From the written archive

Taki Post: Watch Your Step

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Societal decline is best imagined as a drunk man falling down a long flight of stairs, maybe a long spiral staircase. He begins at the top, the peak of the society, then carelessly makes the wrong steps and begins to tumble down the stairs. It is not a rapid or steady fall to the bottom. Instead, he hits a landing, rights himself for a bit, but regaining his confidence he makes another wrong step and takes another tumble.

Some of the landings are long and he is able to function at that level for a while, thinking he is still at the place he started. Maybe he takes a few tentative steps back to the old position higher up the stairs, but eventually it is another misstep, and he falls back down past that landing to another landing farther down. This is societal decline. It is periods of decline punctuated by periods in which it feels like the decline has been arrested.

This is useful to keep in mind as we watch the new regime come to grips with the new reality they face….link

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Historical comments

Comments originally posted to thezman.com.

39 Comments

SidVic #235859 February 22, 2021 11:06 am 0
I keep coming back to south africa. When it went to black rule I gave it 5 yrs before the lights went off. 30yrs on and its is still crippling on. Surely, there is alot ruin in a nation. Incidentally the NJP is looking intersting. I bet certain corners are in a near panic.
Ripple #235946 February 22, 2021 9:26 pm 0
What’s the NJP?
TomA #235850 February 22, 2021 10:35 am 0
Liberal democracy (and its associated republican form of government) can only survive in a nation that possesses a majority productive population, a sound monetary policy, and a robust economy. As soon as you pass the tipping point where most of the population becomes parasitic, a vicious cycle begins in which politicians ensure incumbency by bribing voters with more government gravy, which is paid for by printing money, which incentivizes more parasitism, which causes rampant inflation, which wrecks the economy, which initiates protests, then conflict, then revolution. At this point, a rise of tyrannical authoritarian rule is the most probable outcome, but is not automatic. The fish rots from the head, the rotten head is still relatively few in number. Surgery is still an option.
pozymandias #235894 February 22, 2021 1:04 pm 0
America certainly does need a brain transplant at this point.
ABCer #235836 February 22, 2021 10:01 am 0
MOTIVE: “These people are not acting from virtue or a sense of moral duty, but from the selfish desire for privilege. They saw Nixon and Trump as vulgar bumpkins who had no right to be in their presence, much less the White House.“ That’s it. Their desire to be above others is all that motivates the elites.They have now walled themselves off and surrounded themselves with Troops they fear and despise (wouldn’t even look at us as they walked by) to keep the loathed commons at bay.
Whitney #235813 February 22, 2021 8:47 am 0
It’s amazing with Biden that they can’t even get a picture of him that doesn’t look like a man with dementia. Eventually that drunk falling down the stairs is going to break his neck. Can’t be soon enough I read The Consolation of Philosophy by Boethius yesterday. highly recommend
WCivi...---... #235812 February 22, 2021 8:43 am 0
What happens? Civilization collapse. Crumbling is a gradual process. Like a farmer losing his good top soil, as our smart fraction shrinks, we see systems fail. Bridges fall down, pipes freeze, people freeze, electrical energy becomes unreliable, disease, famine, lawlessness, crime all increase. Our top soil is being replaced with sand and we return to hunting and gathering.
Durendal #235807 February 22, 2021 7:49 am 0
The big question is what happens now that the white population is nearing minority status? Weimar Germany was nearly 100% ethnic German and the Great depression here in America was also north of 90% white. What kind of hellscape is shaping up for us?
X Man #235814 February 22, 2021 9:00 am 0
