WWII

winkelschleifer

Friend, I get your point. And I have been around for a while. The BIG crash of 1987 was the weekend I got married (bad omen? divorced 30 years later … 😆). What’s different this time is that our illustrious president has thrown out the post WWII order that has ruled the world for 70 years. We’re seeing major, major shifts in global trade flows, energy, massive warming of the US dollar, etc. IMHO we’ve never seen anything like this in our lifetimes. This seems to me to be a main factor behind the generational run up in gold.

AtlanticRelation

Define economic peak. Post WWII the US had the biggest slice of the world's economic pie, but that was because the other countries were devastated.

Kaymish_

Yeah you do. The US authorities have been gaslighting and propagandizing their population for decades. It was literally the first thing to go home after WWII. The USA built an enormous propaganda machine for the war and it didn't just go away, some of it got demobilized and went into advertising but a lot of it was kept to fight the next enemy, and that next enemy ended up becoming Americans among others. As investors we need to cut through the propaganda or at least understand that there is propaganda so we can make investments accordingly.

gopoohgo

The Greatest Generation fought WWII and were raised in the economic stagnation following the Great Depression. It's laughable you are comparing the pampered Millennials to them.

ConsiderationKey1658

We kicked your ass in WWII probably

FrillyLlama

In short ICE was a way for Trump to fast track his chauvinist neo-nazi buddies into his own secret police force. Just like the SS in WWII. It will get worse before it gets better if congress doesn’t step in.

thaughtless

There have been many examples of post oppression justice throughout history: Ancient Athens: the Thirty Tyrants who were executed or exiled after democracy was restored (403 BCE) France (1794–95): post-Terror reprisals and counter-revolutionary violence Italy & Eastern Europe (1945): fascist collaborators executed by partisans Post-junta trials in Argentina (1980s; resumed in the 2000s) Post-WWII Japan’s Tokyo Trials Humanity has a way of being cyclical and repetitive.

mithyyyy

not really a trump fan either... but i also wouldn't count on it. carney's speech at davos said it best. the world post-WWII was built economically to serve the US and its economic interests. american companies are such monoliths for a reason, and it'd take drastic effort and divestment in a system built to serve america to see them fall...

Patterson84

But we had elections through multiple Wars. Including WWII. But he will try and cancel them because of protestors, protesting his policies. Mainly ICE running around killing people with no Oversight or accountability.

snaynay

Fucking hell friend, but this is eye-opening. You are so totally isolated and misinformed about the rest of the world from the warped US media optics. Venezuela. A higher number people supported him there than your country supports Trump. Yet you just went into another country, abducted their leader, then hold him in the US till he has a delayed poxy trial and has lost all political power, even if he gets released. It's one thing to get rid of the bad eggs, it's another to just empower Russia's legitimacy into annexing Ukrainian territory for other similarly batshit excuses. Might have something to do with all that oil. Russia is economically struggling in a war with a historically very poor, non-EU, non-NATO European country that was conditionally demilitarised and denuclearised in the fall of the Soviet Union (after the US and USSR's Cold War) by the US (+UK) and Russia in exchange for independence from the USSR. They then wanted more economic involvement with the EU and discussions on NATO (both the US economic and militaristic hegemon). One of their guarantors attacked them for this, the other bitched about the cost of wars in Europe, emboldened the aggressor, attempted to humiliate a wartime president, *extort them for minerals*, tell them to concede the land and spent most of their time just trying to exit any responsibility. The EU (or the US) entering Ukraine is dragging all of NATO and potentially other colonial allies into a war against a country whose only real threat to Europe is an immense nuclear arsenal and an autocrat. The troops sent to Greenland were to take part in a military game, something that happens every year. Symbolic at best. US declined to take part this year, surprising no-one. Russia and China are the US's propaganda boogeymen to keep you all on your toes and let you funnel in some much of your tax dollars into the military complex. Pinned as existential threats to your existence as the hegemon, the delusional paranoia does not exist outside the US. They aren't trying to take Greenland. Doing so will initiate a response from all of NATO. If the US is scary enough for them, the second scariest opposition on the planet is NATO sans-US. The Dane's aren't stopping the US from stationing as many troops as they want there, but they only really peaked at about 150 in recent decades, because it's not fucking necessary. Surprising no-one, this is once again about wanting oil and minerals without those pesky Danes shooting American corporations down for their constant environmental violations. Stop being a fucking idiot and listening to the rhetoric of the man who can't even remember the name of the country that he wants to take the second he starts going off script and rambling to an international political convention like it's a Trump rally, or sends demented letters to the fucking Norwegian president about taking Greenland because the independent Nobel Committee didn't award him a Nobel Peace Prize (largely ignored because he has ICE acting like the fucking Nazi's did in Germany before WWII). Too many Americans forget how much their country's strength prospers from it being the centre of an international economic system derived from Bretton Woods, yet are oblivious to how much they are destroying the faith in that system to those who make it the "global" currency that it is.

therealmikeBrady

How many countries has the CCP bombed or gotten in occupation with since the end of WWII/NATO? How many nato allies have they been in conflict with China? Ask yourself if any of that is related? What happens when china takes over Taiwan and America doesn’t have access to chips for computers (TSMC/nvidia), missiles and fighter jets? It’s really not complicated if you can think this through.

