We are at war although most people do not realize this.
In a way, this was unavoidable. Since the 1970s we knew that by the early 2020s there would not be enough resources for the 8.5+ billion people on Earth. Increased productivity should have solved the problem but the Jevons Paradox which states that when we reduce the price of goods thanks to increased productivity, people paradoxically start consuming more negating the benefits. So in the end, we ended up with a zero sum game where increased consumption by one party necessarily decreases consumption by other parties. Today, the apple pie is still growing but not as fast as our appetite and soon it may start shrinking.
Nowhere will this be more obvious than for raw material, although water and agricultural land are close seconds. And it is consequently what we are witnessing currently with rare earth and the silver market where East and West are competing for dwindling resources. (See video below)
This is why the Trump Administration so desperately wants to "acquire" new land and resources, be they in Venezuela, Greenland or Canada. Only such a move can guaranty a new round of investment and economic growth.
The alternative is Europe: Rhetoric with no action. Europe will rearm to confront Russia, increase investment to compete with the US and China while doubling down on outrageously expensive Green technology and of course paying for the legions of retirees and the migrants flooding in to replace them. Too bad that each Euro can only be used once and that the debt is already so high. It would have been useful to have the current budget X5. But they don't. So to convince people that sacrifices are necessary and belts will have to be tightened, the war in Ukraine must go on. For this reason alone, the war will not end anytime soon.
As long as Europe is at war, they are in a war economy and budgets are irrelevant. The day the war ends, Europe stares bankruptcy in the face. How could this be allowed to happen?
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