When most people hear the word ARMAGEDDON they think of the 1998 film starring Bruce Willis and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer. The highest grossing film of 1998, worldwide, even surpassing the war epic “Saving Private Ryan”.
The plot was simple. A rogue asteroid, the size of Texas, would collide with Earth in 18 days destroying everyone and everything. Harry Stamper (Willis) and the world’s best oil drilling team would be shuttled to the planet killer, sink a deep hole, drop some atomic bombs, escape and save the world. The End. Since we are still here the oil boys must have been successful.
For a few folks, the word ARMAGEDDON brings forth the terms “end times” or “last days”.
“It is a time period described in the eschatologies of the dominant world religions”.
In the Gospel of Luke, ARMAGEDDON is painted as a total unraveling of the social fabric with worldwide calamity and war.
Debate and division have occurred for centuries as to whether such prophecies in the Book of Revelation are to be taken literally or metaphorically. You decide.
There is a small select few, yours truly included, who enjoy the movie, “ponder the book” but associate ARMAGEDDON with the last days of the Keynesian philosophy.
Succinctly put: John Maynard Keynes and his followers believed and believe that most private sector decisions lead to inefficiencies and require the guiding hand of central banks and governments through monetary and fiscal policies respectively in order to smooth out the business cycle.
Adam Smith’s “invisible hand” metaphor describes the benefits society accrues when the cycle is allowed to ebb and flow of its own accord. Smith’s cornerstone of free market capitalism has become a relic for the dust bin since a surge of Keynesianism followed the 2008 global financial crisis.
Embedded deep in the Keynesian school of thought is the use of debt to accomplish the end objective. That objective is different for the select 1% vs. the everyday 99%. In addition, most Keynesians are so brainwashed by this philosophy that its failure is perceived as a result of “not enough” rather than a misguided philosophy thus QE I, II, III, “whatever it takes” and “bring out the bazooka”.
Currently most countries, including the US, embrace the Keynesian philosophy. All will come to ARMAGEDDON. Some sooner than others. As a forerunner one only has to look at the ‘30’s to understand that the symptoms are always the same – high unemployment, business failures, valueless currencies, hoarding, nationalism, despair, fear and panic. The end result as it was then and will be now – WAR.
Do we ever learn from past mistakes? Of course not! Chinese housing and stock market implosions are to be expected. Greek tragedies are real not some mythical play. College students remain jobless as seniors forsake retirement and PPT will destroy the last vestige of US manufacturing.
Yes. The Keynesian end game is predictable no matter how much more debt is foisted upon the world.
Whether you call it end times, last days, ARMAGEDDON, or simply “this sucks” prepare yourself for the inevitable.
There is no Harry Stamper to save us now.
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