eirikur on Nostr: Listening to Trump vow to cleanse Gaza with American troops is the clearest ...
Listening to Trump vow to cleanse Gaza with American troops is the clearest manifestation of the fact that the United States acts as a puppet state of Israel - where Israel’s interests seem to outweigh its own.
Not long ago, I heard Icelandic Zionists celebrate Trump for brokering a ceasefire in Gaza, claiming he was doing great things.
Do they believe he is doing equally great things when he vows to clear out the Gaza Strip, home to 1.7–1.8 million people?
These same people accuse those who oppose Israel’s expansionism of antisemitism - are they not then guilty of anti-Muslim bigotry?
Those who seem to hate Muslims as much as they do - why do they never ask who is responsible for displacing them from war zones to every corner of the Western world? Who is responsible for destroying their civilizations? Who is responsible for stealing their land and property?
Western civilization is in decline - but what are the causes? What drives social instability and fuels people’s anger?
Is it religious conflict? Is it a clash of cultures? Or is it something else?
No doubt, all these factors play a role, but in my view, rising time preference is always the root cause of societal decay. Rising time preference, impulsivity, and anger are merely different sides of the same coin.
What raises people’s time preference is an unpredictable future - when their ability to provide for themselves and their families in the long run is taken away from them.
Nothing increases time preference more than living in a war zone, where the lives of oneself and one’s family are in constant danger.
I believe this is why the Middle East is a perpetual source of violence and conflict. When an uncertain future and the constant threat of death become the reality for a large group of people, short-term thinking intensifies. People seek immediate solutions, whether through violence, impulsive political decisions, or allegiance to strongmen or terrorist groups that promise rapid change.
Another factor that raises people’s time preference is when they are unable to provide for themselves financially in the future. This happens in inflationary economies, the best example being the hyperinflation of the Weimar Republic.
The economic collapse there led to total societal breakdown, where people could neither save nor plan for the future. The consequence was deep helplessness, anger, and distrust of democratic governance - creating fertile ground for radical movements.
Hitler and the Nazi Party exploited this situation to the fullest by offering a “rational” explanation - blaming the Treaty of Versailles, the Jews, and the enemies of the state for the misery people were experiencing.
In reality, one could argue that the rising time preference of Germans was a key factor in driving them toward fascism, where short-term solutions took precedence over long-term interests, and all focus was placed on immediate restoration at the expense of individual freedom and moral values.
The story of the Weimar Republic and Germany is not unique. Every time the future becomes uncertain, people’s wealth deteriorates, and economic security vanishes, societies become vulnerable to radical forces that promise quick fixes—without regard for long-term consequences.
To break this historical cycle, where societies collapse due to economic and political instability, we must empower the individual by reclaiming one of the oldest powers of the state - control over money.
Wars, regardless of their justification, are primarily financed through this power.
The separation of money and state is the best way to safeguard individual property rights and restrain government overreach.
Not long ago, I heard Icelandic Zionists celebrate Trump for brokering a ceasefire in Gaza, claiming he was doing great things.
Do they believe he is doing equally great things when he vows to clear out the Gaza Strip, home to 1.7–1.8 million people?
These same people accuse those who oppose Israel’s expansionism of antisemitism - are they not then guilty of anti-Muslim bigotry?
Those who seem to hate Muslims as much as they do - why do they never ask who is responsible for displacing them from war zones to every corner of the Western world? Who is responsible for destroying their civilizations? Who is responsible for stealing their land and property?
Western civilization is in decline - but what are the causes? What drives social instability and fuels people’s anger?
Is it religious conflict? Is it a clash of cultures? Or is it something else?
No doubt, all these factors play a role, but in my view, rising time preference is always the root cause of societal decay. Rising time preference, impulsivity, and anger are merely different sides of the same coin.
What raises people’s time preference is an unpredictable future - when their ability to provide for themselves and their families in the long run is taken away from them.
Nothing increases time preference more than living in a war zone, where the lives of oneself and one’s family are in constant danger.
I believe this is why the Middle East is a perpetual source of violence and conflict. When an uncertain future and the constant threat of death become the reality for a large group of people, short-term thinking intensifies. People seek immediate solutions, whether through violence, impulsive political decisions, or allegiance to strongmen or terrorist groups that promise rapid change.
Another factor that raises people’s time preference is when they are unable to provide for themselves financially in the future. This happens in inflationary economies, the best example being the hyperinflation of the Weimar Republic.
The economic collapse there led to total societal breakdown, where people could neither save nor plan for the future. The consequence was deep helplessness, anger, and distrust of democratic governance - creating fertile ground for radical movements.
Hitler and the Nazi Party exploited this situation to the fullest by offering a “rational” explanation - blaming the Treaty of Versailles, the Jews, and the enemies of the state for the misery people were experiencing.
In reality, one could argue that the rising time preference of Germans was a key factor in driving them toward fascism, where short-term solutions took precedence over long-term interests, and all focus was placed on immediate restoration at the expense of individual freedom and moral values.
The story of the Weimar Republic and Germany is not unique. Every time the future becomes uncertain, people’s wealth deteriorates, and economic security vanishes, societies become vulnerable to radical forces that promise quick fixes—without regard for long-term consequences.
To break this historical cycle, where societies collapse due to economic and political instability, we must empower the individual by reclaiming one of the oldest powers of the state - control over money.
Wars, regardless of their justification, are primarily financed through this power.
The separation of money and state is the best way to safeguard individual property rights and restrain government overreach.