South Africa, maybe even shades of Zimbabwe. I know some people like to think that it won’t happen because “the demographics are different”, but that’s not necessarily the case. In a democracy (or constitutional republic), 50% + 1 carries the day. So, it doesn’t really matter if Whites are 49% of the population in future America or 10% — same result.Also, I expect the White share of the population to rapidly descend to less than 40% a la California (70% white in 1980, LA 62% White) which went from majority White to around 37% White since 2000. Infinite mass immigration and TFR declines will do the trick. This means wokeism will rapidly accelerate once the other side realizes they don’t have to play nice anymore — already happening now.Probably the best we can hope for is Venezuela or Brazil. Perhaps if the GOP goes full populist on economics then South Africanization can be staved off. If not, look for future mass immigration legislation importing sub-Saharan Africa to the United States.Look what’s happening with reparations talk and the demonetization of Whites (and any group associated with them: Cubans, some Jews, Indians — the woke are destroying Gandhi statues all across California and are trying to overthrow Modi in India because he was friendly to Trump and his own people). That’s reminiscent of the lead up to seizing White farmlands in Zimbabwe. Maybe that’s why Bill Gates is buying up all that farm land: he secretly wants to keep it away from a racist POC government that might sell it off and ruin it, perhaps causing a global famine that kills millions in the process? Putting resources in the hands of friendly billionaires may be the only way to protect them in this future hellscape.
B125 #235822 February 22, 2021 9:26 am 0
Yugoslavia X Rwanda X Rhodesia Also, most whites are demographically unaware, while other groups are keenly demographically aware. There is going to be a mass culling before the white population even knows what’s going on.
Hal #235909 February 22, 2021 2:16 pm 0
A horrible blend of South Africa, Yugoslavia, and the Spanish Civil War if things go hot. Hordes of immigrants leading to nasty ethnic warfare and omnipresent atrocities, with all the major powers sending in “volunteers” to pick and choose winners, with the complete destruction of the infrastructure and economic basis of the country as a result.
Pratts #235914 February 22, 2021 2:37 pm 0
You inveterate optimist, you!
Hun #235801 February 22, 2021 6:04 am 0
In Idiocracy, Mike Judge imagined a former wrestler and pornstar as your president. Instead, you will get a former shitty barmaid. Itwillhappen. Maybe not in 2024, but definitely in 2030’s. And a final collapse and dissolution shortly after. Then we will finally get some relief.
OrangeFrog #235805 February 22, 2021 7:11 am 0
I suspect that it is possible that you will see the first instance of ‘twerking in the Oval Office’ within the next four to five years.
nunnya bidnez jr #235806 February 22, 2021 7:43 am 0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXvqJTOKcp0 Ocasio-Cortez Dancing
KGB #235817 February 22, 2021 9:12 am 0
The one interesting thing about AOC is that she presents herself, physically, as an old-school female, with the dresses, lipstick, and hair. Contrast that to pantsuits and mu-mus of the Hillary-types. There’s a definite reason for it and it’s admittedly effective. I wonder which (((Brian Epstein))) came up with it?
SidVic #235857 February 22, 2021 11:01 am 0
finkelstein spoke about the pant suit phenomena and may have originated it.
Vizzini #235824 February 22, 2021 9:26 am 0
I see the BBC perpetuates the myth that it was a “right wing account” that posted the video when it was a patently obvious fake-right account and the video was posted to gain her support and sympathy.
Hun #235809 February 22, 2021 8:07 am 0
Oh, I hope so! Kamala or AOC? Eh, doesn’t matter.
KGB #235818 February 22, 2021 9:14 am 0
You think Obama didn’t have Beyonce or some other slatternly negress do it, if for nothing else than to spit on the history of the office? And if that didn’t happen, then you know Michael snuck down there to do it herself.
Vizzini #235825 February 22, 2021 9:27 am 0
Himself. We don’t use “preferred pronouns.”
OrangeFrog #235826 February 22, 2021 9:28 am 0
“then you know Michael snuck down there to do it herself.” Heh. This made me laugh out loud. I presume you’re referring to Michelle, but called it Michael on account of it’s powerful hind quarters and broad shoulders? Well played.
Durendal #235808 February 22, 2021 7:52 am 0
Brawndos got what plants crave.
Ben the Layabout #235879 February 22, 2021 12:00 pm 0
Many of us may live to experience the unusual but not historically unprecedented quality of finding ourselves in a foreign country, even though we have not moved out of our homes.
Juri #235798 February 22, 2021 2:27 am 0
Why nobody want to talk about economy. Historical examples are great but take them out of context makes them worthless. When Nixon and Reagan went out, industry was still there and entire economy was not run on the decade long money printing. Europe is the same. Endless recue packages and QE are our only income sources left.
