The very attempt to reform an unstable, diminishing-return system often precipitates its collapse.

Our collective interest in the rise and fall of empires is not academic. The meteoric rise of China and the financialization rotting out global capitalism are just two developments that suggest we are entering an era where some great powers will collapse, others will remake themselves and others will gain ascendancy.…

A system that suppresses dissent is fault-intolerant, ignorant and fragile.

Increasing centralization has been viewed as the solution for all social and economic problems for quite some time. The Eurozone project is one recent manifestation of this belief.

The basis of this belief is rationality and efficiency. If we centralize production and decision-making, we eliminate all sorts of inefficiencies.…

By Eric Sprott & Etienne Bordeleau

Recent comments by the Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke have shocked the world financial markets. It all started on May 22nd, 2013, at a Testimony to the US Congress Joint Economic Committee, where he first hinted at tapering the Fed’s quantitative easing (QE) program. Then, on Wednesday, June 19th, during the press conference following the FOMC meeting, the Chairman outlined the Fed’s exit strategy from QE.…

Many observers focus on the economic causes of the widening wealth inequality, but the divide appears to be both cultural and financial.

To say there are haves and have-nots and two major political camps does not distinguish this era from any other. But despite this surface similarity to previous eras, there is a palpable zeitgeist that the nation is bifurcating into two camps which no longer overlap or communicate using the same cultural signifiers and symbology.…

Nouriel Roubini has just put out his 6 reasons why gold is headed lower, adding yet more pessimism and pundit consensus that reinforces my contrarianism 101 view that gold is bottoming, not topping.

Roubini is certainly no Paul Krugman, but like Krugman he is an academic and an economist. Why is that relevant?…

While I’m not a huge Infowars / Alex Jones fan (I find the whole “magaphone thing” detracts from his credibility and he comes across rather foppish, sorry), this entry in the InfoWars Film Contest is just plain awesome.

Bracket off ten minutes and watch this, you won’t regret it.…