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　　 撒切爾夫人放下茶說：“我想我們的計劃失敗了？盡管我們向葛羅米柯表示只接受與戈爾巴喬夫交流，但是克里姆林宮還是選擇它自己的主人。”

　　 “是的，恐怕是這樣。不過，這是一種安慰。”

　　 “那是什麼？”

　　 “我們收集的信息足以讓我們與蘇聯建立新的關系。我相信，如果有足夠的時間，我們可以建立起對兩國都有利的關系。這可以解決我們的許多問題。克里姆林宮可能不願意放棄他們的獨裁統治，但為了與西方的穩定關系可能帶來的利益，他們願意放棄很多。”

　　 “我明白了。如果是這樣的話，那麼我們有希望對他們的政治制度保持一定程度的影響力。我很高興聽到這個消息，總統先生。”

　　 “在不久的將來，我們仍有很多艱苦的工作要做，但我對結果持樂觀態度。我們有機會做一些以前從未做過的事情。我們可以與一個強大的國家實現和平。我相信歷史會善意地評判我們。我們可以回頭說，‘看，我早就告訴過你了。’”里根開完笑話又說：“在歷史評判我們之前，我們需要討論一下貿易往來的問題；美國現在有一些不愉快的問題，比如貿易逆差與債務。”

　　 “我明白了。我希望你是對的，因為有很多人指望我們解決這些問題。”

　　 “當然，那麼英國財政部長與央行行長會在廣場飯店作為讓所有人都滿意的決定？好吧，我相信你可以理解我為什麼持懷疑態度，但這就是為什麼我們必須做我們將要做的事情。”

　　 “嗯，這是一種可能性。”撒切爾說：“然而，我有很多疑問。”

　　 “我明白。我也有很多疑問，但我們必須試一試。我們不能因為一些狂熱分子正在制造麻煩而放棄和平。我們必須努力實現對世界最有利的目標。如果你覺得你在背棄和平，來找我吧。我們可以商量一下。”

　　 “當然。”

　　 “那麼，你打算怎麼辦？”

　　 “好吧，我要和蘇聯人談談，”里根說。

　　 “祝你好運，”撒切爾說。

　　 “謝謝你的款待。我相信我們將來會經常見面。”

　　 “是的，我期待著你的來訪。”

　　 “隨時歡迎你來紐約。”

　　 “謝謝。我想只要有可能，我會經常來的。”

　　 “祝你的項目好運。”

　　 “謝謝你。”

　　 他們握手。里根離開了房間。過了一會兒大氣才恢復正常。

　　 “嗯，事情並沒有按照我的計劃進行。”撒切爾夫人說：“克里姆林宮沒有選擇能達到我們目的改革者，而是一位新沙皇。”