Yman #235803 February 22, 2021 6:28 am 0
“Nixon and Reagan went out, industry was still there”Nope, it doesn’tFinancial engineering and outright fraud replaced real engineering, the short-term replaced the medium to long-term, foreign outsourcing and closures replaced long-serving loyal employees.(The Closing Of The Zenith Assembly Plant In Sioux City, IA)that’s what really happened mid 70s to 80s, and that’s why white working class completely lost political influencerescue package and QE head to pirates pocket, I mean Stock marketRight now, white people have nothing to left, but still great human resource themselveswhite people employed to white slavery permanently is their final goals
Moe Noname #235830 February 22, 2021 9:38 am 0
The Zenith global headquarters in Glenview Illinois was just torn down to make a parking lot for the retail electronics retailer next door (which doesn’t sell a single TV or radio made in the US).
Hal #235906 February 22, 2021 2:12 pm 0
The economy is only tangentially related to politics these days, as we’ve transitioned from a real economy to some sorcerous Keynesian construct held together with duct tape, wishes, and mass ignorance. Money still means a lot to us dirt people, since we actually have to pay for it with goods or labor, but for the elite, money is essentially free so long as a sliver of economic growth happens. With practically unlimited money given out by central banks, the system only really needs to worry about politics and social issues. Infrastructure can degrade, businesses fail, and millions can lose their jobs, but so long as that GDP goes up by one dollar, more money can be summoned into thin air for those with connections to use as they wish.
Whiskey #235797 February 22, 2021 1:47 am 0
It looks like Sailer has been purged over at Unz. You can reach old articles but his page is gone.
Ripple #235799 February 22, 2021 2:47 am 0
Seems fine to me
Drew #235800 February 22, 2021 5:34 am 0
https://www.unz.com/isteve/the-worlds-shortest-seminar-tolkien-and-diversity/ This was written yesterday.
Vizzini #235827 February 22, 2021 9:29 am 0
It’s still there for me, today.
Boris #235796 February 22, 2021 12:43 am 0
9/11 was indeed the proverbial fork in the road IMO. The Bush admin. had two clear yet very different paths to choose from: Fortress America (seal the borders, racially profile young Muslim males, insulate the homeland from further transgressions), or…. well, we all know the path they took. To borrow Steve Sailer’s term – Invade the world, Invite the world. Sailer may be wrong about a lot of things now, but he was certainly correct on that one. What a disastrous policy that turned out to be and that’s not even counting the incredibly stupid housing bubble and subsequent recession that ensued due to said “Invite the world” policies. I think America could still have been salvaged or at least prolonged for several more decades, but that was the last major turning point that sealed this country’s fate. Massive debt, massive immigration, massive dislocation of jobs, massive phk up. Game over. It’s what happens when your two major political parties are the Evil Party and the Stupid Party – everyone (except them) loses.
Stair Master #235795 February 21, 2021 10:24 pm 0
One might characterize the adoption of Modernism by the ruling class elite in the 1920s as the first big misstep of the current age — particularly, the focus on self-actualization, consumerism, materialism, abandonment of identity, and adoption of egalitarianism. Then the Great Depression & WWII arrested things for a bit; the masses were bonded together. Then another huge misstep and tumble: the 1960s. The 1980s represented another arresting phase. Nothing was reversed, but at least it didn’t grow worse. Things got wobbly again in the 1990s, but those years were still fairly tolerable — paradise by today’s standards.Then 9/11 hit and we’ve been rolling down those stairs ever since. We’ve seen the steady erosion of our freedoms, an ever growing surveillance state, endless war, creeping censorship, increasing political correctness, an explosion of debt and multiple economic crises, contentious elections, and hardening of partisan lines.The election of Barack Obama, particularly his 2012 reelection, is the equivalent of that point in the fall where you land so hard you break a leg, meaning you can never get back up again to right yourself. A point of no return has been crossed and you will continue tumbling until you hit the ground. Thus, the explosion of cancel culture, wokeism, monument destruction, anti-White pogroms, and societal unrest in an almost unimaginably quick succession.The election of Donald Trump in 2016 was simply a desperate grab at the railing as the force of gravity inevitably carried you down the stairs anyway. It wasn’t even a respite but more of a very slight slowing of the fall, but the fall continued nonetheless.Of course, it’s much more involved than that. Missing is any context surrounding those events. But the general timeline is about right. The next step is to hit the floor and pass away from the fall. Then the guy who pushed you sells the house and claims he had nothing to do with it.
