— Lee Iacocca, former CEO of Chrysler
If there’s one thing my late friend and colleague Larry Edelson and I noticed, it’s this: Just about everything in the universe goes around in cycles.
Israel’s King Solomon understood this timeless principle: “The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.”
We all know one of the main cycles has to do with our weather:
But what you may not realize is that multi-year “seasons” — spring, summer, fall and winter — follow the same pattern as our annual ones do.
Here’s a chart of the last 100-year cycle, showing the Dow in relation to temperature and precipitation.
Now, take a gander at Earth’s climate over the past 11,000 years …These “seasons” aren’t carbon copies (just like our annual seasons are never exactly the same from year-to-year). But the changes they bring to society have proven to be much the same over the millennia.
You can see from this chart — like the one I showed you last week …We came out of the last ice age about ten thousand years ago. Then we had periods of warm and cold … in cycles.
When the climate turns warm and wet for long periods, the greatest empires emerge: Egypt, Greece, Rome, the Mayans, the Vikings and so on.
And when the climate grows colder, these great cultures fall into ruin … and a “dark age” ensues.
We’re at the top of the “Modern Warm Period” today. Unless this time is different, the Earth is going to get colder and dryer …
… and our civilization will undergo epic changes.
Here are some key traits of the “winter” season we’re entering:
• Anarchism
• Depression
• Civil wars
• Mass migrations
• Pandemics
Now, don’t let this scare you. The “dark ages” of the 1500s through the 1800s saw several small empires emerge … most notably the British Empire. It was when colonies were established in the new world, which spread culture and Western values across the globe. And it was when America was formed and fought for its independence.
The bottom line is this …
If you’re prepared, it’s a great time to be alive. Great opportunities are coming … and change (for the better) we can’t even imagine.
And that’s what Future Shock 2020 is all about. It pinpoints what will change in the markets … and who the biggest winners will be. But it begins promptly at 2 p.m., so you’ll want to secure your seat now.
All the best,
Sean
