by Charles Hugh Smith
Of Two Minds
That which has failed is unsustainable, no matter how many trillions the Federal Reserve tosses against the tides of history.
The chapter titles of Michael Grant’s excellent account of The Fall of the Roman Empire identify the core dynamics of decline:
The Gulfs Between the Classes
The Credibility Gap
The Partnerships That Failed
The Groups That Opted Out
The Undermining of Effort
Every one of these is a manifestation of institutional failure. The Gulfs Between the Classes (see chart of soaring inequality below) manifests a completely broken economic and social order, and the abject failure of core institutions (for example, the source of wealth inequality, the Federal Reserve).