　　 ------

　　 任何依靠理想主義建立的政權都會在20～40年內轉變為官僚主義政權。

　　 克里姆林宮學：對付狂熱分子的唯一方法就是遏制他們，讓他們做你想讓他們做的事。

　　 這種方法的問題在於你無法控制一個狂熱者，你只能希望他們的理想最終會消失。

　　 考慮到被這種原因吸引的人的類型，這似乎不太可能發生。里根是一個總是追求自己目標的人，不管必要的手段如何。

　　 這種做法注定要失敗。

　　 蘇聯注定滅亡對於世界而言，是一件好事。當它的人民與東歐共產主義政權下的人民從獨裁管制與謊言中解放出來時候，這一切都會變得更加美好。

　　 蘇聯是一個威脅，它的人民不是無辜的。他們和他們的領導人應對數百萬人的死亡負責。

　　 它的日子屈指可數了。

　　 問題在於，美國會依然存在。里根總統的政策會決定美國幾十年甚至百年的發展道路。他的政策仍然牢牢植根於他自己的意識形態，而這種意識形態是被誤導的。

　　 新自由主義摧毀了與奴役了美國的年輕人，美國在他的任期內創造了經濟繁榮與隱患，在他任期之後的資本家們努力地贊揚他，因為他使資本階級徹底控制了美國的經濟發展。

　　 第二次世界大戰結束後美國國債占GDP比重逐漸減少，但在里根重新回升。美國開始從最大債權國向最大債務國發展，同時從制造業國家向金融國家轉變。

　　 在里根的整個任期內，債務一直是個問題。他的政治生涯得益於金融階層的支持，他進一步鞏固了他們的地位。

　　 美國的金融資本體系是一個掠奪性的體系。它建立在剝削工人階級的基礎上。它的建立是為了保護經濟現狀。這是一個利用弱者使富人更富的制度。

　　 與此同時，美國國債不斷提高的後果就是，當美國政府的財政收入無法支付債務利息時……唯一的解決辦法是美國政府增加貨幣供應量。

　　 這增加了通貨膨脹，從而降低了債務的價值。然而，債務仍然是一種債務，當美國政府印錢來支付利息時，它會使貨幣進一步貶值。

　　 這造成了一個惡性循環：債務增加，通貨膨脹加劇，債務價值下降。

　　 當然，除了過度發行貨幣和提高債務上限之外，還有另一種方法可以使債務危機持續下去，即利用其他國家來保持美元的低價值。這是通過發動無休止的戰爭來實現的。

　　 為了防止重演1929年的經濟大蕭條，美國只能采取發動對外戰爭的方式擺脫債務拉動經濟並維持美元在國際貿易上的地位，也就是國際貨幣。由於債務在本世紀末還不清，政府不得不印更多的錢來支付利息。

　　 這導致了惡性通貨膨脹，這使得美元實際上毫無用處。在交易中保持其價值的唯一方法是將其與外幣掛鈎。

　　 一但美元失去國際貨幣的地位與美國國債喪失信譽之時，美國將陷入噩夢。但是這不是金融資本的危機，相反，它可以轉移到一個與美國同樣的大國繼續奴役與剝削全人類。就像美國在兩次世界大戰中面對英國的衰落一樣，而這一切只是重復資本的運作，興起新的超級大國只會是第二個美國或者說第三個英國。

　　 一個全球超級大國不會為全球精英以外的任何人的長期利益而工作。

　　 蘇聯是一個失敗國家與獨裁政權。

　　 但是，它與它相等邪惡的美國不同的是，它是計劃經濟國家。這從根本上決定了金融資本根本不可能與它融合，因此如果蘇聯贏了冷戰就可能意味資本的毀滅與計劃經濟在全球范圍內建立…因此，蘇聯的真正敵人不是美國而是資本主義。美國的真正敵人不是蘇聯而是社會主義。冷戰是決定了全人類命運與社會形態的斗爭，無論蘇聯與美國都如何邪惡，冷戰都加速了全人類的發展。（相反，現在二十一世紀美國與中國所謂新冷戰的斗爭，只是兩個美國對金融資本的爭奪。誰勝利了都不會改變全世界人類的命運…）

　　 一個所有國家平等參與的全球市場，一個像人類這樣的全球社會可能永遠不會知道。所謂的世界新秩序是富人之間經濟競爭的世界。所謂的世界新秩序是一個富人越來越富，窮人越來越窮的世界。

　　 畢竟，誰有在乎世界上的貧窮人口？誰在乎美國貧民窟里被摧垮的‘野獸’與中國工廠里被剝削的‘奴隸’呢？

　　 工業革命產生的制度是一種貧富懸殊的制度。超級富豪變得如此暴富，以至於他們現在控制的財富超過了世界上最貧窮的50%的人口。這就是“文明”社會的樣子。

　　 富裕工業化國家的中產階級現在處於滅絕的邊緣，經濟差距擴大到自羅馬帝國時代以來前所未有的水平。

　　 未來是一個沒有未來的世界。在全球經濟動蕩和停滯的同時，世界上富有的精英階層繼續積累財富。與此同時，世界窮人的數量繼續增加，生活條件更加惡劣。

　　 與此同時，我們被告知“新冷戰”正在醞釀，我們再次感到同情。

　　 世界將是富人想要的樣子。世界將是強權告訴我們應該是的樣子。

　　 當一個社會的大多數成員都沒有未來時，它就不能被稱為“文明社會”。

　　 當一個社會的成員都與同一個主人聯系在一起時，這個社會的成員就不能真正生活。他們都必須被糾纏，被束縛，被引入歧途。

　　 這是全人類的命運。

　　 ------

　　 美國總統辦公廳內

　　 里根用懷疑的目光盯著中央情報局局長凱西。為什麼中情局永遠都做不好事情？

　　 “這到底是什麼意思，‘如果你還在’？”

