For Americans who were at the height of their power around the turn of the millennium, the decline of the United States, whether they are the elite or the people at the bottom, will only subconsciously feel that this is a false proposition.
After reaching its peak for a hundred years, winning World War II, and destroying the Soviet Union, what else can there be after that
Of course it is eternally brilliant.
So much so that there is a certain "end of history" theory, which believes that the American system is the ultimate form of human civilization. After 1991, the world will continue forever and ever under the leadership of the United States.
However, Simon, a latecomer, certainly understands that the so-called end of history is the real false proposition.
It is even said that the decline of the United States is much faster than many people imagine.
Counting from 1991, in just thirty years, the huge empire that was at its peak showed a state of crumbling. Some people may argue that the United States is still number one in the world even twenty years later. A skinny camel is bigger than a horse, and a broken ship only has 3,000 nails. How can it decline so easily
The problem is, for example, if the world's tallest building has accumulated problems to a certain extent, will it collapse in an instant, or will it be able to resist the earth's gravity because it is taller and slowly tilt for decades before it collapses
On a practical level, the Great Depression is the most direct example.
In the last decade of the 19th century, the United States had reached its global peak and became the world's largest economy. Moreover, due to its sufficient geographical superiority, it could be said that it had no strong enemies externally and no worries internally. It could be called a utopia. However, in 1929 Year, why did a near-apocalyptic economic disaster occur suddenly, seemingly all of a sudden
It can be said that had it not been for the outbreak of World War II, which pushed all the world's needs to the United States outside the battlefield, and at the same time, there was a crazy influx of massive funds and elite groups from all over the world to avoid risks, this country would have wanted to completely get out of the war. After the impact of the Great Recession, getting back to the top is definitely not that easy.
Another example is the Soviet Union.
A huge empire cannot collapse in a short time. What about the Soviet Union? Not overnight
So some people said that the Soviet Union and the United States were different and had different systems. How could they collapse? So, if the system cannot collapse, what about the economy
Go back to 1929.
Not overnight!
Why
Just like the Ukrainian agriculture that Simon learned about a few years ago, in just a few years, Ukraine's grain output dropped from more than 50 million tons before the collapse of the Soviet Union to 10 million tons, a drop of nearly 80%.
The fundamental reason is that the entire modern social operating system, whether it is agriculture or other fields, is a huge and closely integrated machine. When a fatal failure occurs in one aspect of this machine, the impact will be quickly transmitted to the whole body, triggering a domino effect of collapse. Eventually, the entire machine will quickly disintegrate in a burst of sparks and disappear into nothing.
In 1929, the U.S. stock market collapsed, and the entire country collapsed. It collapsed to the point where residents of small towns in the mountains in the middle of the United States who had never been exposed to stocks began to starve.
And in the 1990s, the Soviet Union collapsed. So in ordinary people’s minds, Ukraine, which can theoretically produce a large amount of food with land, saw its food output plummet by 80% at its lowest point, so that it could no longer supply the entire Soviet Union. Eastern Europe's granary, which used exports to earn foreign exchange to support financial constraints, had to seek international assistance to avoid famine.
In short, nothing lasts forever, and nothing is too big to fail. In many cases, it just happens overnight.
Inside the Raybould family's dining room.
Because the topic was brought up by Simon, Nora Register, as a standard American in the heyday of the country, certainly could not regard it as sensationalism. What's more, Simon used 1929 as an example, leaving her unable to refute.
After thinking for a moment, Nora asked: "So, Simon, what problems do you think the Federation is facing that may lead to... um, history repeating itself in 1929?"
"If you put aside our pride as the world's largest country and study carefully, you can find a hundred problems in a week, a hundred similar problems that existed in the Federation before 1929, because history is always It's happening again," Simon said. "However, if I were to make a summary, I think the biggest problem facing the United States is that no one is willing to make sacrifices."
When Simon said this, not only Nora, but also several other people at the table paused and looked over with inquiring eyes.
Simon didn't wait to ask, and continued: "If a country wants to solve its internal problems, it needs all classes to reach a tacit understanding and sacrifice part of their own interests to each other. The current problem in the Federation is that the wealthy class are unwilling to pay more to solve the problem. The politicians are unwilling to lose their votes in order to solve the problem, and even ordinary people are not willing to lose even a little bit of their own interests in order to solve the problem. For example, the most typical Rust Belt, which was the center of heavy industry in the federal government, Ordinary blue-collar workers are not satisfied with receiving a high salary equal to that of university professors. They are not satisfied with the fact that one person works and the whole family needs medical insurance provided by the company. They are not satisfied with the continuous reduction and reduction of working hours. Therefore, under the leadership of the labor union, a kind of Workers are squeezing capital in reverse. As a result, the major automobile giants have to move their factories to the south and then overseas, along with their huge supporting industry chains. In the end, everything they once enjoyed is gone. .”
Simon finished speaking and everyone fell into thinking.
After a moment, Nora looked at Simon again and asked a somewhat pointed question: "Simon, as the largest capitalist in the Federation, are you willing to make sacrifices?"
"Of course I am willing," Simon said. "Actually, if you look back on history, you will find that many wealthy people like me are willing. They have publicly called for raising taxes on themselves more than once. This may seem a bit hypocritical to some people. But, this is not the case. Because we understand that taking more social responsibilities can make the country we depend on operate better, and it is also beneficial to us."
Nora remembered that the 3G plan for the Westeros system, which she had done a lot of in private, was indeed a series of projects considered for the future of mankind. Looking at the young tycoon opposite, she did not doubt his words, so she asked again: " So, what’s the problem?”
Simon smiled and said: "I have just said that no one is willing to make sacrifices. Of course, the 'people' here cannot be said to be some individual individuals. To be precise, they should be various different groups. This world is not Without sobriety, the problem is that when it is magnified to the group level, the selfish nature deep in human genes will be difficult to reverse."
Philip caught a point and interjected: "Simon, you mean 'difficult', not absolutely. So, there should still be a way, right?"