TopTippityTop

Start wars, impose influence to keep its economic/political edge, maintain the USD as the reserve currency, prevent others from waging war, maintain national security, keep the seas with minimal piracy to maintain trade routes (one of the main established functions since the agreements post WWII), etc.

somebody_throw_a_pie

JPow coulda ended WWII just by saying “Good afternoon”.

KillahHills10304

Except this time, we gonna LOWER the rates and INCREASE liquidity. And that'll be the start of the final chapter in the post WWII, western aligned hegemony. Im not optimistic about what takes its place, considering every major power player is a complete moron who couldn't be trusted to run a lemonade stand nevermind a country.

jhonnylasagna

“Ever since WWII, the middle Western powers have looked to the US as a guarantor of both financial and military security. We have now reached a point where they can no longer be certain of either guarantee.” The opposite side of that coin is the fact that many in the US no longer want to subsidize European welfare states that have for decades been unable or uninterested in sufficiently funding and fielding their own defense. The US no longer wants to be that guarantor. “The Western middle powers are growing to realize to an ever greater extent that they must guarantee their own future.” Yep. Shouldn’t be a surprise. That you are your own guarantor of your future. The Western child-states must mature and grow up into self-sufficient adults. Finally. It’s the US that is on the cutting edge of tech innovation. And not because we have guaranteed the security and commerce of the relatively weaker Western world. It’s because it’s who we are as Americans. It’s deeply rooted in our culture. Diversifying outside of the US isn’t necessarily a bad idea. I’m well-diversified in overseas markets and they’ve outperformed in some areas. But the heart of innovation in the Western world resides squarely within the United States. Whether that’s for entertainment, business or military. And so let them bite off their noses to spite their faces by selling the US. Tell me, where is the European or Canadian NVDA, AMZN, PLTR, etc., etc., etc.? Where are the world leading innovations and businesses in Europe? Europe has fallen deeply behind the US on many fronts and European leaders have long been speaking about this and issuing dire warnings.

Bush_Trimmer

"Ever since WWII, the middle Western powers have looked to the US as a guarantor of both financial and military security." "The Western middle powers are growing to realize to an ever greater extent that they must guarantee their own future." it's about time the adult-child grows up and taking on adult responsibilities for its future finance & security. let's start by stepping up military & financial support for the neighboring ukraine; a conflict that is occuring on its continent.

Raythecatass

I am looking forward to when the US buys Greenland. We should have bought it back in WWII when we had the chance. Not selling like all the fools. In WWII, the U.S. effectively protected Greenland during by establishing a de facto protectorate after Germany occupied Denmark, building bases, and defending it from Nazi incursions, particularly German weather stations, securing its crucial cryolite mine and strategic location for weather monitoring and air routes. This was formalized through a 1941 agreement where the U.S. assumed defense responsibilities, allowing troops and bases for the duration of the German occupation.

Falcon3492

This is what happens when untreated mental illness and abject stupidity meet! Trumps lack of understanding of history is alarming! We didn't take Greenland in WWII we had several air bases on the island and they were there to put the last piece of the puzzle in place to end the U boats reign of terror on the North Atlantic shipping lanes. Once we had the ability to cover the entire North Atlantic with air cover the U boats could not operate on the surface and when they surfaced they were under attack from both the air and by surface ships.

Strafingfire

I'm watching the market and how it's reacting with incredulity for the same reasons. I've held the idea that diversifying into international funds is unnecessary because a lot of the SP500 companies are essentially international companies. But when the US is voluntarily dismantling a system that it has benefited from since the end of WWII I'm not so sure. It's probably good that this has caused other countries to look at their dependence on US tech infrastructure with more scrutiny though. As it is now these tech companies hold too much power and the US has no interest in reining them in.

spellbadgrammargood

>President Trump tells European leaders that without the US in WWII, 'you would all be speaking German or a little Japanese.' LOL..

Puzzleheaded-War3983

Never was ours. Occupied during WWII under Monroe Doctrine, but was rightly belonging to Denmark. We are a far cry from the morality of that time.

Upper_Knowledge_6439

It's not the amount. It's the actual sale of the entire position. Pension funds have such long time horizons for payouts that they focus on stable investments of which bonds play a very very large, if not majority, of the burden. The funds need that stability to properly manage the actuarial risks of their pensions so that they don't run out of money or suffer unrecoverable losses in bad years. Since WWII, the US bond market has been the pinnacle of that market. It is considered "guaranteed" money as all you had to do was hold the bond to maturity and you knew you would get your principal back and knew the rate of return you'd receive for the bond. This sale however had nothing to do with risks within the fund. The fund itself cited the risks of the investment as not being acceptable. In other words, the pension fund no longer trusts that holding onto the bond will result in them getting their money back and/or at the rate of return they would expect. My view, and this is speculation, is that the fund determined that the inflationary risks of what the US is doing no longer validates the inflation rate backdrop being offered to support the level of interest being offered by the US in the sale of their bonds. The fund is worried about a default in effect.

cinciguyeast

Us did not give Greenland back after WWII, US didn't own Greenland. After WWII, US in agreement with Denmark could put as many bases on Greenland as they would like. We had 1000s of troops and many bases on Greenland. Over the years they were dropped.

