In a world like this, staying sane is a full time job, with no perks and no benefits. Except for hanging out at Naked Capitalism!
Fortunately, Naked Capitalism is here to lend a helping hand, by keeping us all abreast of what is really happening beyond the misleading soundbites, fake news and AI slop, providing in-depth analysis of important but complex issues as well as giving us all a place to let off a little steam, share our thoughts and ideas with like-minded people. And stay on as even a keel as possible.
It is a vital, cathartic service in a world going increasingly mad, so please go to the Tip Jar and give as much as you can. $5, $50, or $5,000 are all appreciated. If you can only afford a little, then give a little. If you’re doing well, then please give more.
Launched in 2006, Naked Capitalism became one of the go-to websites for economic analysis and opinion during the Global Financial Crisis and the European Debt Crisis, as people were desperately trying to come to terms with the new reality of collapsing banks, sovereign defaults and bankster stick ’em ups, aka Too Big To Fail.
The root causes of that crisis were never tackled. And as other crises have reared their ugly heads, this blog site’s focus has broadened to include politics, healthcare, science, academia, the environment, and increasingly in this war-torn world, geopolitics. In the process, Naked Capitalism has become adept at offering clear, no-nonsense coverage of crises of all kinds.
Whether it is Grexit, Brexit or COVID, the AI bubble or the escalating wars in Ukraine or West Asia, Naked Capitalism has shed light on the driving forces behind the crises making our lives more difficult and our world more dangerous with rigorous, incisive and often witty coverage. In so doing, it serves as a powerful antidote for the madness that flourishes in their wake.
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We may have endured some “interesting times” (in the sense of the phrase often wrongly attributed to the Chinese) over the past two decades — the 2008/09 crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic particularly stand out in this regard. But the past year has taken “interesting” to a whole new level. Just think of what has happened…
In February, Trump went down in history as the first US president stupid and/or compromised enough (remember that chap called Epstein?) to buckle to Israeli pressure and launch a suicidal war of choice against Iran – a war that, as many had warned, would visit untold damage on the global economy. It could even lead to acute global energy and food shortages.
Yves’ near-daily reporting on the Gulf War 3.0 has featured some of the best coverage of the economic fallout of the conflict you’re likely to find on the Intertubes. It has also delivered a consistently high-level overview of the military, logistical and geopolitical dimensions of the conflict.
We all have a visceral need to know what is happening in a war that, whether we like it or not, affects us all. We have a hunger not only for information but for understanding. And Yves’ daily updates provide both in spades.
They also consume huge deposits of time and energy, piled on top of all the other tasks Yves must perform to keep this blog going. Please support her efforts. Give whatever you can, whether it’s $5, $50, or $5,000, via our Tip Jar.
As already mentioned, the war against Iran was launched largely at Israel’s behest. Yet seemingly unsatisfied with plunging the entire Gulf region into war, the Netanyahu regime has also expanded its pogroms of ethnic cleansing to southern Lebanon and the West Bank — in the face of near-total acquiescence from the liberal democratic order.
For 80 years the Jewish State has laid waste to Palestinian villages. Now it is doing the same to villages in Southern Lebanon. It is not just wiping out settlements, it is erasing ancient history.
We have watched these crimes unfold in 4K, day in, day out, for three interminable years, impotent to affect any real change, reluctant bystanders to the worst category of evil — a category so unspeakable that humanity hadn’t thought of a word for it until the Nazis came along. We also know that whatever Israel is doing in West Asia will be exported elsewhere.
Such knowledge takes its toll on even the strongest minds. Here at Naked Capitalism, we can at least share the burden with others. Commenters on the site often write of how grateful they are to have somewhere to share their thoughts, queries and fears about what is happening around us, and find solace in the process.
Such a place is worth keeping alive. Please support our efforts. Give whatever you can, whether it’s $5, $50, or $5,000, via our Tip Jar.
What else has happened over the past 12 months?
We have seen the US invade Venezuela, abduct its president and lay claim to all of the country’s strategic resources while claiming, with a straight Uncle Sam face, that it is all for the good of the Venezuelan people.
