Prologue
This story based on true events (except for the scum).
From the Desk of....
Professor Thorsten (Thor) Olafssen
South Hall, U.C. Berkeley
Berkeley, CA 94720-3434-008
May 31, 2051
Dear Sirs,
As you may be aware, I have been a strong opponent of the effort to establish curriculum standards and textbooks for undergraduates. My opinions and arguments have been quoted publically – and all too often. And for this, I apologize. Nevertheless, since the path is chosen, I suggest a modest edit to the introduction of The Errors of Our Ways, to put these highly-selective essays in the body of the work into context (attached).
Respectfully yours,
Thorsten Olaffsen
Historical Progression in the mid-21st Century.
The crash has been anticipated by economists for years, but was furiously sudden. Greece and Italy withdrew from the Euro inflated their currencies to pay off their debt ... but there were no buyers. Bankruptcy followed. Britain had been on IMF life support for 20 years, but when the United States defaulted on its national debt, Britain shed their deliberative nature and folded in a record four days. The rest of the industrialized world followed within three months. In a mockery of American optimism, a common expression became, “If we can put a man on the moon, we can default on our debt.”
The nativists took perverted solace in knowing that most of the money was owed to the Wall Street ‘Fat Cats’, Gulf States, or the Chinese, as if they had wronged them in some way by lending them money. Sadly, there were no ‘winners’ here: trillions of dollars of wealth had evaporated overnight. Exporting nations were decimated, due to lack of customers. No country was in ascendancy. There was no ‘Revanchist Russia’, no ‘Asian Miracle’, no ‘Re-birth of Arab Nationalism.’ Two countries relatively less affected by the carnage, Pakistan and India, decided got go to war, to demolish whatever opportunity was left.
Everyone had a theory about what had gone wrong and who was responsible: unfettered capitalism, socialists, multi-national corporations, environmentalists, globalisation, protectionism, the World Bank, the IMF, central banks, investment banks, and so on and so forth. The simplest explanation, of course, was that democracy had failed exactly as Thomas Jefferson had predicted: “When the people find that they can vote themselves money that will herald the end of the republic.”
This was the dilemma: there was no acceptable substitute for democracy in the developed nations. Here, South Korea, Chile, Indonesia, and Singapore had distinct advantages over the West. Military strong men and benevolent dictators dutifully reclaimed their mantles. As in countless times in their History, the populace was relieved and celebrated their liberation from their duly-elected, populist, and corrupt leaders. So, the Western nations muddled along, unreformed, unrepentant, propped up with social spending, with 20-30% unemployment for decades...
America Breaks Up
The front page of a major, right-leaning tabloid cheekily summed it up, “WELCOME TO LATIN AMERICA”. The paper appeared to imply blame for the collapse on immigrants, and the editor apologized, but the damage was done. The first half of the double-entendre was indisputable, so the expression stuck. For a while, anti-immigrant tensions arose in Border States. A few riots broke out in Los Angeles, Phoenix, and even Fresno. But, collectively, both sides realised they were going down together. Immigration slowed to a trickle, as there was no longer any reason to move.
Texas negotiated a complete buy-out and full independence, proudly raising the Lone Star flag once again. They paid three times their ‘share’ of the national debt, but no bloodshed, this time. In part of the reconciliation of ethnic tensions, parts of Mexico joined them. Texas got Cuidad Juarez, simply by assuming responsibility for law enforcement.
Alaska and Nevada fared fairly well. Alaska agreed to an oil export tax; until its “share” of the debt was paid off, in exchange for broad autonomy in a confederation status. Nevada bargained for the same, agreeing to be the final resting place for the world’s nuclear waste. Southern Nevada was never hospitable to animal life to begin with. Dry lakebeds, surrounded by cattle skulls attest to the toxicity of its waters. Forty years of nuclear testing only added to the poisoned earth. What’s a few tons of glass encased, spent radioactive debris?
Weak, regional alliances formed between states and some Canadian provinces, the strongest of which was the Western Alliance (Washington, British Colombia, Alberta, Idaho, and Montana).
California and New York were trapped, having defaulted and been bailed out by the Feds 10 years earlier. The rest of the country was in the same boat – trapped and envious of those that escaped. The special work visas and passports were required to enter Nevada and Alaska rubbed their noses in it. Yet, strangely, stubbornly, the citizens of these republics still considered themselves Americans, as if this was all a bad dream.
The government more-or-less ran all the unprofitable, “Zombie”, industries (banking, insurance, rail, mail, automobile manufacturing, even meat processing). The profitable -- but ‘immoral’, industries (tobacco, oil, drugs, prostitution, investment, fast food) now financed 80% of government revenue. Zombie employees were second only to the AARP in political power. The drop-outs, druggies, separatists, and communitarians paid virtually no taxes. Most of them didn’t bother registering to vote or filing tax returns for either legal or moral reasons. Deeply suspicious of each other, attempts at third parties repeatedly failed. The political power of the gainfully employed dwindled to nothing – like the Lutherans.
