Civilization #END: The Decline and Fall of the American Empire

Forty nations convened at Bretton Woods Hotel in New Hampshire during July 1944 to establish postwar financial architecture. The United States proposed making its currency the global reserve currency.

The Bank of International Settlements in Basel, Switzerland operates as the central bank of central banks. Private central banks own and control this institution, with figures like Montagu Norman of the Bank of England and Benjamin Strong of the New York Federal Reserve wielding power.

The United States possesses exorbitant privilege as the issuer of the global reserve currency. Central banks, sovereign wealth funds, and international traders must hold dollars to participate in global commerce.

Dutch Calvinists transferred wealth to England in 1688 when William of Orange took the throne from James II. Parliament guaranteed this private bank in 1694, creating the first modern central bank.

Provincial American banks coordinated in 1914 to create the Federal Reserve. Congress granted private banks the power to print money by issuing loans to the economy.

Central bankers control the global money supply, functioning as high priests of the monetary system. Figures like Federal Reserve chairs and Bank of International Settlements governors wield this sacerdotal power.

Central banks destroy nations by flooding them with easy money. Japan after the Plaza Accord and China post-2008 exemplify this pattern. Recipients include manufacturers, speculators, and consumers who access cheap credit.

American and Japanese central bankers and finance ministries negotiated at the Plaza Hotel in 1985. America dictated terms that Japan accepted because American military bases left no real choice.

Richard Nixon negotiated with Saudi Arabia in 1977 to establish the petrodollar system. Saudi Arabia agreed to accept only dollars for oil and invest savings in US treasuries.

Richard Nixon visited Mao Zedong in 1972, ending decades of American-Chinese isolation. This brought China into the dollar system and created massive new consumer markets.

Wall Street financial institutions created the crisis by investing in worthless assets. Central banks responded by printing massive quantities of money to prevent total collapse.

Dwight Eisenhower warned in his 1961 farewell address about the military-industrial complex. This system employs millions manufacturing weapons with incentives toward perpetual war.

Athens created the Delian League after defeating Persia at Salamis in 480 BCE. Greek islands and colonies joined this defensive alliance, pooling gold on Delos island for mutual protection.

Athens confronted the neutral island of Melos in 416 BCE during the Peloponnesian War. The Melians sought to remain uninvolved while Athens demanded tribute.

Iran occupies the strategic center of global trade routes and Middle Eastern oil flows. Japan, China, and South Korea depend on Iranian strait access for energy imports.

Vladimir Putin understands grand strategy like Joseph Stalin, recognizing fundamental weaknesses in America’s financial system. He coordinated with Kim Jong Un through mutual defense pacts.

Central banks across nations coordinate through the Bank of International Settlements. Carroll Quigley documented this system in “Tragedy and Hope” as Georgetown professor and Bill Clinton’s mentor.

After the 1989 Berlin Wall fall, America shipped manufacturing overseas to China and focused on Wall Street financial activities. This transformation affected the entire economy and middle class.

The top 0.001 percent captured most wealth gains since 1980. The middle class saw stagnating wages and rising debt while the ultra-wealthy accumulated unprecedented fortunes.

America transformed NATO from a defensive alliance against Soviet threats into a mechanism for extracting wealth from European allies. This parallels Athens’s Delian League transformation.