MsMoreCowbell828

Do you think Haliburton, Raytheon & General Dynamics are the only suppliers on earth? Other countries build & will ship their wares as the UST (United States of Trump) is rendered a pariah state, every other tech capable country on earth will swoop in to fulfill that need and the billions of dollars that go with it. *You* simply don't understand that trump just spit in the faces of every world leader, that he & his administration think they are nothings, then he belched out ridiculous fake 'history' of WWII, lies upon lies mixed with incandescent insults. They will ALL turn from us, they do NOT need the USA, for anything. Enjoy the coming Depression, what an interesting strategy though! 🤙

ButtCoinBuzz

Well, the US after WWII opposed fascism and desired a global order that ensured imperial spheres of blatant exploitation and inevitable regional, global conflict would be stopped or at least more difficult. The conservatives of today think that's dumb and gay.

ComfortableIsland946

Probably part of the motivation was that soon after WWII, France had other wars to wage. (First Indochina War, Franco-Algerian War, Malagasy Uprising against French colonial rule in Madagascar.)

Moka556

Référés Greenland as Iceland like 3 times, said « there’s no canada without USA, remember that Mark next time you make a statement », « we won WWII, without us you would all speak German and a bit of Japanese », « I saw Macron yesterday with his sunglasses, what the hell happened! », « all those stupid people like Powell want to increase rates », basically he said that zelinski calls him Daddy… It was a basic narcissist bully defensive technique 101. « I’m the best and I’ll point at everybody who doesn’t like me ». It was awkward, nothing constructive. You don’t come out of this with a plan nor a strong feeling. It was just pure horse shit.

Miserable-Lawyer-233

The U.S. *was* foolish to let Greenland go after WWII. Washington spent years negotiating for full control and ultimately settled for less—a strategic mistake. From a defense standpoint, the case is straightforward: the U.S. has always needed Greenland, and now it needs it even more. Yet because it doesn’t own it, it must ask permission. That’s an inefficient arrangement for the defense of North America, and it’s a fair criticism. And what, exactly, has Denmark done with it? Greenland has seen little development and minimal strategic use outside of serving U.S. national security interests. For more than eight decades, its primary value has effectively been as an American defense asset anyway.

creemeeseason

I'd disagree. The extreme power in the US president is basically a post WWII development. Even in the 1930s the US wasn't the world power. They actually had a relatively weak standing army compared to European powers. Power didn't really consolidate until Truman. After the atomic bombs were dropped he spent the rest of his presidency consolidating nuclear power with the president in an effort to keep the military from using them. Even then, the president didn't have the power to influence markets on a day to day basis until the Internet age. Most didn't even try until now because they didn't really know how to use the technology. I'd argue we're learning in real time the repurcissuons of having a single person able to influence worldwide events on a daily basis. Apparently the lesson the market is learning is that those daily announcements don't actually impact future cash flows that much. Time will tell if the market is correct or not.

NeatGur3140

NATO never helps us, we saved Greenland from Nazis, the US won WWII single handedly, how dumb everyone else is, how dumb the US was to "give" Greenland back after WWII, still blaming Biden for everything..it just never ends

NunuTitobu

This dude watched a WWII movie then stopped learning about the world

gamjatang111

the best part is "If Us didnt join WWII europe would be speaking german" -paraphrasing

moustache_disguise

That take is rather ignorant of history. The west punished Germans for WWI. After WWII, we took the opposite approach and financed the rebuild of their country. We did not punish the average German. Collateral damage that happened while the war was ongoing isn't punishment. It's just part of war.

Grouchy_Row_7983

Why isn't the market crashing? Do they not see a global disaster happening of a scale not seen since WWII? This could be the end of America as we know it.

mrginger1987

What happens if Russia and/or China invade Greenland and control a major Artic circle land mass? Do we have another proxy war i.e Ukraine, do we let Denmark and the EU defend their own territory, or do we get dragged into a war like WWII and send our troops to fight to gain back land we have no control over..

Whitworth_73

There’s a good book on this comparing investments in various countries during the lead up to WWII and through to the aftermath called Wealth, War and Wisdom by Barton Biggs who was a Morgan Stanley executive. One thing that stood out was that brokerage accounts were frozen and access to money was sometimes difficult. People who owned industrial businesses did well. Also people who held wealth in productive farmland did well.

Sryzon

The world shows time and time again everyone is ready to move on. Just see WWII.

WildTadpole

Germany has been neutered by Uncle Sam And Izzy since WWII

Chlo-Motion

It's gonna be OK guys, S&P is up 54000% since 1939 (start of WWII)

ding_0_dong

What if he hasn't? What if he is the clearest thinking president you've ever had? What if Greenland had been available to the Germans during WWII? Would America have joined? Even when Japan attacked would they have bothered about the war in Europe?

