The Looming Winter of Discontent and Why A Crisis By Christmas is Possible

The world is hurtling towards a “crisis by Christmas”! Right from the Financial Fights over the Debt Ceiling in the United States and the Looming “implosion” of the Chinese Economy, to the burgeoning Global Energy Shock, and the all present threat of shortages in the UK and of gas in Europe, there are no dearth of “triggers” that can have a cascading effect on the world. Indeed, with such a Perfect Storm of converging crises, we can expect some sort of catalyzing event around the End of the Year, from which only a Divine Intervention can save us.

If you feel I am being a Doomsayer, just look around and peruse the “news” to validate my point of an approaching Winter of Discontent. While some of these crises might seem “manageable”, scratch the surface and you would see a buildup of tensions that are like “rumblings” in the tectonic plates before the quake strikes. Moreover, this situation is also unique in the sense that one cannot have so much apparent “normalcy” and “nonchalance” from the Powers That Be, and yet, all these trends are having a “real” impact on our lives.

Before I discuss each of these looming breakpoints, the Elephant in the Room, that is yet elusive to predict, is the not receding Covid Pandemic, which, despite vaccinations and an all out “war” to conquer, persists with all its variants and mutants making it impossible to declare “victory”. Moreover, when we throw in Vaccine Hesitancy and the Loony Anti Vaxxers, and the Criminal Anti Maskers, into the mix, what we have is a Disaster Waiting to Happen with the Third Wave of Infections likely to wreak havoc on a Frazzled Populace.

As I write this, the Debt Ceiling Can has been kicked down the Road to until the Holiday Season, which yet again shows that Brinkmanship is not going to get us nowhere, and the tendency to act not at the Eleventh Hour, but worse, at the Minute before Doomsday, points to serious breakdown of leadership and systemic cooperation. Moreover, China is doing likewise, with its “silence” on the Evergrande Collapse and the Imploding Property Sector, which by virtue of accounting for nearly a Quarter of its Economy, can likely take the latter down in its wake.

Look West! We Have Crises!! Look East!! We Have More Crises!! So, what can possibly go wrong??? The Above the Fray Smugness of Europe is being tested as the Weary Germans start their laborious government formation talks. And, Continent is starting at a Cold Winter (literally and figuratively) as Gas Shortages and the Energy Shocks, coupled with Putin’s Vengeance point to a Freezing Holiday Season. Moreover, the Great Vanguard of Stoicism, Post Brexit Britain, is now realizing that perhaps, they would have been “better off” remaining, rather than leaving the EU.

Indeed, the Cup of Woes is Brimming Over and any of these seemingly unrelated crises, can trigger, another “shock”, like the Lehmann Fiasco in 2008, the effects of which are being felt even now. If not anything, it is clear that we have not learnt anything from the Great Recession and instead, are hurtling down the highway to a Lurking Danger. Indeed, the Great Recession was the first of the “crises” that heralded an Age of Permanent Crisis as we had Brexit, Trump, and the Pandemic in succession, with each proving the incompetence of our ruling class and their inability to see beyond the present.

So, If Christmas this year is ruined, it would mark another grim reminder that ultimately, it is each for themselves and it is futile to expect our “leaders” to save us and for that matter, interested only in saving themselves.