I've been a paid subscriber for some time now, and I've come to realize that money alone doesn't adequately express what your work means to those of us reading. So I wanted to take a moment to say something directly.
What sets your writing apart isn't just the extraordinary range — moving seamlessly from mRNA biochemistry to global fertilizer supply chains to cognitive warfare doctrine — it's the intellectual honesty that threads through all of it. You show your work. The references are there. The reasoning is laid bare. In an era where most public intellectuals operate as little more than narrative enforcement, you treat your readers as adults capable of following the evidence wherever it leads.
For example, reading "The Coming Shortages," I was struck again by how you manage to sound the alarm without ever descending into hysteria. The analysis of China's fertilizer export restrictions — cutting 50 to 80 percent of volumes — and what that means cascading through energy, then fertilizer, then food, is the kind of clear-eyed systems thinking that has all but vanished from public discourse. You're not just describing a problem; you're giving people a framework to understand what's coming so they can act.
And I have to say: the fact that you produce this caliber of work while running a Virginia homestead with Jill, with your own hands in the soil, practicing what you preach about preparedness and self-reliance — it speaks to an integrity that can't be faked. You're not a pundit in a studio. You're a man who has thought deeply about what's coming and has oriented his entire life accordingly.
Please know that for every comment you see, there are thousands of us reading quietly, taking notes, adjusting our lives based on your analysis, and feeling profoundly grateful that someone with your credentials and your courage is willing to stand in the open and speak the truth. The personal cost of doing so has clearly been enormous, and you've paid it without flinching.
What grabbed me was the paragraph "The lesson is straightforward" The last sentence sounds like our situation now in this country. We have grown to a nation of excessive comfort and overspending our means. The national credit card debt seems to reflect this need of out of control, superficial face that says "See me, I am glamorous, wealthy and happy because of it" Then apply that same picture to the reflection of the government. Something needs to change in peoples values. We are showing a picture that is inside out. Deep inner questions of what constitutes real value, not superficial show. We have little to show as a role model except the homestead model, and the revision of it for city dwellers. Is time on our side?
A great piece of the puzzle. Agreed that most people/politicians/net countries focus on controlling raw material inputs. But, Julian Simon made clear in 1981 with "The Ultimate Resource 2" that the true resource is the inventiveness of your population. This makes the control of physical resources useless long-term as individuals discover work-arounds when anything needed is in short supply. In my estimation this was the greatest economics text ever published and now ignored as used copies can be had for less than $9.
Thoughtful posting and difficult to find holes in the analysis. Humanity is complex especially at the global level…the macro vs micro. Both needed and sometimes overlap and sometimes contradict each other. As humanity/world evolves it gets more complex globally which translates into micro complexity also…hence the resurgence in some of humanity to get back to the core basics of mother nature’s own grand design…which is also complex!!! But nevertheless one core value that should not change is truth…for without truth nothing survives. Godspeed to us all.
Many years ago a teacher reviewed (and demonstrated) how most of, if not all, the major conflict wars could be broken down into aggression for or defense of important minerals. It's still true.
Good analysis. It is amazing to me the number of ways that the US political class and corporate elites have formulated to divert US taxpayer money to pet projects and special interests. In my mind, we are doing ourselves a big favor by continuing to identify fraud, and its perpetrators.
Then we at least have a fighting chance of passing value judgments on US Government expenditures, curtailing spending where cost, benefit analysis comes up short, and investing more where most favorable to US Citizens’ interests.
Some inflation to accomplish strategic independence will be acceptable to those who value national security over affordability. I would like to see a breakdown though of the proportion of inflation we are seeing attributable to this, versus that attributable to government overspending resulting in devaluation of the dollar through increased money supply.
It is not clear to me how much increasing costs are due to this strategically necessary inflation versus underlying inflation caused by government overspending including waste, fraud, inefficiency and deliberate giving away of money the treasury does not have to give away. Inflation attributable to excessive government spending started (and was higher) well before we had an administration trying to shore up national security through self-reliance.
Yesterday's Sunday Strip included a cartoon with Bernie Sanders wearing a Che Guevara T-shirt.
After Castro and Che ascended in Cuba, they set about reorganizing government according to their vision. But after a few years, and his family notwithstanding, Che grew bored and restless, and left it all behind to foment La Revolucion abroad. My recollection is that he spent a year or so in the Congo circa 1965, leading and training rebels, but he grew sick as a dog, and couldn't do anything with them. The Cubans got him out, and he made a pit stop on the island before moving on to Bolivia, where he met his end in 1967.
Excellent overview! May the 250th celebration of our Independence be a rededication to US sovereignty AND government limited to ensuring both sovereignty and personal liberty.
