A Review of "Enjoy the Decline" by Aaron Clarey

Socialism fails. It's a repeating story throughout history. The rise and fall of empires can be traced back to the ever incessant push in the increase in state power. And yet we never learn. Whether by hubris or ignorance we fall to the same machinations that generations past fell to and Aaron Clarey's book "Enjoy the Decline" documents the rise of socialism in America and the fall of a nation.

The title is perfect. It's one of the best titles for a book on the economy and America that I've read. It's catchy and fitting to the subject. Clarey's book can really be seen as a book in two volumes. The first volume is the economic. The second volume is the personal. Both have their merits.

The book lays the tracks for the future of the US economy. Not good. But never dwells there and never strays into hopelessness any more than it needs to. This is the decline. The math is there. There are a few charts to read and some numbers to understand but there's no prerequisite in economics needed to understand everything. Clarey did a great job of making all the material easy to understand for the majority of people.  

The book makes a clear case what is happening in America. Vast amounts of government spending, entitlements, the increasing debt, social security, and medicare are destroying the economy. The american dream is finished. It was destroyed by keynesians, socialists, and corporations.  But the book is not a lamentation over the death of the world's greatest nation. The tone of it is one of hope. It's no macabre prophet to point to the storm clouds and shout rain. There is no anger in this book. No resentment over what's happening. Clarey writes like a man not enraged by the decline of his country but one who is saddened by it.

The second half goes into detail about personal issues. This is the "Enjoy" part of it. The author makes a breakdown of what's likely to happen during the decline and how people can best to prepare for it. He details some of the aspects of the destruction of the family. He covers why most degrees are worthless and then helps the reader chart a course to help them navigate today's America.

The second part is practical. It's there as a guide to help the reader understand that many of their beliefs are false. The things they grew up believing they should work for:  career, family, community, are not possible or much more difficult to obtain than before. Instead, Clarey gives a guide on how to live and be happy without those things. He covers how to live with less, how to reap some of the benefits the government offers while they're still available, and how avoid a lot of the dangerous contracts laced throughout society. Hint: get out of debt and avoid most marriages.

The decline is likely to get ugly. Part of the book talks about the need to prepare yourself and anyone around you to be self-sufficient for a disaster scenario and it goes into detail on how to do that and what you'll need to survive. This is the most practical part of the book as it ventures into survivalism and disaster recovery. It covers all the basics, goes into detail on what you'll need and plans you should make.

The book is part economics, part career councilor (the one you should have had in high school), and part survival manual to aid and inform its readers to the many pitfalls they may face in their lives. It's unfortunate but America as a whole has denied reality for decades and continues to do so. However, as "Enjoy the Decline" points out, while denying reality might offers some temporary comfort the consequences of reality can only be ignored for so long.

Enjoy The Decline available on amazon.

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