CrazyGazpacho

You're right. In WWII nobody can accuse the Italians and Germans of being passive bystanders. You've changed my mind. We'll hit them with Schlieffen Zwei and sweep in, down and round from Canada. Zum wohl!

Far_Way_6322

It's like asking what would happen to the stock market if aliens invaded. It's completely rhetorical, and deserves some AI slop: If aliens *actually* invaded, the stock market reaction would likely unfold in **phases**, driven more by human psychology than by any immediate economic fundamentals. 1. Immediate Reaction (Hours–Days): Panic & Trading Halts * **Global sell-off** as uncertainty spikes to unprecedented levels. * Major indices (S&P 500, NASDAQ, FTSE, Nikkei) would likely drop **20–40% or more** very quickly. * **Circuit breakers** would almost certainly trigger; exchanges might **halt trading entirely**. * Liquidity would dry up as market makers pull back. **Why:** Markets hate uncertainty, and an alien invasion would be the ultimate unknown. 2. Sector-by-Sector Chaos # Likely to Crash Hard * **Airlines & travel** – grounded operations. * **Luxury goods & entertainment** – consumer demand collapses. * **Insurance** – impossible-to-price risk. * **Banks** – fear of systemic collapse. # Likely to Hold Up or Rise * **Defense contractors** – massive government spending. * **Cybersecurity & communications** – coordination and defense needs. * **Energy & utilities** – critical infrastructure. * **Food, water, agriculture** – survival essentials. 3. Safe Havens… Until They Aren’t * **Gold**: Initial surge as panic hedge. * **Government bonds**: Short-term spike, assuming governments still function. * **Cash**: High demand, though usefulness depends on continuity of institutions. * **Crypto**: Extremely volatile—some flee to it, others abandon it. If the invasion threatens civilization itself, *traditional safe havens may stop mattering*. 4. Medium Term (Weeks–Months): Adaptation or Collapse # If Humanity Resists & Stabilizes * Markets reopen with **new valuations**. * Wartime-style economy emerges. * Defense, AI, space, and advanced tech dominate indices. * Massive government intervention and debt issuance. # If Humans Are Losing * Equity markets become largely irrelevant. * Capital controls, currency resets, or abandonment of markets altogether. * Focus shifts from wealth to survival. 5. Long-Term Outcomes (Years) * **Human victory or coexistence** → markets eventually recover, but with: * Entirely new industries * Obsolete ones wiped out * **Human subjugation/extinction** → stock market goes to zero, permanently. Historical Parallels (Very Imperfect) * WWII market closures and wartime economies * 9/11 (short-term panic, fast recovery) * COVID crash (speed + global nature, but far smaller existential risk) An alien invasion would dwarf all of these. Bottom Line **Short answer:** The stock market would likely **crash immediately**, trading might stop, and financial markets would only matter again if humans regained a sense of control and continuity.

Clam-Choader

WWII was about governments, WWIII is about resources 

Otterpoopie

#The last time europoors went into debt they started WWII LMAO 🤌

CrazyGazpacho

Do you really think European history is widely understood as peaceful!? We're the dominant culture on the planet. People know all about the Greeks, the Romans, Napoleon, the Spanish Armada, the vikings, braveheart etc. The fact we haven't jad an existential crisis since WWII is an interesting point though, because Italy and Germany are current EU members and they were beaten by Britain, America and Russia - hard to call that an EU victory when they were mostly either knocked out of the war (france), not part of it (ireland), dealing with their own fascism (spain) or the aggressors (Germany, Italy, austria). The EU is militarily weak after decades as free-riders behind American protection of Europe. The best they can do is launch a devastating but ultimately unsuccessful war for Greenland, or "monitoring the situation" - something they do better than almost anyone

Impressive_Trick_573

First, the end of the post WWII world order is not a nothing burger. Second, it may be the trigger, but who’s buying into a market when the US is on the brink of riots, followed by martial law anda postponed elections?

Huge-Maize-6287

Well the US companies also got very big because they used EU as a large new market after WWII, so I think the ecosystem that’s created historically has been beneficial for both. But let’s say the US pulls out now entirely and the EU re-arms over the next years and builds up economically and are free to make any trade with China they want (they’re limited now because of the US). Do you think they’ll keep doing trade as they do now with the US? It will reduce a lot of export possibilities in the long run. Which if the ultimate goal is a pure self-sufficient USA and outside doesn’t matter will work. But like I said, it will reduce the geopolitical power the US has now in the long term. Which you seem to ignore. But either way, like I said, I wasn’t gonna turn it into a heated discussion. We don’t have to agree on it, I mainly wanted to understand your view! Thanks for keeping it civilized, have a good day😁

FuckleUp

Remember the fold Europe did during early WWII? There’s a new Hitler now.

Kashmir79

The correct answer is nobody knows. Usually all trading is halted between warring nations which can cause the value of individual country stocks held by adversaries to drop to zero (happened with Russia a few years ago). Countries can get destroyed and have their markets obliteration to 90-100% losses (Germany, Japan in WWII). Revolutions can send whole country markets to zero (China, Russia). You can only be broadly diversified and hope for the best, with confiscation in your home country being the worst case scenario which has happened before. In that case, the concept of modern retirement is probably off the table anyway

indianadave

Despite being very much pro a (regulated) free market, I’m very much left of center in the US. Which is to say, you think I don’t know this? You think I’m not aware that FDR and his “socialism lite” policies and “anti-feudalism” tax policy was what created the post WWII economy and led the states to the greatest growth in human history? It baffles me the left leaning politicians trade successful populism for conservative consolidation every election cycle.

