that, as individuals leave, city governments will no longer be gathering property taxes, sales taxes, or a myriad of other levies. Even now, city governments are extremely indebted and borderline bankrupt. But they’ll still have to support their ineffective mouths– not only a large number of workers but countless migrants. Criminal activity will certainly go up, additional worsening the scenario. It might lead to a real crisis.
We’ve got to ask ourselves: What’s going to happen to cities as the economy descends much deeper into the Greater Depression!.?.!? Will vagrants take over empty office buildings and hotels to prevent sleeping on the streets? That’s what’s taken place in Caracas, which utilized to be a wonderful city, years ago …
And Port-au-Prince, the capital of Haiti. It was constantly bad due to the fact that of foolish federal government policies, but it was very safe and, in lots of methods, truly delightful as late as the early 1980s. Now it is one of the worst hellholes on earth.
But things can go the other direction too. When I first went to Dubai at about the same time, the airport was as small as an airport can be. Now it’s one of the largest and most efficient in the world. Dubai has gone from a small little fishing village to a world center of commerce. The exact same holds true of Singapore and Hong Kong. Things can rise as well as fall.
It’s all a concern of culture and management. Nevertheless, I regret to state I’m not optimistic about either the US or its cities.
Editor’s Note: It’s clear there are some ominous social, political, cultural, and economic patterns playing out right now. Much of which appear to indicate a regrettable decline of the West.
That’s exactly why legendary speculator Doug Casey and his group simply released this totally free report, which reveals you precisely what’s taking place and what you can do about it. Click on this link to download it now.