We have seen US forces bomb fisherman to pieces in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific, and subject Cuba to a near-total siege, resulting in the island’s economic seizure and the untold loss of life and livelihood – again, for the benefit of the Cuban people.
Trump has openly expressed his desire to expand the US’ protectorate model for Venezuela to, at the very least, the entirety of North and Central America as well as the Caribbean hinterland and Greenland.
Trump 2.0’s gangster imperialism has nipped in the bud any hope, however fanciful, that the US empire might enter a period of graceful decline in its latter days. Instead, it seems determined to go out with a bang, taking the rest of the world down with it.
Even the greatest MADness of all – the idea of using nuclear weapons in a conventional war – is becoming less and less taboo. As The Economist (of all places) warned in August, world leaders – not just Trump and Netanyahu – “are losing their terror of nuclear war”.
The last 12 months have also been a rollercoaster ride for Internet users. On the one hand, more and more jurisdictions are imposing age verification checkpoints to access the internet, which, as we warned a couple of years ago, are a Trojan Horse for de facto mandatory digital identity.
If governments are successful in this endeavour, we could soon be looking at the end of online privacy and anonymity. For governments and the financial and business elite whose interests they serve, there is a perfect logic to what they are doing. It is the logic of brute power and control. For the rest of us, it is both terrifying and maddening to watch it all slowly unfold.
Much of it is happening under the radar.
The rampant privatisation of government functions, or entire jurisdictions, being pushed by out-of-control billionaires like Peter Thiel and Marc Andreesen.
The proliferation of data centres that not only pose a growing threat to electricity systems and water supplies worldwide but will also form the backbone of the digital surveillance state that is quickly taking shape around us.
Meanwhile, the people and companies behind AI are extending its unwelcome influence deeper and deeper into our lives. The increasingly aggressive scraping of the Internet by AI bots is making life harder and harder for content-creating websites such as this one, as Yves warned in her September 8th Iran War Update:
Today’s Iran war post launched not complete due to AI. This is why I hate AI with the passion of a thousand burning suns. AI bots were scraping the site so hard that it was barely operating. Our tech maven Dave had to implement extra security measures….which prevented me from being able to launch posts…
This is theft and vandalism. Those of you who use AI are stealing from me and many many many many other writers and journalists, as well as destroying the biosphere with profligate AI energy use. STOP NOW.
One thing all of these developments have in common is that they are making life on planet Earth more and more difficult and less and less sustainable. Another thing they have in common is that they have all been covered in painstaking detail and with razor sharp analysis by Naked Capitalism’s excellent team of writers and guest writers.
In a world going increasingly mad, Naked Capitalism is an oasis of sanity, a safe space for people who want to understand what is happening all around them. At its core, it is a place to think and talk with others. Such a place is hugely rare and valuable. As Hannah Arendt once wrote, “evil comes from a failure to think.”
This site is a safe space for ideas and discourse mainly because of its clear rules of engagement as well as the sterling work of the site moderators. Those rules have helped to maintain civil discourse even during the most polarising moments. And rest assured there’ll be lots more of those in the next 12 months.
Over the past two decades this site has brought together a truly global community of similar-minded, geographically dispersed folks, most of whom are (at the risk of stoking your egos) intelligent, knowledgeable, open-minded and curious. As Yves has pointed out previously, this community is essential, both in experience and skills:
[It] shares knowledge and ideas intensively, from the merits of voting systems to electrical grid operations to new drugs to home repair to language acquisition tips.
People come to the site for a host of reasons, including its breadth of coverage, its sharp but sober analysis, its independence of thought, the high level of community discourse, its consistently accurate early warnings of trouble ahead, and – always last but never least – the daily dose of cute animals.
Some people come to give and receive kindness and solidarity – two commodities in increasingly short supply. Despite almost never meeting in person, the members of this commentariat seem to share a special bond of kinship. In these times of madness, their warm words of support and encouragement can offer a vital fillip.
And that is worth a great deal. If the Moneygods have been kind to you, please give generously at our donation page, both on your own behalf and to make up for those under budget stress. You can also contribute by circulating posts to friends and colleagues, by participating in comments, and by sending link candidates. Please chip in however you can!
