Once Upon a Time There Was the United States of America

“Once upon a time” is reminiscent of the title of Sergio Leone’s epic movie “Once Upon a Time in America.” But here we are talking about how the history books of the future might depict the United States of the 21st century: “Once upon a time, the United States of America was the World Superpower ….” The year 2014 will be remembered as the year that the post-1945, unipolar world dominated by the U.S. faded away, displaced by either a new multipolar world, or a new East-West confrontation without precedent in world history to date.

We base our argument on two events, one of which has just taken place and another of which will inevitably occur at the end of this summer, according to an economist whose predictions are virtually infallible. The first of these is the “gas deal of the century” recently signed by China and Russia. More than just an energy agreement, it will open up the doors for a geostrategy of huge, global economic proportions which aims to overthrow the rule of the petrodollar — the “economic miracle out of thin air” that has allowed us a comfortable lifestyle at the world’s expense over the last 40 years — and launch the era of the “gas-Yuan.”

The second, the impoverishment of the population as a result of the high cost of living, has really been going on for some time, though it is “not news.” But eventually the government and its “presstitutes,” the media, will be obliged to reveal the facts. Shadow Stats economist John Williams is predicting that the government will be forced to recognize, for the second time in six years, a second consecutive negative quarter — the official definition of economic recession — when it releases the latest gross national product data at the end of July. But that will just be the sound of thunder. The perfect storm will go on. According to Williams, the soaring cost of living and the depreciation of the dollar will trigger “the onset of hyperinflation.” He adds, “I don’t see what will save it at this point. […] That’s what we are on the brink of disaster with.” Considering that others — China and Russia — have made a pact to build their own economic Noah’s Ark, while we plan to weather the perfect storm with a $5 umbrella “made in China,” the writing will be on the wall: “Once upon a time, there was the United States of America …”

Another Opportunity for the 1 Percent

In the past, the United States was the only player at the poker table that got to deal the cards — whichever were in its own best interest. But from now on, slowly but surely, another two players — China and Russia — will be taking on the dealer’s role. The significance for the United States is that neoconservative-controlled Washington, in its arrogance, has underestimated Sino-Russian astuteness and made huge geostrategic and economic blunders, with potentially devastating consequences for the United States. Or then again, perhaps these were intentional blunders, for the “masters of the world” have their puppets in Washington and they know it all. In other words, they knew exactly what was going to happen and they let it happen for their own gain. Let us be clear. When we talk about catastrophic consequences for “the country,” we mean for the vast majority, or more than 90 percent of the population.

For the top 1 percent, on the other hand, the new multipolar world will be yet another opportunity to go on appropriating the country for itself, with the remainder of the population as serfs. Lest we forget, big business pledges no allegiance to any flag, only to itself, the top one percent. It is significant in this context that economic inequality has been on the increase since the “recovery” from the Great Depression of 2008 and has now reached unprecedented levels, to the point that the richest 10 percent of the country owned nearly 50 percent of the country’s wealth in 2010. Meanwhile the income of the rest of the population has been diminishing to such a degree that, according to an expert study, the lower middle class and the poor in the U.S. today are the poorest among their peers in the developed nations. Add to that the fact that 20 percent of U.S. families are unemployed. If the Great Recession of 2008 afforded a great opportunity for the rich one percent to get richer, with the banking and financial power they wield allowing them to control the country’s economy, a perfect storm would be a second opportunity this century to further secure the ball and chain of labor-credit slavery under which 90 percent of the population live, seemingly without the least resistance in their Matrix-controlled brains. An old Chinese proverb says that disasters should be seen as an opportunity to create something new. Yet under the neofeudalism of the 21st century, that opportunity is only within the reach of the masters of the world.