The End of the Fall: A View of the World and Its Future - Softcover

Jones, Cyril

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1450295711 ISBN 13: 9781450295710

Verlag: iUniverse, 2011

Inhaltsangabe

THE END OF THE FALL tackles, head-on, the daunting issues that most people are concerned about, just one decade into the third millennium. Why has mankind reached a point in history where there are no feasible solutions to its problems? Climate change is but a symptom of all the damage being done to the environment; and that damage is but a symptom of all that has gone badly wrong with mankind. Earth's most well-known cosmological physicist has recommended that mankind should find another planet capable of sustaining human life, by the end of this century. But would there be any point in a handful of space-shipborn survivors, creating some hi-tech prison on planet X, just so a remnant of the mortal human race could survive? The prophecies of the Bible give us hope that, in spite of the horrendous chain of events which will soon commence, there will be survivors-and good governance-right here on Earth. Moreover, there will be peace, prosperity, happiness, and harmony between all nations, under one King. The author is a Christian who visualizes himself transformed and transported to Heaven, when the phenomenon known as the Rapture occurs. He thus escapes the catastrophic events of the Great Tribulation. Among millions of transformed believers, he returns to Earth for the duration of Christ's millennial reign, to help the more than one billion survivors in their efforts to restore Earth's environment. Surviving God's final judgement, he reflects on mankind's history, from the 20th century to Satan's final revolt against God.

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THE END OF THE FALL

A View of the World and Its FutureBy CYRIL JONES

iUniverse, Inc.

Copyright © 2011 Cyril Jones
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4502-9571-0

Contents

Acknowledgements...............................................ixPreface........................................................xiIntroduction...................................................xiiiPart I. An Autumn Without Thanksgiving.........................11. The Subversion of Capitalism................................32. Six Decades of Rapid Change [1940-1999].....................133. The Roots of Moral Decline..................................224. A Calamitous Decade [2000-2009].............................315. The Culture and Consequences of Greed.......................406. The World as a Tinderbox [2010-2014]........................497. Deterioration of the Environment............................58Part II. The Spirits Of Yuletide...............................678. The Spirit of Self-Destruction..............................699. The Spirit of Apostasy......................................7910. The Spirit of Antichrist...................................88Part III. The God Of All Seasons...............................9711. The Sovereignty of God.....................................99Part IV. Chills Of Winter......................................10712. The EU Constitution Crisis.................................10913. The War Against Israel.....................................11814. The Wunderkind.............................................12715. Signs of the Times [2015]..................................13616. The World Forum............................................14517. The World Citizens' Code...................................153Part V. Interlude (In Heaven)..................................16118. Transformation.............................................16319. Mysteries Revealed.........................................17220. Reflections on an Earthly Sojourn..........................18121. Reflections on a Fallen World..............................190Part VI. The Depths of Winter..................................19922. Tribulation................................................20123. Great Tribulation..........................................211Part VII. A Glorious Spring....................................22124. Assignments of the Saints..................................22325. The Early Years............................................23226. Everyday Life..............................................24127. Education, Works, and Vocations............................25028. Stewardship of God's Resources.............................25829. Leisure and Worship........................................267Part VIII. Endless Summer......................................27730. The Final Revolt...........................................27931. The New Jerusalem..........................................287

Chapter One

The Subversion of Capitalism

Adam Smith's vision

IN the 18th century, Adam Smith—generally acknowledged as "the father of capitalism"—was inspired to eliminate the extreme hardship he had witnessed in working-class society. His was a brilliant, altruistic vision. In his concept of capitalism, there were no speculative shareholders, boards of directors, or powerful workers' unions. There was no thought of high-priced CEOs with ridiculous salaries and bonuses (to be received even when the business performed poorly).

Smith enthused over the dual concepts of efficiency (through the division and specialization of labour) and effectiveness (encouraged by the personal enrichment of the owners). He encouraged "self-interest" as the primary motivator for the wealthy to invest in manufacturing and commercial enterprises. At the other end of the scale, workers would (ideally) have a job for life, with social security; furthermore, their children would receive an education. Hence the image of the beneficent family-owned business emerged.

In Smith's vision, the ideals of socialism went hand-in-hand with those of capitalism. Long before the end of the 20th century it should have been evident that if one became disconnected from the other, the results would be disastrous. Totalitarian communist states such as the USSR, Red China, North Korea, Vietnam, and Cuba were all predestined for economic collapse.

By contrast, the western economies, led by the G5 countries (France, Germany, Japan, the UK, and the US) believed that globalization, free-trade, and the deregulation of most of the huge national and multi-national corporations (MNCs), must surely lead to economic utopia. Yet, soon after the turn of the third millennium, four of the original G5 countries were facing steep financial decline, Germany being the only exception.

The rebirth of capitalism spawns globalization

The famous Canadian-born economist, J.K. Galbraith, served as economic adviser to four US presidents. He believed that the regulatory effectiveness of public institutions (i.e. government) was vital to a healthy economy. In one of his books, The Age of Uncertainty (1977), he examined the historical intertwinement of political philosophy and economics. In the two centuries since Adam Smith, it had proved to be a mixture which was as volatile as it was inevitable.

By the middle of the 20th century, capitalism had succeeded in meeting all the needs and reasonable wants of the developed economies. But that was not enough for the profit-focused private companies: they began to "push" new products, whether or not they were really needed, or even wanted. They set out to convince people that their impulses were wants, and their wants were needs. The advertising jingles that permeated commercial radio and television programs in the 1950s may have seemed ridiculous and amusing, but they were the forerunners of far more subtle, sophisticated, and destructive messages.

The rebirth of capitalism which dominated the last quarter of the 20th century was modeled on a "marriage" between the free-market ideals of the Chicago School of Economics and Milton Friedman's monetarist theories. This encouraged an "anything goes as long as it enhances the bottom line" philosophy which was eagerly applied by the so-called captains of industry.

Power-politics became the lifeblood of big-business organisations, which became increasingly indifferent to truth. It was only the shareholders' and customers' perceptions—and whatever actions seemed expedient in order to achieve the corporation's financial goals—that mattered. Social responsibility came to mean reluctant compliance with government regulations. Honesty became a victim of corporate greed.

The notion of globalization was first launched at Davos, Switzerland, in 1975, to promote an improved standard of living for the world's population through unfettered, competitive markets. In the same year, the G5 was expanded to include Italy. The new G6 encouraged the aggressive growth of the MNCs—which pretended to embrace the notion of free-market competition, but actually focused on creating de facto monopolies or cartels. Thus, they exploited the widespread acceptance of globalization. To large organisations, "growth" required the suffocation of competition by any legal means, including hostile takeovers.

Economic reformation and the free market

In 1987, the small country of New Zealand, which had become renowned as a model of the "cradle to grave" socialist welfare system, was on the verge of...

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: iUniverse
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2011
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 1450295711
• ISBN 13: 9781450295710
• Einband: Taschenbuch
• Anzahl der Seiten: 312
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Nicht verfügbar
• Verantwortliche Person: gpsr@libri.de; gpsr@libri.de; ; Europaallee 1; Bad Hersfeld; 36244; Deutschland