Missing_Logic

Did the stock market reach all time high pre WWII in Nazi Germany?

Rin-Tohsaka-is-hot

We've sort of found ourselves in a deja vu moment here due to Global Warming and China's Polar Silk Road. After WWII, we tried to buy Greenland in 1946. Denmark said no, but we behind the scenes threatened to invade Greenland in 1955. We didn't end up doing it, and instead negotiated the rights to put as many military bases and personel as we want on the island (and still can today, there is no defined limit in our defense agreement to the number of US troops we can send there like there is with other NATO countries). The reason we wanted it was due to its strategic importance for protecting the US from Soviet missiles. If we wanted to intercept ICBMS, it was the opportune spot at roughly the midpoint of the flight path when the missile would be at its apex and lowest speed. Easiest place to intercept. We also wanted to put our own nuclear weapons there since in the early 50s putting them in Europe seemed too provocative, although we did do this eventually. Also part of the scramble for the Arctic Circle, but mostly Cold War stuff. Today, Greenland is suddenly a hot topic again after decades of irrelevance. It's due to Global Warming. In the summertime, there are maritime shipping routes open among the thawed ice that were previously closed. Now it's possible to send a ship from Europe to the West Coast US without having to go all the way down and around through Panama. Everyone wants a piece of this. China and Russia both have ramped up military presence in the region, China even in 2018 declared itself a "near-Arctic power" and publicly declared its intentions to build a Polar Silk Road. Greenland is at the center of that as well, they would want to establish Chinese ports. This is the thing the US is most worried about. Russia less-so, there isn't really any world where Denmark allows them to open up shop in Greenland any time soon. TLDR: In the past we tried to take Greenland to hedge Russia. Now we want it to hedge China.

Endogamy

US got rich off post WWII order, the US doesn’t do anything out of charity and nobody owes them anything.

SukottoHyu

My guess would be, Russia has some extremely sophisticated spies planted in Europe and the US, and Putin is using them to help dismantle the Western nations and NATO. It is in Putin's best interest for NATO to collapse and for American trade deals to crumble. Perhaps a lot of the advice Trump gets in the White House is being adulterated through Russian spies. Who knows... A lot of this stuff happens across the world without the public knowing about it, and in many cases we don't find out don't until many years later. For example, in the WWII, the fact that the British decrypted the German enigma was not public knowledge until 1974. And also, the Cambridge Five, only just declassified last year. There is also an ongoing process by former Soviet nations declassifying KGB intelligence files from the Cold War. It makes you wonder what sort of espionage we have going on now that wont become public knowledge for another 70 odd years.

j_la

>If Denmark and the rest of UK/Europe do not believe it is crucial to defend properly, nor have the means to do so, it’s easy to exploit as a wedge between allies as it is a source of ambiguity in our relationship in the event of conflict, and also a structural weakness. What an awful take. NATO has the ability to defend it because NATO nations defend each other. This includes the US…nobody thought NATO allies would need to defend themselves *from* the US. You know the only nation to invoke article 5? The US. And Denmark responded to that call and sent troops to Afghanistan. You have to be the lowest of the low to turn your back on an ally this way. There’s gotta be a circle of hell in Dante’s inferno for this kind of rat-fuckery. >The reality is that it’s strategic value is of equal or greater importance for the US, and even if Denmark or Europe were to defend it properly, that defense would be for the benefit of Denmark and Europe, not the US. Our capabilities far outweigh those of Denmark, and our deterrence is far more of a factor in preventing conflict than Europe’s… So the US should take whatever it likes? Again, what a shitty worldview. The US has by far been the greatest beneficiary of post-WWII stability and yet it’s never enough for MAGA morons. The idea that anyone else benefits as well is just the *worst* isn’t it? Also, way to undercut Trump’s apparent causus belli. If our deterrence is already protecting the island, there’s no national security problem. >If you replaced Poland with a large and defended US state, do you think Ukraine would have happened? If my mother had wheels, she’d be a bike. What’s your point? >To provide that defense the US should be able to generate additional revenue to fund it. At the moment Denmark is able to lay claim to the territory only because of its proximity to the US and involvement in NATO. It’s an example of a partner nation taking advantage of its relationship to the US. They’re taking advantage of the US by controlling their own territory? What a shallow, self-centered point of view. This kind of illogic is going to run our nation into the ground. I’m ashamed for the school you graduated from. Also, bravo for going full mask off. Naked exploitative extraction is the name of the game. Next, you’ll tell me that the US needs the *lebensraum*…

RRicken

Who would have thought that 80 years after WWII, there would be a US president naming such threats. We've seen this story before. We know where it leads and what is the price to pay. Hope we haven't forgotten.

