Yes the prevailing regime is eternal, but a quick survey of current affairs in the West. There is mounting evidence that the so-called economy is cannibalizing itself, as opposed to re-organizing the supply chain, flushing out the calcified political and economic incumbents, and radically paring down resource usage and re-orienting the direction of existing energy flows. Apparently reinvention is too hard, and self-destruction is a little easier and thus the order of the day.
Cannibalization is a strong word, so perhaps a quick glance at that. We have a decent idea now of where all of the inflation is coming from, and it is possible that enough of the ruling elite to effect change do too, yet all of the prevailing free market and anti-labor propaganda has effectively cordoned off those avenues, so the treasured national pastime of smashing labor is what is rolled out. Let's keep in mind that a lot of the effective demand comes from labor, which is already smashed anyway, and there is also collateral damage involved: the deliberately blunted tool of raising interest rates to induce a recession and crush labor also happens to drag down investment and deflate those inflated asset and credit markets too.
Another aspect of this general instinct to double down on failed policies is to refuse to meaningfully address the supply chain issue - connected to the labor issue I might add - which apart from resulting in emptier and emptier shelves, higher and higher prices, and general uneasiness, also results in incredible reports such as defense contractors buying up the available washing machines to tear the computer chips out of them, which if true at a certain scale, substantiates the cannibalization accusation.
The only thing left is a harder and harder throttle on propaganda to move forward - a technique when overused actually destroys the capacity to direct with image and symbol, so that we are left in a state where no one actually knows for sure what is going on or what will happen. The engine is making strange and troubling sounds and we are nevertheless pumping the accelerator, which is only the most obvious and local lever for forward movement, which can actually accelerate the destruction of the engine if it is not running right.
I get this image of the drunkard, mumbling: "no no I'm fine, let me do it," before lurching forward and flat on his face. Again, it could take a while or it could be any minute. The regime seems most eternal when it is ready to fall.
