American Thermidor

The Oil/Money Nexus of the US Constitutional Crisis

Index

The entries below contain an explanation of a deep movement in US political economy, one that it has become urgent for more people to understand.  There are two ways to read the links below.  If you are well acquainted with American history, I suggest you start with 5: The Big Picture and then go back and read 1 through 4, and then investigate 6.  If you are not, then I suggest reading strictly in order, 1 through 6.

Each of entries 1 through 4 is describing the same thing, but with additional levels of detail and explanation added to provide a fuller picture.  Entry 5, The Big Picture, fits those previous entries into a larger framework.  It is my hope that you can use each previous level as a platform to help understand the next.  Please contact me at americanthermidor@gmail.com with questions and I will be happy to answer.  If people are still confused by the writing below, I may have to alter my approach, and your questions will help!

1: Introduction

2: Beginner

3: Intermediate

4: Advanced

5: The Big Picture

6: Sources

Charts

The Big Picture, Condensed

January 24, 2017

All political orders have a particular structure that determines how decisions are made, how power is allocated, and how resources are distributed.  Political orders are also limited in duration—all governments and polities eventually collapse, given enough time.  In between birth and death, most undergo periods of change in response to internal and external pressure that … More The Big Picture, Condensed

The Big Picture

January 10, 2017

Or, the pattern of constitutional cycles that all of the previous writing fits into.  This is the bird’s-eye view.  The below summary is derived from Stirling Newberry’s The Fourth Republic. Simply stated, there is always an order to society, a political economy designed to accomplish certain ends within an agreed-upon framework for making decisions and … More The Big Picture

Charts

December 29, 2016

Apologies in advance that some of these charts don’t have direct source links.  I try to provide attribution as well as I can manage. Figure 1a: Peak Oil in the United States.  Note the uptick since ~2005 due to fracking.  The repercussions of this 1970s peak took the rest of the 70s to play out, … More Charts