Yman #235802 February 22, 2021 6:09 am 0
1920s Ellis islander took over the financial sector, started all kinds of scam, but the white men did nothing1930s to 1960s, racial integration begins and homosexualism, feminism took the Mainstream, white men did nothing1980s hedonistic consumerism poisoning the white population and made them defenseless lemmingsit’s obviously a plot to distracting white people about mass immigration and the outcome of normalizing decaying societyBut white men did nothingnow white children will experience that their existence is canceled because white men did nothingIf only 10 million of white people said enough is enough and declared secession from Americabut we can’t have 10 million of healthy white people while the Semitic – African Worship is the official religion of white America
X Man #235811 February 22, 2021 8:34 am 0
Most people are simple creatures. You’d be surprised how many times I’ve come across a person who grew up in the 1970s and didn’t know about the demographic changes that have occurred since then. It’s always 1975 for a large part of the population. That’s why so many falsely assumed there was still a silent majority able to put Trump back in office for another four years. They can’t cope with the reality (or even understand it) of the situation because they are still living in the past. Thus, they rationalize the world through conspiracy theories like Qanon — a larp that just so happens to preserve the world as it was in 1980 for the masses (“just vote harder and all will be fine”).That complacency, that human psychology of always living in the world of your childhood, is responsible. Materialism played a role in quelling the masses, but a lot of people didn’t understand and still cannot comprehend what has happened. It’s a failing of the species. Happens with everything from musical taste to politics. Old people play the music of their childhoods and vote nearly the same way regardless of circumstance for most of their adult lives.
pozymandias #235891 February 22, 2021 12:39 pm 0
All too true. I occasionally get to talk to old white people. I was arguing with one the other day, something about Covid. At one point the old woman said “well, I heard on the TAIL-A-VISION that…” and proceeded to recite the nonsense I had just refuted moments prior. The way she said TAIL-A-VISION made it clear that she really just meant God. You see, it was still 1980 and morning in America for her. Whatever degenerate walking hairstyle had told her this stuff on the news was Walter Cronkite and President Reagan reincarnated. These people are never going to get it. They lost their already weak grip on reality sometime after 1980 and just never regained it.Sadly many older people, particularly if they were never very smart or curious in their youth, are like this. They never understood much of the world around them and today the elite manipulates them mercilessly, taking advantage of their trust in long corrupted institutions.
pozymandias #235892 February 22, 2021 12:54 pm 0
and before someone points this out, yes I know Cronkite and Reagan were fakes themselves and didn’t deserve the reverence people held them in. Cronkite lent his support to virtually every Leftist cultural rampage of the mid 20th century and Reagan of course gave us the disastrous immigration reform of 1986 and began the financialization and de-industrialization process. I would have just edited my comment but that’s not available anymore. Today’s older people have a worldview that resembles geologic strata with layers of later lies piled on the earlier ones by a mendacious and nowadays very evil mass media apparatus.
B125 #235821 February 22, 2021 9:22 am 0
Gen Z white males are getting raped in the job market. Unbelievable how many early-mid 20s guys are working minimum wage, living at home, despite having a college degree. If only they had listened to B125 instead of calling him racist for pointing out the negative effects of mass immigration + woke hysteria. I wish I could say that they are getting pissed off, but weed + porn + videogames seems to keep them content.

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