sargrvb

To add to this, main character syndrome is getting more and more people in trouble. Just stick to what works and understand the mechanics of what the S and P represents. It will help alleviate your anxiety long term. Don't overcomplicate your life and overthink the simple stuff. Good advice 👍 As others in this thread have said, Buffet lived through WWII, the cold war, covid, etc.etc. and he still stayed focused. Don't let people scare you out of a good decision.

jrex035

So like, do people not realize both how creepy our statements about Greenland are (sounds like they're coming from a rapist, which tracks honestly) or how dangerous they are? Denmark has been one of our closest military allies since the end of WWII. They sent troops to both Afghanistan (for 20 years) AND Iraq (most NATO countries didn't), they've been a pro-American voice in the alliance since joining, and they've consistently spent above the 2% GDP target, and yet we're literally threatening them with invasion if they don't hand over territory, territory that very much doesn't want to part of the US. And the worst part? We *already have military bases in Greenland*. In fact, we've closed dozens of those bases over the years. We're threatening to destroy the most powerful military alliance in human history to obtain something we already have effectively unlimited access to.

JeffB1517

(part 2) > That's not the best we can do now or the best that any democratic country has managed to do since WWII. I would agree. We have a lot more case studies. I don't object to more knowledge. But I do think the rural vs. urban divide issue is essentially timeless even if the specifics are not. Certainly we aren't going through Christianization for example. But the pressures that Christianization unleashed are not structurally different from the pressues unleashed by other dramatic changes like: no fault divorce, successful easily available birth control, g*y rights... changing procreative and coupling (avoiding the s-word) mores.

JeffB1517

> Minority rule leading to a home-grown authoritarian state is a much more likely scenario and so the priority needs to be to guard against that. Some would argue we already live in the beginnings of one. I'd agree we are seeing a disaffected minority which no longer believes the democracy intends to deliver for them and thus is more amendable to authoritarianism. My concern though, is your proposal is to further entrench the rule by the urban elite, making the democracy even less able to deliver. That's not going to diminish their affection for authoritarianism, it is going to increase it. Their disaffection IMHO is not combing from Russia/North Korea/China it is coming from deliberate economic and social policy: 1. An undermining of good quality factory jobs for non-college educated men 2. A reduction in agricultural wages induced by aggressive imported labor under harsh conditions 3. A drop off in small business and medium business success 4. A concentration of professional class jobs: finance, IT... in larger cities not midsized and small cities. etc... > That's not the best we can do now or the best that any democratic country has managed to do since WWII. I would agree. We have a lot more case studies. I don't object to more knowledge. But I do think the rural vs. urban divide issue is essentially timeless even if the specifics are not. Certainly we aren't going through Christianization for example. But the pressures that Christianization unleashed are not structurally different from the pressues unleashed by other dramatic changes like: no fault divorce, successful easily available birth control, gay rights... changing sexual mores.

urania_argus

>you would need to address how you propose to avoid the not uncommon situation of a rural population which despises the urban population's governance. In particular prevent it from degenerating into the rural population allying themselves with foreign enemies of the state to escape to help overthrow what to them is little different from a foreign dictatorship. That is an interesting question, but a vanishingly small probability in the US due to its geographic location and dominance in this part of the world. That wasn't the case with Iran and Afghanistan. Minority rule leading to a home-grown authoritarian state is a much more likely scenario and so the priority needs to be to guard against that. Some would argue we already live in the beginnings of one. >They looked at the history of the Roman Republic. They also looked at Middle Age democratic institutions and the fall of democracies in Greek City States. They had case studies. And all those case studies were even more removed from the Founders in time and general knowledge about the world and human behavior than the Founders are removed from us. They did the best they could but it was to a significant degree educated guessing and winging it because there were no contemporary examples and experiences of democracy and how it can go wrong. That's not the best we can do now or the best that any democratic country has managed to do since WWII.

SerpentRoyalty

The only reason the US stock marker has been superior since WWII, is global trust in the Fed's independence. All of these EU retirement funds will pull out when that trust erodes. It won't happen overnight either. Moving that kind of capiral takes time so you'd normally see those effects within a year.

Sudden_Publics

There is no good war. Our intervention in the European front during WWII is the exception that proves the rule, and even then, it was not “good,” just morally justified.

CEOofBeanz

I think the big bois are waiting to see if the US absolutely cucks the world with this move on Iran WWII style or if it leads to a broader conflict

mugsoh

WWII started on Sep 1,1939

ybl84f1

"*you’re a boomer who had it extremely easy*". I mean really - how lame are you? Everyone but you has it *extremely easy?* And you - because you're somehow special - are the only one that has it hard? Seriously are you listening to yourself? Dude grow a spine and quit blaming everyone else and take some responsibility for your life. There are more opportunities now than I ever had, but because you're lazy and want sympathy you come here to complain. If you can't afford a house where you live then move! If you want more money quit sitting on your ass and get a second job. My grandparents - like many other immigrants during WWII, had everything taken from them by the Germans, were literally bombed while fleeing Europe and landed on Ellis Island with exactly $0 and barely speaking English - and then managed to put 2 kids through college because they worked their ass off. Sheeesh and you're crying about how hard things are, and then instead turn to gambling with options instead of smartly investing what monies you did have. Pull the stick out of your ass, work hard and stop blaming others.

