wolfgang schivelbusch

Darkness slowly descends on the world (two examples: Greece and USA)

Summary:  Recent events, such as the Greek election and the speeches of GOP congressmen, suggest it was premature to declare the “end of history”.  As the post-WWII era ends, each day brings forth new developments from the basement of humanity’s collective mind and soul.  We must wait to judge, but such political developments suggest that …

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America enters the dreamland, part of our culture of defeat

Summary:   America peaked in 2000.  Events since then have sent us on downward trajectory, accelerated by our bad decisions in response.  Now the grim reality of future geopolitical and economic problems presses on our imaginations, the end of our hegemonic delusions of power founded on unlimited borrowing at low interest rates. In response we retreat into …

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Our metastable Empire, built on a foundation of clay

More thoughts on the “dreamland” described by Wolfgang Schivelbusch in The Culture of Defeat.   In the concluding chapter he says… The West’s victory in the Cold War was, however, the first to be achieved explicitly by the economy in its own name.  Perhaps it is for this reason that the economy received a new nom de …

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Another perspective on Cordesman’s “A briefing from the battlefield”

Anthony H. Cordesman has provided some of the most comprehensive and reliable information about the Iraq War, so his latest report deserves attention. “The Situation in Iraq: A Briefing from the Battlefield“, Anthony H. Cordesman, Center for Strategic and International Studies (13 February 2008) Two things I find fascinating about this report: The US-centric perspective.  …

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