Mr. Mandeville spends most of the book lambasting New Wave Jingoism, Republicans, and faux-centrist Democrats for creating the circumstance that will result in an economic collapse. I will not argue the propects for a serious "adjustmnet," as I agree things look pretty grim for a number of reasons. However, I am mystified as to why he spends so much effort finding blame, while at the same time concluding it's all preordained by prophet Edgar Cayce and sun spots. If things are going to happen anyway, what's the sense in placing blame? By his reasoning, the Pope and all the Saints could have been in charge of the country, and Mr. Mandeville's vision of the future would be fixed on the same course.
Some of his discourse on money and markets was interesting, but he failed to make a strong connection between pending currency tourmoil and the universal reign of fiat money, and legal tender laws. He does rightly warn against a falling dollar, thinking international markets will merely shift in favor of trading oil and other commodities with some other paper money, ala the euro. Perhpas for this reason, he counsels against investing in precious metals, particualy silver, on the basis that these can be easily produced. He is missing the fact that economic growth now underway in India and China is underpinning a boom in commodities such than producers can not keep pace. Further, as with the rising price of oil, the values of commodities do not move is isolation one from the one. One effects the others, because commodities, particularly precious metals, are the only forms of real money. Consider that supplies of many raw materials are running at critically low levels across the globe. Despite Mr. Mandeville's observation to the contrary, new mines and new sources of metals (and oil, too) can not be brought into the supply line overnight. It takes years.
Then, again, maybe I'm just not reading the sun spots appropriately.
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- Reviewed in the United States on October 9, 2004Format: Paperback