　　 “我們仍在分析，這些用德語書寫的信封是誰寄來的。”

　　 “那麼，可能是俄國人干的？”

　　 “可能是伊朗人。我們也在從這個角度努力。”

　　 “有线索嗎？”

　　 “不，還沒有。我們正在跟蹤每一個可能的角度。不過，這是一個很長的列表。”

　　 “這些信封的內容如何？對此有何分析？”

　　 “這是一份針對美國的可能襲擊清單。我們仍在試圖找出一些襲擊的意義，比如針對洛杉磯的襲擊。目前，我們還不知道。”

　　 里根點點頭沉著臉說：“總之，不要再失敗了。你知道蘇聯今年七月世界青年聯合節抓到中情局幫助的那幾個阿富汗人讓我們怎麼解釋的？”

　　 “是的，先生。”

　　 “好吧，我們會對伊朗人做同樣的事情。如果你發現他們幫助恐怖分子，就開槍打死他們。”

　　 里根盯著凱西說：“如果我們找不到任何證據，那我們就不得不考慮這是一個大騙局，我們必須盡一切努力保護國家。”

　　 “是的，先生。”

　　 “我是認真的，凱西。如果我們發現這是一場騙局，那麼我們將面臨一場重大的國際事件。我說清楚了嗎？”

　　 “先生，我們會盡力的。”

　　 “很好。現在，去找出誰應該對此負責。”里根指著凱西手中的文件說。

　　 里根走回窗口，思考著。他望著波托馬克河說：“這些預言性的信封是一個騙局嗎？或者……如果是俄羅斯人或伊朗人幕後操縱，那麼我們很可能會看到某種形式的襲擊。”

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　　 在白宮的情況室里

　　 會議結束了。總統剛到情況室。這個房間是一個巨大的長方形房間，配備了各種控制台和大型地圖桌，可以監控來自世界各地的各種視頻。

　　 總統走進房間，環顧四周。他走到一堵玻璃牆旁的一張大地圖桌旁，眺望世界各地正在進行的各種活動。

　　 總統看起來很嚴肅。副總統老布什已經在房間里，看著一系列的讀數。

　　 “我們在阿富汗的部隊情況如何？”總統問道。

　　 “我們正在取得穩步進展，先生，”布什說，“阿富汗游擊隊正在繼續與蘇聯軍隊進行游擊戰爭，這耗盡會蘇聯他們的意志。他們的抵抗力似乎越來越弱，應該很快就會瓦解。我們的部隊正在進駐以支持阿富汗政府，並加強我們對抗蘇聯的力量。”

　　 “阿富汗的自由斗士正在為了抵抗蘇聯這個不得人心的邪惡帝國而奮戰，為了阿富汗人民的利益和所有人民的自由，”里根說，但沒有抬起頭，“在這方面，他們與美國沒有什麼不同。和我們一樣，他們也在紅星的手中受苦。”

　　 “他們不是團結的美國人，“總統先生，”布什說。

　　 “不，但和美國一樣，他們是自由戰士，純潔而簡單，他們值得支持。”

　　 “總統先生，阿富汗政府本身處於混亂之中；它甚至不能控制它已經占領的地區，”布什說，“人們不明白為什麼他們應該支持它，因為他們的生活改善得太少了。”

　　 “如果人民願意為自由而戰，那麼他們就應該這樣做。”里根說。“阿富汗人民從來都不是自由斗士。他們充其量是懦夫，最糟糕的是，他們正在尋找一條簡單的出路。”布什說。

　　 “他們願意為自由而死，”里根說。

　　 “這才是最重要的。”

　　 “問題是，我們是嗎？”布什問道。“我們願意為自己而死嗎？”

　　 “我想這是一個未來可能永遠不會到來的問題。”里根說。

　　 “願紅星永遠不再升起。”總統說：“以美利堅合眾國的名義，我們繼續戰斗。”

