Understanding Modern Civilization

The "Chinese Century" narrative I grew up hearing is completely wrong. Rather than displacing America as the next global hegemon, China stands on the precipice of history's most catastrophic social implosion. After decades of double-digit growth and global influence-building, China is rapidly sliding toward Maoism, international isolation, economic gridlock, and widespread protests. This episode maps the coming Chinese civil war that will likely kill hundreds of millions and shatter all assumptions about the global future. -- SPONSORS: NetSuite:  More than 41,000 businesses have already upgraded to NetSuite by Oracle, the #1 cloud financial system bringing accounting, financial management, inventory, HR, into ONE proven platform. Download the CFO's Guide to AI and Machine learning: https://netsuite.com/102 Shopify:  Shopify powers millions of businesses worldwide, handling 10% of U.S. e-commerce. With hundreds of templates, AI tools for product descriptions, and seamless marketing campaign creation, it's like having a design studio and marketing team in one. Start your $1/month trial today at https://shopify.com/cognitive 🚀 Install Star Trek Fleet Command for FREE now https://t2m.io/Whatifalthist and enter the promo code WARPSPEED to unlock 10 Epic Shards of Kirk, enhancing your command instantly! How to easily redeem the promo code 👉 https://stfcgift.com/ -- LINKS: Link to Pluribus. Cancellation Insurance-https://becomepluribus.com/creators/20 Link to my podcast-   / @commonground-qg5oj   Link to my Twitter-https://twitter.com/whatifalthist?ref... Link to my Instagram-https://www.instagram.com/rudyardwlyn... -- Bibliography: Asian Waters by Humphrey Hawksley Asia's Cauldron by Robert Kaplan Disunited Nations by Peter Zeihan Why Nations Fail by James Robinson and Daron Acemoglu The Origins of Political Order by Francis Fukuyama The Next 100 Years by George Friedman World Order by Henry Kissinger The Best of Times and the Worst of Times by Michael Burleigh Seeing Like a State by James C Scott Destined for War by Graham Allison Crashed by Adam Tooze China's Asian Dream by Tom Miller China by John Keay Mao by Jung Chang The Soul of China by Amaury de Riencourt Oriental Ways of Thinking by Nakamura

22 Mars 202433min

America and Iran have repeatedly approached the brink of war—from the Soleimani assassination that triggered Iranian missile strikes to the Stuxnet cyberattack on Iran's nuclear program. These tensions have simmered for decades without erupting into full-scale conflict. This analysis of a potential US-Iran war delivers surprising conclusions about who would actually prevail in this long-anticipated Middle Eastern showdown. -- SPONSORS: NetSuite:  More than 41,000 businesses have already upgraded to NetSuite by Oracle, the #1 cloud financial system bringing accounting, financial management, inventory, HR, into ONE proven platform. Download the CFO's Guide to AI and Machine learning: https://netsuite.com/102 Shopify:  Shopify powers millions of businesses worldwide, handling 10% of U.S. e-commerce. With hundreds of templates, AI tools for product descriptions, and seamless marketing campaign creation, it's like having a design studio and marketing team in one. Start your $1/month trial today at https://shopify.com/cognitive https://www.piavpn.com/Whatifalthist to get 83% off Private Internet Access with 4 months free! -- LINKS: Link to Pluribus. Cancellation Insurance-https://becomepluribus.com/creators/20 Link to my podcast-   / @commonground-qg5oj   Link to my Twitter-https://twitter.com/whatifalthist?ref... Link to my Instagram-https://www.instagram.com/rudyardwlyn... -- Bibliography: On Grand Strategy by John Lewis Gaddis Disunited Nations by Peter Zeihan How to Make War by James F Dunnigan World Order by Henry Kissinger The Best of Times and the Worst of Times by Michael Burleigh A Generation of Sociopaths by Bruce Cannon Gibney The New Map by Dan Yergin A Quick and Dirty Guide to War by James F Dunnigan The Second World War by Lidell Hart A History of Western Warfare by JFC Fuller Destiny Disrupted by Tamim Ansary The Revenge of Geography Robert Kaplan Prisoners of Geography Tim Marshall Silk Roads by Peter Frankopan The Rise of the West by William McNeil Inside Asia by John Gunther

