The Jade Steps
Chapter Twenty-Nine: The Night of Tears

Malinali looked at each of the men standing silently around her.  Several of them were weeping.  She caught Bernal's eye.  "We mourn for him, Doña Marina," he said quietly to her, "and not just those of us who were unable to protect him from his own people today.  All of us are in sorrow, for he showed such kindness to us."

That she would be holding the hand of an Aztec Emperor as he died, that the Aztecs themselves would murder their King, that these mysterious men from another world who had come to conquer his kingdom would weep openly over his death - these were thoughts she found overwhelming.  She crossed herself and prayed silently to the Virgin Mary for comfort and understanding.

It was Cortez who broke the silence.  "Doña Marina, please select a noble from Montezuma's entourage and have him deliver a message to the people of this city:  He is to tell them that their Lord is dead at their hands, that they have killed their king.  They must now give him the funeral and burial rites he deserves, and after that they must allow us to leave the city in peace."

History is full of instances where a rising power, aggrieved and dissatisfied, acts aggressively to obtain new borders or other international concessions. In Russia today we see a much more unusual case: This increasingly menacing and ambitious geopolitical actor is a state in decline.

Notwithstanding Russia's nuclear arsenal and its vast territories, the distinguishing feature of the country today is its striking economic underdevelopment and weakness.

For all Russia's oil and gas, the country's international sales of goods and services last year only barely edged out Belgium's - and were positively dwarfed by the Netherlands'.

While Russia's childbearing patterns today look entirely European, its mortality patterns look Third World - and in some ways worse. According to estimates by the World Health Organization, a 15-year-old youth has worse survival chances today in Russia than in 33 of the 48 places the United Nations designates as "least developed countries," including such impoverished locales as Mali, Yemen and even Afghanistan.

Russia's "high education, low human capital" paradox also shows up in Russia's extreme "knowledge production" deficit. Long-term economic progress depends on improving productivity through new knowledge - but this is something Russia appears mysteriously unable to do.

In the modern era, the ultimate source of national wealth and power is not natural resources: It is human resources. And unfortunately for Russia, its human-resource situation is almost unrelievedly dismal - with worse likely in the years to come.

As Zero sunk further into demented estrangement from reality this week - e.g., claiming that man-made climate change caused draught in Nigeria which caused Boko Haram, when Nigeria has been unusually wet for the last ten years - maybe someone needs to tell him a joke he should listen to:...

Last Sunday (5/17), the capital of Iraq's key Anbar province, Ramadi, fell to ISIS - a city that scores of Marines died to liberate in 2006. In response, President Putz rallies our troops by giving a speech at the Coast Guard Academy (5/20) about the national threat of global warming.

The next day (yesterday 5/21), ISIS took the historic city of Palmyra and now controls 50% of Syria - and at that very time yesterday, Zero gives an interview declaring, "I don't think we're losing to ISIS."

If Zero were telling the truth in that interview, what he would have admitted is:...

Have you noticed that all the Dems have now are has-beens?  Speaking of has-beens, the PIAPS had a wonderfully bad week.  She's not inevitable, you know.  I'll tell you who I'm all in for, he's my guy... 

Here's a great good-news story from Monday (5/18) written by an idiot AP reporter...

Then there's a small miracle that occurred in Congress, a delightful story for the ladies, and an anonymous artist as the Hero of the Week.

Geneva, Switzerland.  What is the happiest place? Last week (4/23) in its annual World Happiness Report, the United Nations reported that Switzerland was No. 1. The United States ranked No. 15, and the African country of Togo came in last, at number 158. (Scroll down to Figure 2.2 for the ranked list.)

Switzerland is arguably the world's most successful country -- and most improbably so. It is landlocked and without much in the way of natural resources. It has four official languages, many different religious groups, and is surrounded by warring neighbors. Yet, it has remained an island of peace and prosperity.

The modern Swiss federal state goes back to 1848, when a federal constitution was adopted, giving the central government responsibility for defense, trade and legal matters. All other government matters were left to the cantons and the communes (i.e., cities and towns).

The U.S. Constitution, which is more than a half-century older than the Swiss, also greatly limited the powers of the central government -- but unlike the Swiss, there has been a centralization of power in the capital at the expense of the states and local governments.

How did the Swiss do it?

I've written often about Thomas Paine (1736-1809), one of my favorite historical figures. I thought this week as a counterpoint I'd write about one of my least favorite figures... his 18^th century contemporary, Jean Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778).  

Being against reason, science, civilization, individual liberty, and self-discipline, Rousseau's thinking has been at the root of much of the psychological, political, and cultural trouble of our time.  It has specifically popularized a philosophy of emotions that has done and continues to do great harm.

While ideals of individual liberty, natural rights, representative democracy, and private property were growing in influence throughout the west, Rousseau argued against them.

When Rousseau sent his friend Voltaire a copy of his second Discourse, Voltaire began his brilliant reply, "I have received, Monsieur, your new book against the human race."   Which is why one clear path to wisdom is to ignore his baneful influence completely.