　　 總統轉身離開了房間。

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　　 Mrs. Thatcher put down her tea and said, \"I guess our plan failed? Despite our indication to Gromyko that we would only accept exchanges with Gorbachev, the Kremlin chose its own masters.\"

　　 \"Yes, I am afraid so. However, there is a consolation.\"

　　 \"What\u0027s that?\"

　　 \"The information we have gathered is more than enough for us to start a new relationship with the Soviet Union. I believe, given enough time, we could build up our relations to the point where they would be mutually beneficial for both nations. This could solve a lot of our problems. The Kremlin may not be willing to give up their authoritarian rule, but they would be willing to give up a lot for the benefits that a stable relationship with the West could bring.\"

　　 \"I see. Well, if that\u0027s the case, then there is hope for us to maintain some level of influence over their political system. I am glad to hear that, Mr. President.\"

　　 \"There is still a lot of hard work ahead of us in the near future, but I am optimist about the outcome. We have a chance to do something that has never been done before. We can make peace with a powerful nation. I believe that history will judge us kindly. We will be able to look back and say, \u0027Look, I told you so.\u0027 \" Reagan finished the joke by adding, \"Before history judges us, we need to talk about trade exchanges; the United States has some unpleasant problems right now, like the trade deficit and the debt.\"

　　 \"I see. Well, I hope you are right, because there are a lot of people counting on us solving these problems.\"

　　 \"Of course, then the British finance minister and the governor of the central bank will be at the Plaza Hotel as a decision that makes everyone happy? Well, I\u0027m sure you can see why I am skeptical, but that is why we must do what we are going to do.\"

　　 \"Well, it\u0027s a possibility,\" said Thatcher. \"However, I have a lot of doubts.\"

　　 \"I understand. I also have a lot of doubts, but we must give it a try. We can\u0027t just turn our back on peace because a few fanatics are stirring up trouble. We must work to achieve what is best for the world. If you ever feel you are turning your back on peace, come and see me. We can talk this over.\"

　　 \"Of course.\"

　　 \"So, what are you going to do?\"

　　 \"Well, I am going to speak to the Soviets,\" said Reagan.

　　 \"Good luck,\" said Thatcher.

　　 \"Thank you for your hospitality. I am sure we\u0027ll be seeing a lot of each other in the future.\"

　　 \"Yes, I am looking forward to your visit.\"

　　 \"You are very welcome anytime you come to New York.\"

　　 \"Thank you. I think I\u0027ll be coming more often, whenever I can.\"

　　 \"Good luck with your project.\"

　　 \"Thank you.\"

　　 They shook hands. Reagan left the room. It took a few moments for the atmosphere to return to normal.

　　 \"Well, that didn\u0027t go quite as I planned,\" said Thatcher. \"The Kremlin did not choose a reformer who could achieve our aims, but a new tsar.\"

　　 ------

　　 Any regime built on idealism will be transformed into a bureaucratic regime within 20 to 40 years.

　　 Kremlinology: The only way to deal with a fanatic is to contain them, to make them do what you want them to do.

　　 The problem with this approach is that you cannot control a fanatic, you can only hope that their ideals will eventually fade away.

　　 This seems unlikely to happen, considering the type of person attracted to such a cause. Reagan was a man who always pursued his own goals, regardless of the means necessary.

　　 This approach is doomed to failure.

　　 The doomed Soviet Union is a good thing for the world. It will all be better when its people, along with those under the communist regimes of Eastern Europe, are freed from dictatorial control and lies.

　　 The Soviet Union is a menace, and its people are not innocent. They and their leaders are responsible for the deaths of millions of people.

　　 Its days are numbered.

　　 The problem is that America will remain. President Reagan\u0027s policies would determine the path of the United States for decades, if not centuries. His policies remain firmly rooted in his own ideology, and that ideology is misguided.

　　 Neoliberalism destroyed & enslaved America\u0027s youth, and America created economic prosperity & pitfalls during his tenure, and capitalists after his tenure struggled to praise him for giving the capitalist class complete control over America\u0027s economic development.

　　 The U.S. national debt gradually decreased as a percentage of GDP after the end of World War II, but rebounded at Reagan. The United States began to evolve from the largest creditor to the largest debtor country, while changing from a manufacturing country to a financial country.