22 Mars 202438min

The brutality of Hamas's recent attack on Israel and the subsequent fighting has the world holding its breath. Though Israel itself is tiny—just the size of New Jersey—it stands at a geopolitical crossroads reminiscent of Bosnia before WWI. This episode examines whether this localized conflict could trigger the chain reaction of alliances that plunges our interconnected world into another global war. -- SPONSORS NetSuite:  More than 41,000 businesses have already upgraded to NetSuite by Oracle, the #1 cloud financial system bringing accounting, financial management, inventory, HR, into ONE proven platform. Download the CFO's Guide to AI and Machine learning: https://netsuite.com/102 Shopify:  Shopify powers millions of businesses worldwide, handling 10% of U.S. e-commerce. With hundreds of templates, AI tools for product descriptions, and seamless marketing campaign creation, it's like having a design studio and marketing team in one. Start your $1/month trial today at https://shopify.com/cognitive Get 50% off your first order of CookUnity meals — go to https://cookunity.com/whatif50 and use my code WHATIF50 at checkout to try them out for yourself! Thanks to CookUnity for sponsoring this video! -- LINKS Link to Pluribus. Cancellation Insurance-https://becomepluribus.com/creators/20 Link to my Twitter-https://twitter.com/whatifalthist?ref... Link to my Instagram-https://www.instagram.com/rudyardwlyn... -- Bibliography: The New Map by Dan Yergin The Human Tide by Paul Moreland The First World War by John Keegan Long Cycles by Goldstein The Great Wave by David Hackett Fischer Ages of Discord by Peter Turchin The Economics of Discontent by Jean Michel Paul The Next 100 Years by George Friedman A Secular Age by Charles Taylor The World in Conflict by John Andrews The Global Crisis by Geoffrey Parker The Military Revolution by Geoffrey Parker Disunited Nations by Peter Zeihan The End of the World is Just the Beginning by Peter Zeihan The Accidental Superpower by Peter Zeihan The Best of Times and the Worst of Times by Michael Burleigh A Quick and Dirty Guide to War by James Dunnigan Destined for War by Graham Allison War, What is it Good for by Ian Morris Destiny Disrupted by Tamim Ansary The Invention of Yesterday by Tamim Ansary World Order by Henry Kissinger Prisoners of Geography by Tim Marshall Global Catastrophes and Trends by Vaclav Smil Asia's Cauldron by Robert Kagan

22 Mars 202442min

With several brutal wars raging and more potentially imminent, formerly "decent" people are turning into bloodthirsty sharks. This episode examines history's most devastating conflicts using Matthew White's meticulously researched "Atrocities"—data respected across the political spectrum. Blood transcends political bias, revealing how Eurocentric our historical education is. When countries are bucking toward war, only perspective keeps us from getting thrown. -- SPONSORS: NetSuite:  More than 41,000 businesses have already upgraded to NetSuite by Oracle, the #1 cloud financial system bringing accounting, financial management, inventory, HR, into ONE proven platform. Download the CFO's Guide to AI and Machine learning: https://netsuite.com/102 Shopify:  Shopify powers millions of businesses worldwide, handling 10% of U.S. e-commerce. With hundreds of templates, AI tools for product descriptions, and seamless marketing campaign creation, it's like having a design studio and marketing team in one. Start your $1/month trial today at https://shopify.com/cognitive Start your FREE scan for data brokers that are hoarding your personal info:https://www.optery.com/protect-your-p... -- Bibliography: Atrocities by Matthew White Bloodlands by Timothy Snyder A History of China by John Keay The First World War by John Keegan A History of the Second World War by Liddell Hart Plagues and Peoples by McNeil Our Oriental Heritage by Will Durant A History of China by Wolfram Eberhard Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom by Steven R. Platt The Cambridge Illustrated History of China War, Peace and War by Peter Turchin the Later Roman Empire by Bury A Guide to Late Antiquity by Peter Brown History's Greatest Wars by Cummins Tragedy and Hope by Carroll Quiggley A History of Russia, Mongolia and Central Asia by David Christian War in Human Civilization by Azar Gat The 30 Years War by Peter Wilson The Military Revolution by Geoffrey Parker The General Crisis by Geoffrey Parker Africa by John Reader African History by Basil Davidson Inglorious Empire by Sashi Tharoor Europe: A History by Norman Davies The Soul of India by Amaury de Riencourt Destiny Disrupted by Tamim Ansary Secular Cycles by Peter Turchin Generations of Captivity by Berlin The Story of the Americas by Leland Dewitt Baldwin

22 Mars 202442min

History's deadliest threats always arrive from unexpected dimensions. While we've conquered biological plagues, our society faces something equally devastating but largely unrecognized: a mental health catastrophe of Black Death proportions. This silent epidemic is already underway, potentially halving world population through indirect effects. The signs were always there in historical records—we just didn't know where to look. This may prove the defining catastrophe of our era. -- SPONSORS: NetSuite:  More than 41,000 businesses have already upgraded to NetSuite by Oracle, the #1 cloud financial system bringing accounting, financial management, inventory, HR, into ONE proven platform. Download the CFO's Guide to AI and Machine learning: https://netsuite.com/102 Shopify:  Shopify powers millions of businesses worldwide, handling 10% of U.S. e-commerce. With hundreds of templates, AI tools for product descriptions, and seamless marketing campaign creation, it's like having a design studio and marketing team in one. Start your $1/month trial today at https://shopify.com/cognitive Check out Softwarekeep here and use the coupon code WhatifAlthist20 https://softwarekeep.com/bestsellers?... -- Bibliography: A Secular Age by Charles Taylor Lost Connections by Johann Hari Stolen Focus by Johann Hari The Happiness Hypothesis by John Haidt The Coddling of the American Mind by John Haidt The Culture of Narcissism by Lasch The Master and His Emissary by McGhilChrist Forgotten Truth by Houston Smith Evil by Baumeister Trauma and the Soul by Kalsched The Inner World of Trauma by Kalsched The True Believer by Eric Hoffer Envy by Helmut Schoeck The Knowledge Machine by Strevens The Web of Meaning by Jeremy Lent Seculosity by David Zahl The World's Religions by Huston Smith Strange Rites by Burton Lineages of Modernity by Todd Immanuel The Past is a Future Country by Edward Dutton Spiteful Mutants by Edward Dutton The Lonely Crowd by David Riesman Empty Planet by Darrell Bricker Disunited Nations by Peter Zeihan Secular Cycles by Peter Turchin by David Hackett Fischer