Rutherford-B-Chillin

Worlds always been crazy. Except now the craziness is mainlined from your fingertips to your brain in realtime. Imagine if we had phones in the Great Depression, Vietnam or WWII…that would be mind blowing. Add some positivity to your feed, it helps.

kelsos666

|**Benner Prediction**|**Actual S&P 500 Event**|**Result**| |:-|:-|:-| |**1929** (Panic)|Great Depression Crash|**Hit**| |**1945** (Panic)|Post-WWII Repercussions|**Hit**| |**1965** (Panic)|1966 "Credit Crunch"|**Hit** (Off by 1 yr)| |**1987** (Panic)|Black Monday Crash|**Hit**| |**1999** (Panic)|Dot-com Bubble Burst|**Hit**| |**2007** (Boom/Sell)|Pre-GFC Market Peak|**Hit**| |**2019** (Panic)|COVID-19 Crash (early 2020)|**Hit** (Off by months)| |**2023** (Bust/Buy)|2023 Recovery/Bull Run|**Hit**|

newbrevity

So this is like Germany's buildup prior to WWII. The crazy fuck is leading us into all out war. Oh btw you're not getting a bonus from all that money DOGE was supposed to save. The whole world is in danger right now.

limplettuce_

Post-WWII up until the GFC

jaajaajaa6

If that happens, whole businesses will shut down without access to chips. Don’t kid yourself, there is no other option. Would China keep letting them send out chips? Only if there is something in it for them that they can trade for. And that may be a price no one is willing to pay. Don’t forget that China still has a major grievance with Japan from how they were treated during WWII. This possibility is the only reason I own any treasuries.

fallingdowndizzyvr

> History since WWII is filled with violations of the “rules based order”, from coups across the globe to the Iraq war to the Russian war in Ukraine. No. It hasn't. The Iraq war was distinctly different from the Ukraine war. The Iraq war came about with UN resolutions. That's international law. The Ukraine war did not. > What do you imagine has changed? Because now we are like Russia. At least we tried to be different by getting UN resolutions and allies. We don't anymore. We are exactly like Russia. That's how. And our allies have noticed. Now our *closest* allies consider us the bad guys. If not in the majority in the plurality. https://www.politico.com/news/2025/12/23/us-allies-trump-trust-poll-00702908

thewimsey

If you think this is the end of the rules based order, you don’t know anything about recent history. History since WWII is filled with violations of the “rules based order”, from coups across the globe to the Iraq war to the Russian war in Ukraine. What do you imagine has changed?

fallingdowndizzyvr

The significance is not about oil. It's about the end of the rules based order we've had since the end of WWII. The rules based order that has been the bedrock on which the market has flourished. That's the significance.

OrdinaryWeekly7468

What happened with Venezuela is something that hasn't happened since the end of WWII. Before, there were aggressive imperialist actions done to decapitate smaller states but there was an attempt to build a coalition or consensus through the UN or other quasi-international partnerships. That might not seem like much, but that model was keeping at bay the idea that superpowers could build their own super states disconnected from the international community. It's why China is skirting around Taiwan instead of going in directly. It's why Russia hasn't launched an all out assault, up to and including using nukes in Ukraine in order to assert power over them. Trump demonstrated that the new order is simply might over diplomacy, and being direct in aims like resource taking. It sets the stage for the US to actually make good, militarily, on the threats toward Greenland, Cuba, Mexico and whoever else neighbors us. This is how empires were run in the mercantilist age. What makes now distinct and has shifted us into uncharted territories are the technological development that have happened in weaponry, which can be world ending in a way that cannons and bayonets were not.

fallingdowndizzyvr

The biggest thing at play was the end of the "rule of law". The US is now solidly a rogue nation. While we never really believed in international law. At least we we somewhat discreet about it. Now we openly flaunt our disregard for it. The only laws that matter to the US are US laws. And we apply those globally. That has not been lost on our adversaries *and* allies. The golden age we've had since the end of WWII is dead. That is by far the largest consequence.

AttentionFormer4098

Even if stocks went up in WWII, that doesn’t mean you want a war, right? Tell people in Hiroshima and Pearl Harbor, that stocks went up in WW2.

SealEmployee

Yes, it would - but stocks went up in WWII.

Visible_Sentence_399

If this goes like Japan did after WWII after we took over Time to invest in Venezuela

Waste_Inspector95

I dunno. The US fully embracing the open-faced fascist imperialism it kept trying to hide behind a mask since the end of WWII seems like a really bad idea. Russia, China, etc. will massively gain global credibility and goodwill over this while the only countries that will still collaborate with the US from.this point forward will be shitholes who don't have any other choice and will seek to liberate themselves from American terrorism as soon as possible. The US and Israel are already the most hated countries on earth. The situation is increasingly unstable for them. The very moment they lost control everything will fall apart and people will instantly switch to less evil and more trustworthy countries, particularly China. So... maybe calls for a short time after the US truly has taken illegal control over Venezuelan resources and starts stealing them. Long term, I will bet against the US except they genuinely find some magical way to maintain control in the face of an ever strengthening and outperforming China. Considering that anyone supporting the US is either a complete idiot or a slave who has no other choice... I doubt they will succeed. The only way is AI but even there China is advancing more rapidly AND open source (thereby ruining the US ability to monetize).

