By Doug Casey in The Casey Report:

A wise man, at least in my view, doesn’t allow himself to be limited by an accident of birth.

It’s most unfortunate (for them, anyway) that most people have a peasant mentality. They’re idiotically indoctrinated into thinking that their country is the best place in the world, simply because that’s where they were born. It makes sense in a way; their ancestors rarely ventured more than a day’s walk from the village where they were born. After all, there were stories of dragons and demons over the hill. Things haven’t changed much, except people have exchanged the mud hut for a McMansion. But they’ve retained that medieval serf worldview. And the CNN and BBC newscasts on their widescreens only reinforce the notion that things are dangerous outside their borders; they’re probably even more scared than their primitive ancestors. Assuming they watch anything beside sitcoms and sports.

It’s certainly possible to be happy living your whole life in the place you were born and grew up. But unless you were born a member of the lucky sperm club, it’s almost always suboptimal, and sometimes it can be disastrous. I suspect now is one of those unhappy times.

As you know, at our shop we’re of the opinion that the world at large, and the U.S. in particular, are heading into some seriously turbulent times. The diminution of personal and financial freedom looks like a hyperbolic curve, at first with an almost unnoticeable slope, then one that gets steeper and steeper, at an accelerating rate. I think an excellent case can be made that the current crisis is an inflexion point, beyond which it goes vertical. As one of Obama’s closet counselors (and he’s a very scary guy) has said, “One can’t let a good crisis go to waste.”

A crisis (and this will be a very real one) always draws exhortations from the authorities to “unite” and “pull together” - which usually boils down to following orders and turning in those who don’t. People will want, and will get, “strong leadership.” This does not bode well for libertarians, classical liberals, and free thinkers, in general. As the crisis deepens, it’s likely to be dangerous for someone who doesn’t agree with group-think. Things are likely to be much mellower if you’re living somewhere they consider you a tourist, than to stay on your home turf where questions will be asked if you don’t join the hooting and panting chimpanzees that will surround you. You can absolutely plan on unwelcome social pressure in the years to come, especially as the wars expand.

Coincidental with this is going to be the near destruction of the U.S. dollar; I just don’t see any realistic way around that eventuality at this point. The consequences of that are going to be disastrous, but it’s possible to insulate yourself from many of them. The biggest problem, and also the one most people just don’t see, is political. There is almost no way you can effectively insulate yourself if a government, and society as a whole, go crazy.

You might argue that really tough times in the U.S. are a long shot; the U.S. is “different” from other countries. It’s certainly true the U.S. has been particularly blessed for most of its existence, because it actually was different. The problem is that what made the U.S. different from every other country - a constitution that expressly limited the powers of the state, and an explicit acceptance of property rights and the free market - has evanesced. It’s why I refer to it as the U.S., which is just another country, rather than America, which was a unique and excellent concept.
In any event, I suggest you at least consider the possibility of transplanting yourself, or at least start by transplanting some assets. Don’t look at it as a negative thing. The world is your oyster. Make the most of it. This is directed not only at Americans, but at everybody, everywhere. It just seems a little more urgent for Americans, as well as for Europeans, at this point.

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