Trends and Entertainment

The Book Reporter: Bad Money by Kevin Phillips

Painting a portrait of a declining global hegemon, i.e. the United States, Kevin Phillips pulls no punches in telling us just how irresponsible and delusional we’ve been. It’s all there in Bad Money – debt, consumption, and our failure to understand the cultural forces (the Religious Right, oil dependence) that cripple us. Phillips, a leading economist and former Republican strategist, is now a political agnostic who finds much to blame in both parties. He documents, in chilling details, a global realignment towards Asia, detailing machinations against the dollar and a crisis in confidence in the US as a global leader. Phillips presents a long span of compelling historical evidence, from the Dutch maritime empire to the British raj, to show how empires are both made and unmade –- and the danger of missing signs of decline which prevent us from acting decisively. Phillips’ is a grim message: We had better start figuring out how to exist productively in the twilight of our dominance –- a notion that politicians would rather waterboard themselves than admit. The British had the same little problem at the beginning of the 20^th century. Within a couple of decades, they were rationing food. ‘Nuff said.

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