JoseLunaArts

In WWII Japan messed with the industrial power of the world, which was USA. Pearl Harbor was meant to intimidate USA. Japan invaded the weak Indonesia for its oil. Today China is the industrial power of the world. USA invaded weak Venezuela for its oil. It only takes an act to intimidate China to revisit WWII but with modern weapons.

Accomplished_Pin_747

WWII

etaoin314

Listen, US military doctrine calls for readiness to fight wars in two theaters simultaneously since at least WWII. That is the least of our problems, it is taiwans proximity to the mainland and the sheer size of the forces that coma can dedicate to such an endeavor.

Gandalftron

I don't think they are nearly as far apart as you believe.  Just a few years ago the world could not have dreamed of Russia starting the largest land invasion since WWII, yet here we are. 

nextnode

Since the formation of modern china and WWII, they are #3 or #4 in the most invasions eg notably the annexation of Tibet and parts of India. The last 50 years have been better - you only have the invasion of Vietnam 1979, and occupied islands which they did not have international rights to - Paracel, Spartly, Scarborough. Hong Kong is a legit example of a territory that was taken over with military means against agreements and China has made it very clear that they do not consider the agreement applying.

derprondo

An attack of the likes not seen since WWII, when their military just stood down and did absolutely nothing? LMAO this fucking clown show jesus christ. They win, I'm as apathetic as I could possibly be now. Wake me up when we get the next liar in office.

wtfredditacct

Shit was already pretty battered at that point from the great depression... which WWII arguably pulled us out of.

Lopsided-Ticket3813

Basically international norms etc and the threat of US intervention kept China at Bay. The international order was held after WWII because the US wanted it that way. If we install a government in Venezuela and there is no longer an international order or at least not one the US is committed too you are free to do as you please. The Chinese military is a lot stronger now, trump will not intervene. Xi's new year speech said unification with Taiwan was inevitable.

lostkarma4anonymity

Right, it worked out so well for Nicaragua, Guatemala, Chile, Yemen, Iraq, Honduras, Haiti, Afghanistan.  Yall aren’t pink enough to get the post WWII treatment we gave Germany. 

G0RD0N_CLARK

The U.S. hasn’t declared war since WWII. Plenty of other presidents would and have done similar things. How do you think Iraq & Vietnam happened?

VapeMasterino

US hasn’t won a war since WWII

EntrepreneurOld7858

A WWII shooter me and my buddies played while waiting for Battlefield to come out. Pretty solid game overall.

hungover247365

QQQ and SPY straight up drilling to the earths core. Kamikaze dive bombers, giving me WWII flashbacks.

Candid_Highlight_116

WWI was smaller than WWII, The Dotcom II would be like the latter fun fact teflon frying pan literally came from Project Manhattan, they needed to handle super corrosive dangerous acids and depositing that forever chemicals inside tubings and containers solved that problem. turns out it's great for withstanding eggs and bacon too or that the downfall of Sun came when people realized Linux on PC was okay, and by okay it didn't mean Ubuntu is on par with Windows today

the_Q_spice

The answer is that a lot of the electronics market is *really* good at recycling materials. Same thing happened after WWII; the war shortages caused a massive *need* for recycling critical materials like copper (telegraph wires and electronics at that time), aluminum, and steel. The copper industry completely collapsed post war and hasn’t recovered since. There are entire ghost towns now in Northern Michigan and Minnesota that used to be insanely rich boom towns with literally the richest copper mines in the world. Recycling is cheaper, more efficient, and more predictable than mining.

AngelEduSS

USA stole everything he could after the WWII, so everyone steals.

Austin_Destroyer

Seveneves is a lot of hard science, which I really liked. The basic premise: the moon starts breaking apart; drama ensues. Cryptonomicon is a lot of WWII code breaking, early special operations, and intergenerational storytelling. There's a sort of Catch-22 tone to it at times. You can't go wrong with either. As far as rowing goes, watch a YouTube video on proper form and just accept that you're going to suck for a couple weeks. Keep at it, you'll get rhythm and speed. Even while your form is bad, you'll still be getting a solid workout.

Hero-Firefighter-24

States run elections, not the federal government, so it’s 100% impossible to cancel them, and war does not cancel elections as shown by the civil war and WWII. Also for a third term to happen, you need to repeal the 22nd amendment with 2/3 of Congress and 38 states (and no the math definitely does not add up).

Zap-Attacks

So WWII was because of what Israel is doing now? Braindead take.

MixtureSpecial8951

Not just this administration, but turn away from the garbage that got us here. Decades of complacency and mistakes. It is kinda like the Great War. I propose that WWI and WWII were simply parts one and two of essentially the same conflict. Everyone thought that the Great War ended it, but 20 years later, back at it. Some of the alliances and players were different but it was part of a broader arc. I think that part one of the Cold War has happened and part two is upon us now.