22 Mars 202454min

Like fish unable to see the water they swim in, we're blind to Christianity's total transformation of Western society. Even our most "original" philosophies only make sense within Christian frameworks. This is the perfect moment to examine this influence—as Britain, Australia, and Netherlands become minority-Christian for the first time in 2,000 years. Christianity asks the least of societies yet paradoxically transforms them more profoundly than any other religion. -- SPONSORS: NetSuite:  More than 41,000 businesses have already upgraded to NetSuite by Oracle, the #1 cloud financial system bringing accounting, financial management, inventory, HR, into ONE proven platform. Download the CFO's Guide to AI and Machine learning: https://netsuite.com/102 Shopify:  Shopify powers millions of businesses worldwide, handling 10% of U.S. e-commerce. With hundreds of templates, AI tools for product descriptions, and seamless marketing campaign creation, it's like having a design studio and marketing team in one. Start your $1/month trial today at https://shopify.com/cognitive Sign up for Domain Money today https://dmnmny.co/whatifalthist Disclaimers here-https://www.domainmoney.com/t/terms-o... -- Bibliography: Dominion by Tom Holland The WEIRDest people in the World by Joseph Heinrech The Sorrows of the Ancient Romans by Carlin Barton The Decline of the West by Oswald Spengler The Coming Caesars by Amaury de Riencourt Sex and Power in History by Amaury de Riencourt A History of the Jews by Paul Johnson A Guide to Late Antiquity by Peter Brown Through the Eye of a Needle by Peter Brown A Secular Age by Charles Taylor Mere Christianity by CS Lewis The Screwtape Letters by CS Lewis The Immortality Key by Brian Muraresku Religions of the World by Houston Smith A Secret History of the World by Mark Booth The Sacred History by Mark Booth Reason, Faith and the Struggle for Western Civilization by Sam Gregg The 3D Gospel by Jason Georges Seven Types of Atheism by John Gray The Invention of Yesterday by Tamim Ansary Tragedy and Hope by Carroll Quiggley Envy by Hemult Schoeck Dynasty by Tom Holland Debt a 5,000 Year History by David Graeber The Evolution of Civilizations by Carroll Quiggley Millennium by Ian Mortimer Caesar and Christ by Will Durant The Age of Faith by Will Durant The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon Rise, Fall and Rise by Peter Turchin The Next 100 Years by Philippe Fabry

22 Mars 202456min

When analyzing societies for revolutionary potential—weak governance, economic problems, unpopular wars, military loyalty issues—Russia scores HIGHER than any major nation except China. This long-planned analysis examines why Russia shows all classic signs of pre-revolutionary collapse. After a year of researching since Ukraine's invasion began, the evidence points overwhelmingly toward Russian state failure within the next five years. -- SPONSORS: NetSuite:  More than 41,000 businesses have already upgraded to NetSuite by Oracle, the #1 cloud financial system bringing accounting, financial management, inventory, HR, into ONE proven platform. Download the CFO's Guide to AI and Machine learning: https://netsuite.com/102 Shopify:  Shopify powers millions of businesses worldwide, handling 10% of U.S. e-commerce. With hundreds of templates, AI tools for product descriptions, and seamless marketing campaign creation, it's like having a design studio and marketing team in one. Start your $1/month trial today at https://shopify.com/cognitive Start your free Optery Exposure Risk Report scan https://app.optery.com/signup?utm_cam... -- Bibliography: Nothing is True and Everything is Possible by Pomerantz All the Kremlin's Men by Zygar Fragile Empire by Ben Judah Crashed by Adam Tooze DisUnited Nations by Peter Zeihan The End of the World is just the Beginning by Peter Zeihan The Next 100 Years by George Friedman The Rise and Fall of Nations by Rushir Sharma Shadow World by Robert Chandler The New Map by Dan Yergin The Best of Times and the Worst of Times by Michael Burleigh A History of Russia, Central Asia and Mongolia by David Christian Ages of Discord by Peter Turchin Rise, Fall and Rise Again by Peter Turchin Tragedy and Hope by Carroll Quigley

22 Mars 202434min