Fantastic Doc. We would have an incredible country if everyone read this and pulled in the same direction. Sunset clauses in govt never work. They wind up coming up to some major media vote and then become a bone that sides fight over for votes every 4 or so years. Heck, income taxes were supposed to “sunset” at first. Loosening the red tape is a fantastic tool in the govt toolbox the then gets met with the judicial complex keeping any new mine or housing complex tied up in the courts for his knows how long. Biden tried it up in Syracuse for a new Micron chip manufacturing fab and it hasn’t even had a tree cut yet as some conversationist cult from California no less claims there are frogs who will be displaced by the building of this critical national security technology. I wish we lived in a country that was all pulling in the same direction. Everything would be so much easier but the fact is we are being subverted by Chinese propaganda plus a host of other bad actors that are dead set on the destruction of our homeland. I have a few ideas on how we change course but I fear I’d have black SUV’s at my door if I wrote them here. What you are doing is the what we as individuals must do. Build the homestead and insulate ourselves from the food shortages that are coming. Keep as much self reliant as you can and voice the truth. Eventually the smart people have to come out on top. Don’t we?
Keep hearing about how inexpensive products made in china are but rarely is mentioned how shoddy they are. Have replaced the "made in Japan" of the 50s for describing poor quality
The difference between those two paths may determine whether Great Powers 2.0 becomes a national renewal or just another chapter in the long history of government promises that enriched the insiders while leaving ordinary Americans to pay the bill.
Historically my bet would be on that last part of the sentence. Sadly..
The Rare Earth issue has been overplayed and is easily corrected by technology. Anywhere where streams flow over volcanic terrains and then depositional systems populated by big organic molecules (think coal swamps or organic rich shales, but more common as the rate of subsidence is not that critical) are likely places to look. On the other hand there is only one recognized place on the planet where extremely high purity quartz, also critical for semi conductors can be found. Spruce Pine, North Carolina, USA!
Been there twice and wondered where the prospect roads around the old 1800s McKinney Feldspar mines (false teeth) came from on the second. Now I know and you do too!
Dr. Malone,
I've been a paid subscriber for some time now, and I've come to realize that money alone doesn't adequately express what your work means to those of us reading. So I wanted to take a moment to say something directly.
What sets your writing apart isn't just the extraordinary range — moving seamlessly from mRNA biochemistry to global fertilizer supply chains to cognitive warfare doctrine — it's the intellectual honesty that threads through all of it. You show your work. The references are there. The reasoning is laid bare. In an era where most public intellectuals operate as little more than narrative enforcement, you treat your readers as adults capable of following the evidence wherever it leads.
For example, reading "The Coming Shortages," I was struck again by how you manage to sound the alarm without ever descending into hysteria. The analysis of China's fertilizer export restrictions — cutting 50 to 80 percent of volumes — and what that means cascading through energy, then fertilizer, then food, is the kind of clear-eyed systems thinking that has all but vanished from public discourse. You're not just describing a problem; you're giving people a framework to understand what's coming so they can act.
And I have to say: the fact that you produce this caliber of work while running a Virginia homestead with Jill, with your own hands in the soil, practicing what you preach about preparedness and self-reliance — it speaks to an integrity that can't be faked. You're not a pundit in a studio. You're a man who has thought deeply about what's coming and has oriented his entire life accordingly.
Please know that for every comment you see, there are thousands of us reading quietly, taking notes, adjusting our lives based on your analysis, and feeling profoundly grateful that someone with your credentials and your courage is willing to stand in the open and speak the truth. The personal cost of doing so has clearly been enormous, and you've paid it without flinching.
Thank you. Truly.
Wow - this made my day... thank you!
What a beautiful tribute. You do speak for many here, I am sure, and in words that cover our bases. Thank you "ifyouonlyknew888".
Exactly right…well stated. Truly a skilled gift being utilized at the right time in history.
What grabbed me was the paragraph "The lesson is straightforward" The last sentence sounds like our situation now in this country. We have grown to a nation of excessive comfort and overspending our means. The national credit card debt seems to reflect this need of out of control, superficial face that says "See me, I am glamorous, wealthy and happy because of it" Then apply that same picture to the reflection of the government. Something needs to change in peoples values. We are showing a picture that is inside out. Deep inner questions of what constitutes real value, not superficial show. We have little to show as a role model except the homestead model, and the revision of it for city dwellers. Is time on our side?
A great piece of the puzzle. Agreed that most people/politicians/net countries focus on controlling raw material inputs. But, Julian Simon made clear in 1981 with "The Ultimate Resource 2" that the true resource is the inventiveness of your population. This makes the control of physical resources useless long-term as individuals discover work-arounds when anything needed is in short supply. In my estimation this was the greatest economics text ever published and now ignored as used copies can be had for less than $9.
https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=32427282536&dest=USA&ref_=ps_ggl_11147913055&cm_mmc=ggl-_-US_Shopp_Textbook-_-product_id=US9780691003818NEW-_-keyword=&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=11147913055&gbraid=0AAAAAD3Y6gtJV_pbZxW3wEv-njPHwHvzz&gclid=Cj0KCQjw2_TQBhCnARIsAF3-XhytmrVUxzYTwdK-GbBPHxaqiQCVt9MFcbC42a6reLCdpxHNZIHKVpgaAkaDEALw_wcB
06/01/26: Good morning, Drs. Malone!
