Chalmers Johnson, author of Blowback and Sorrows of Empire, lectures on parallels between the decline of the Roman and Soviet empires and the United States. He argues the US shows the same symptoms: overextension, corruption, and an inability to reform.
Why Hacker News points people here: Cited in threads on American decline, civil unrest and economic crisis as a classic statement of the imperial-decay thesis.
“Here's an insightful prognostication by the late, great Chalmers Johnson around 2005”HN comment, 2020
“Here's an insightful prognostication by the late, great Chalmers Johnson around 2005”
Chalmers Johnson's prognostication about American decline.
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Yep. It's a self-fulfilling prophecy. Actual exceptionalism ended coinciding with the end of WW2. It's America's slow and steady decline like Rome. 250 years / 10 generations is about all a civilization typically lasts. Apathy, corruption, incompetence, disorder, inequality, poverty, decay, tyrants, and ultimately: dissolution. Here's an insightful prognostication by the late, great Chalmers Johnson around 2005: this video
Cites itking_nothingJun 2018
“Decline of Empires” Chalmers Johnson”
Chalmers Johnson on signs of imperial decay.
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I thought this was a possibility, however there’s not much to fight for, except chaos, discontent and something new, so it’s more likely America/western civ would collapse within 0-30 years (collapse tends to precipitate quickly), if nothing major socio-politically is done to stabilize the ship. link “America is Done” Chris Hedges on C-Span link “Decline of Western Civilization” Peter Thiel link “Decline of Empires” Chalmers Johnson this video ^- These aren’t exactly conspiracy theorist-centric nutters, but people known for being more right than most people v- Btw, just in-case anyone isn’t convinced yet corporate media will “save us” Phil Donahue on being booted from MSNBC link Jesse Ventura on govt abuse of secrecy and Wikileaks link Cenk Uygur on “mutual-separation” from MSNBC linklinklink Thom Hartmann on an impeding collapse (wrong year, obviously) due to massive corruption and inequality link Amy Goodman arrested for doing her job link Assassinations of journalists continues to climb worldwide, and when it and censorship happens in your country, that’s when the real decline accelerates link ^- It’s hard to say when/how much will happen or how constructive the grassroot can be because most people tend to automatically dismiss these “dots” as “conspiracy theorist rhetoric” that “doesn’t affect them.” Occasionally possible: ”It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on his not understanding it.” - Upton Sinclair
Cites itcampfireveteranOct 2019
“Chalmers Johnson and Chris Hedges concur.”
Chalmers Johnson on the decline of empires.
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Exactly. Chalmers Johnson and Chris Hedges concur. America: the Farewall Tour - link DECLINE of EMPIRES: The Signs of Decay - this video Today, in Paradise, the power was out for most of the day... like Mogadishu or Baghdad. America, like a slowly-boiled frog, has become a third-world country: - no universal healthcare - grotesque inequality: lower average pay, unlivable wages, more billionaires, millions of homeless. - wealth transfer from the poor to the rich through tariffs, fines, fees and other taxes - crumbling infrastructure - tens of thousands of structurally-deficient bridges and crossings - apathetic, uncaring police letting crime go unpunished and misery flourish Americans don't know how bad they have it... it's great for the very rich, but it's horrible for most people including the aspirational rich who will never be so and yet vote/work against their own interests and be cowardly traitors against We The People.
Cites itforkexecMar 2020
“Chalmers Johnson's Decline of Empires: Signs of Decay”
Chalmers Johnson on signs of decay.
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The simplified answer: the US is a late-stage civilization in gradual decline since either post-WW2 or about 1960. The "frog" has been "boiling" slowly for a long time and is almost cooked. See also: - America: The Farewell Tour by Chris Hedges - Chalmers Johnson's Decline of Empires: Signs of Decay this video - The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Gibbon - The Rise and Fall of the Great Empires by Taylor
Cites itinscartwheeliesMay 2020
“DECLINE of EMPIRES: The Signs of Decay (2003) video by Chalmers Johnson”
Chalmers Johnson video on decline.
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America was already in a long, slow decline for decades. America: The Farewell Tour book by Chris Hedges DECLINE of EMPIRES: The Signs of Decay (2003) video by Chalmers Johnson this video
Cites it1letterunixnameSep 2022
“This is partly a redux of the ideas of Chalmers Johnson”
Extends Johnson's ideas into macroeconomics and current events.
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The title of this piece is clickbait and inaccurate compared to the content. And low quality media source. The speaker is credible (being CM, but it assumes it's an entirely authentic video). This is partly a redux of the ideas of Chalmers Johnson but extends farther into macro economics, history, and current events. this video It's also doom prediction, in the spirt of people like Thom Hartmann.
Cites itsacnoradhqMar 2023
“Decline of Empires: The Signs of Decay": Jan 22, 2008; Chalmers Johnson.”
Chalmers Johnson lecture on signs of societal decay.
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"Decline of Empires: The Signs of Decay": Jan 22, 2008; Chalmers Johnson. this video Apathy, learned helplessness, inaction, cult-like fervor, magical thinking, pan-colonial ambitions, and inability to fund or defend itself lead a society to ruin. The thing is that every 8-12 generations (250+-50 years), a civilization must rework or recommit itself or it slides into decline and decay. No rampant conservative moral panic crusade, violent upheaval, civil war, or totalitarian junta can rebuild what divides left or right, or rebalances fewer haves and many more have nots.