　　 The debt was a problem through Reagan\u0027s entire term in office. His political career was made possible by the support of the financial class, and he further solidified their position.

　　 The U.S. system of finance capital is a predatory one. It is built on the exploitation of the working class. It is built to protect the economic status quo. It is a system that exploits the weak to make the rich richer.

　　 Meanwhile, the consequence of the rising U.S. national debt is that when the U.S. government\u0027s financial revenues are unable to pay the interest on the debt...the only solution is for the U.S. government to increase the money supply.

　　 This increases inflation, which decreases the value of the debt. However, the debt is still a debt, and when the U.S. government prints money to pay the interest, it devalues the currency even more.

　　 This creates a vicious cycle: increasing debt, increasing inflation, decreasing value of the debt.

　　 Of course, there is another way to perpetuate the debt crisis besides over-issuing money and raising the debt ceiling, using other countries as a way to keep the value of the U.S. Dollar low. This is done through waging endless war.

　　 To prevent a repeat of the Great Depression of 1929, the United States had to resort to waging foreign wars to get out of debt to pull the economy and maintain the status of the dollar in international trade, or international currency. Since the debt was not repaid by the end of the decade, the government had to print more money to cover the interest payments.

　　 This caused hyperinflation, which made the U.S. Dollar practically useless. The only way to preserve its value in transactions was to peg it to a foreign currency.

　　 The United States will be in a nightmare when the dollar loses its status as an international currency and the U.S. national debt loses its credibility. But this is not a crisis of finance capital, on the contrary, it can be transferred to a power that will continue to enslave and exploit all of humanity in the same way as the United States. Just as the United States faced Britain in the two world wars, and all this is just a repetition of the workings of capital, the rise of a new superpower will only be a second United States or rather a third Britain.

　　 A global superpower will not work in the long-term interests of anyone except the global elite.

　　 The Soviet Union is a failed state and a dictatorship.

　　 But, unlike its evil equivalent, the United States, it was a planned economy. This fundamentally determined that finance capital could not be integrated with it at all, so that if the Soviet Union won the Cold War it could mean the destruction of capital and the establishment of a planned economy on a global scale... Thus, the real enemy of the Soviet Union was not the United States but capitalism. The real enemy of the United States was not the Soviet Union but socialism. The Cold War was a struggle to determine the fate and social form of all mankind, and no matter how evil both the Soviet Union and the United States were, the Cold War accelerated the development of all mankind. (On the contrary, the so-called new Cold War struggle between the United States and China in the twenty-first century is now just a struggle between the two United States for financial capital. Whoever wins will not change the fate of the world...)

　　 A global market in which all nations participate on an equal footing, a global community, such as humanity may never know. The so-called new world order is a world of economic competition among the rich. The so-called new world order is a world in which the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.

　　 After all, who cares about the poor people of the world? Who cares about the devastated \u0027beasts\u0027 in the slums of America versus the exploited \u0027slaves\u0027 in the factories of China?

　　 The system that emerged from the industrial revolution is one of extreme wealth disparity. The super-rich have gotten so obscenely rich that they now control more wealth than the poorest 50% of the world\u0027s population. This is what a \"civilized\" society looks like.

　　 The middle-class of the rich industrialized countries are now on the brink of extinction, with economic disparity growing to levels not seen since the days of the Roman Empire.

　　 The future is a world in which there is no future. The wealthy elite of the world continue to amass wealth while the global economy sputters and stagnates. Meanwhile, the world\u0027s poor continue to increase in number and live in even more wretched conditions.

　　 Meanwhile, we are told there is a \"New Cold War\" brewing, and once again we are to be pitied.

　　 The world will be what the rich want it to be. The world will be what the powerful tell us it should be.

　　 A society cannot be called \"civilized\" when the majority of its members have no future.

　　 When a society\u0027s members are all tied to the same master, the members of that society cannot truly live. They must all be entangled, all be bound, all be led astray.

　　 This is the fate of all of mankind.

　　 ------

　　 Inside the Executive Office of the President of the United States

　　 Reagan stares at CIA Director Casey with a look of incredulity. Why is it that the CIA is never able to get anything right?

