... L: So, Doug: London has suffered more damage from recent rioting than from anything else since the Blitzkrieg; the stock market had its most volatile week in years; gold shot well north of $1,800; and the U.S. government almost crashed into its debt ceiling. Smells like blood in the streets. What does a street fighting man like you make of all this?

Doug: Well, it was about 40 years ago in 1971 [laughs] when I read Harry Browne's first book, How to Profit from the Coming Devaluation. In that book, Harry said that if gold went as high as $200, it would be a sign runaway inflation was coming, and readers might need their survivalist retreats, etc. He was actually right about everything he said in the book, and for the right reasons, but things didn't get as bad as quickly as Harry thought they would.

That just goes to show that if you predict any particular number or outcome, you should not say when it will happen, or if you predict a time for important events, you should not say specifically what will happen.

Anyway, I'm very uncomfortable predicting serious gloom and doom for two reasons: One, most individuals intuitively look out for themselves by producing more than they consume and saving the difference – so the amount of net wealth in the world grows. Two, technology continues to improve – Moore's Law and all that.

L: I've heard you say that before, but you're the guru, so you don't get off so lightly. What do you feel comfortable telling us?

Doug: My sense is that we are definitely exiting the eye of the storm at this point, and we're heading back into the raging winds of financial, political, and social turmoil. The riots you see now are...