Thoughtful posting and difficult to find holes in the analysis. Humanity is complex especially at the global level…the macro vs micro. Both needed and sometimes overlap and sometimes contradict each other. As humanity/world evolves it gets more complex globally which translates into micro complexity also…hence the resurgence in some of humanity to get back to the core basics of mother nature’s own grand design…which is also complex!!! But nevertheless one core value that should not change is truth…for without truth nothing survives. Godspeed to us all.
Many years ago a teacher reviewed (and demonstrated) how most of, if not all, the major conflict wars could be broken down into aggression for or defense of important minerals. It's still true.
Good analysis. It is amazing to me the number of ways that the US political class and corporate elites have formulated to divert US taxpayer money to pet projects and special interests. In my mind, we are doing ourselves a big favor by continuing to identify fraud, and its perpetrators.
Then we at least have a fighting chance of passing value judgments on US Government expenditures, curtailing spending where cost, benefit analysis comes up short, and investing more where most favorable to US Citizens’ interests.
Some inflation to accomplish strategic independence will be acceptable to those who value national security over affordability. I would like to see a breakdown though of the proportion of inflation we are seeing attributable to this, versus that attributable to government overspending resulting in devaluation of the dollar through increased money supply.
It is not clear to me how much increasing costs are due to this strategically necessary inflation versus underlying inflation caused by government overspending including waste, fraud, inefficiency and deliberate giving away of money the treasury does not have to give away. Inflation attributable to excessive government spending started (and was higher) well before we had an administration trying to shore up national security through self-reliance.
Re: Congo, it's an old struggle.
Yesterday's Sunday Strip included a cartoon with Bernie Sanders wearing a Che Guevara T-shirt.
After Castro and Che ascended in Cuba, they set about reorganizing government according to their vision. But after a few years, and his family notwithstanding, Che grew bored and restless, and left it all behind to foment La Revolucion abroad. My recollection is that he spent a year or so in the Congo circa 1965, leading and training rebels, but he grew sick as a dog, and couldn't do anything with them. The Cubans got him out, and he made a pit stop on the island before moving on to Bolivia, where he met his end in 1967.
Excellent overview! May the 250th celebration of our Independence be a rededication to US sovereignty AND government limited to ensuring both sovereignty and personal liberty.
Fantastic Doc. We would have an incredible country if everyone read this and pulled in the same direction. Sunset clauses in govt never work. They wind up coming up to some major media vote and then become a bone that sides fight over for votes every 4 or so years. Heck, income taxes were supposed to “sunset” at first. Loosening the red tape is a fantastic tool in the govt toolbox the then gets met with the judicial complex keeping any new mine or housing complex tied up in the courts for his knows how long. Biden tried it up in Syracuse for a new Micron chip manufacturing fab and it hasn’t even had a tree cut yet as some conversationist cult from California no less claims there are frogs who will be displaced by the building of this critical national security technology. I wish we lived in a country that was all pulling in the same direction. Everything would be so much easier but the fact is we are being subverted by Chinese propaganda plus a host of other bad actors that are dead set on the destruction of our homeland. I have a few ideas on how we change course but I fear I’d have black SUV’s at my door if I wrote them here. What you are doing is the what we as individuals must do. Build the homestead and insulate ourselves from the food shortages that are coming. Keep as much self reliant as you can and voice the truth. Eventually the smart people have to come out on top. Don’t we?
Keep hearing about how inexpensive products made in china are but rarely is mentioned how shoddy they are. Have replaced the "made in Japan" of the 50s for describing poor quality
The difference between those two paths may determine whether Great Powers 2.0 becomes a national renewal or just another chapter in the long history of government promises that enriched the insiders while leaving ordinary Americans to pay the bill.
Historically my bet would be on that last part of the sentence. Sadly..
The Rare Earth issue has been overplayed and is easily corrected by technology. Anywhere where streams flow over volcanic terrains and then depositional systems populated by big organic molecules (think coal swamps or organic rich shales, but more common as the rate of subsidence is not that critical) are likely places to look. On the other hand there is only one recognized place on the planet where extremely high purity quartz, also critical for semi conductors can be found. Spruce Pine, North Carolina, USA!
Been there twice and wondered where the prospect roads around the old 1800s McKinney Feldspar mines (false teeth) came from on the second. Now I know and you do too!