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The US’s reliance on the dollar as a global tax base makes its empire unsustainable, mirroring the Soviet economic overextension.
  • The Soviet Union’s centrally planned economy eventually collapsed under fiscal strain, similar to how the US’s dollar‑based system is eroding.
  • Dollar inflation acts as a hidden tax, funding American consumption while draining global resources.
  • If the dollar loses its reserve status, the US will face a severe contraction in living standards, akin to the Soviet economic implosion.
  • The historical parallel underscores how an empire built on external financial extraction can implode when the extraction mechanism fails.
  • Balaji warns that without a transition to a new monetary foundation (e.g., Bitcoin), the West faces a systemic collapse.
Balaji SrinivasanThe Peter McCormack Show00:53:38

Supporting quotes

It was the greatest empire of all time. Balaji Srinivasan
The empire lasted 85 years. Balaji Srinivasan

From this concept

The Collapse of the West Mirrors the USSR

Balaji draws a parallel between the disintegration of the Soviet Union and the current trajectory of Western decline, emphasizing ethnic fragmentation and the loss of economic primacy.

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