　　 \"What the hell does that mean, \u0027if you\u0027re still in\u0027?\"

　　 \"We are still analyzing who sent these envelopes, written in German.\"

　　 \"So, it could\u0027ve been the Russians?\"

　　 \"It could\u0027ve been the Iranians. We\u0027re still working on that angle as well.\"

　　 \"Any leads?\"

　　 \"No, not yet. We\u0027re following up on every possible angle. It\u0027s a long list, though.\"

　　 \"What about the content of this envelopes? What\u0027s the analysis of that?\"

　　 \"It\u0027s a list of possible attacks against the United States. We\u0027re still trying to figure out the significance of some of the attacks, like the one against LA. At this point, we don\u0027t know.\"

　　 Reagan nodded his head and said soberly, \"In short, don\u0027t fail again. You know how the Soviets made us explain the few Afghans they caught the CIA helping at the United World Youth Festival this July?\"

　　 \"Yes, sir.\"

　　 \"Well, we\u0027ll do the same thing with the Iranians. If you find them helping terrorists, shoot them.\"

　　 Reagan stared at Casey and said, \"And if we find no evidence of any of this, then we\u0027re going to have to consider the possibility that this is all a big hoax. We\u0027ll have to do whatever it takes to protect the nation.\"

　　 \"Yes, sir.\"

　　 \"I\u0027m serious, Casey. If we find that this is a hoax, then we\u0027re going to have a major international incident on our hands. Do I make myself clear?\"

　　 \"sir, We\u0027ll do our best.\"

　　 \"Good. Now, go find out who\u0027s responsible for this,\" Reagan said, pointing to the file in Casey\u0027s hand.

　　 Reagan walked back over to his window, thinking. He looked out over the Potomac River, and said, \"Are these prophetic envelopes a hoax, or...If the Russians or Iranians were behind this, then we\u0027re likely looking at an attack of some kind.\"

　　 ------

　　 Inside the Situation Room of the White House

　　 The meeting has ended. The president has just arrived in the Situation Room. The room is a large rectangular chamber, equipped with various consoles and large map tables, where the various video feeds from around the world can be monitored.

　　 The president enters the room, and looks around. He walks over to a glass wall, next to a large map table, and looks out over the various activities taking place around the world.

　　 The president looks grim. Vice President George H.W. Bush Sr. is already in the room, looking at a series of readouts. \"What\u0027s the situation with our forces in Afghanistan?\" the president asks.

　　 \"We\u0027re making steady progress, sir,\" Bush says. \"The Afghan guerrillas are continuing their guerrilla war against the Soviet army, which drains the will of the Soviet Union them. Their resistance seems to be growing weaker, and should break down soon. Our forces are moving in to support the Afghan government, and to strengthen our hand against the Soviets.\"

　　 \"The freedom fighters of Afghanistan are fighting to resist the unpopular and evil empire of the Soviet Union, for the benefit of the people of Afghanistan and for the freedom of all peoples,\" Reagan says, not lifting his head. \"In this, they were not unlike the United Americans. Like us, they suffered at the hands of the Red Star.\"

　　 \"They\u0027re not United Americans, Mr. President,\" Bush says.

　　 \"No, but like the United Americans, they\u0027re freedom fighters, pure and simple, and they\u0027re worth supporting.\"

　　 \"Mr. President, the Afghan government itself is in disarray; it can\u0027t even control the areas it already occupies,\" Bush says. \"The people don\u0027t see why they should support it, given that their lives have improved so little.\"

　　 \"If the people are willing to fight for freedom, then they should,\" Reagan says.

　　 \"The Afghan people have never been freedom fighters. They\u0027re cowards, at best, and they\u0027re looking for an easy way out, at worst,\" Bush says.

　　 \"They\u0027re willing to die for their freedom,\" Reagan says. \"That\u0027s all that matters.\"

　　 \"The question is, are we?\" Bush asks. \"Are we willing to die for ours?\"

　　 \"I suppose that\u0027s a question for a future that may never come,\" Reagan says.

　　 \"May the Red Star never rise again,\" the president says. \"In the name of the United Americans, we fight on.\"

　　 The president turns, and leaves the room.