“We had seen God in his splendors, heard the text that Nature renders. We had reached the naked soul of men.” — Ernest Shackleton
A Fresh Perspective for 2021
Welcome to 2021!
The New Year’s edition of Economic Prism invites you to explore a world filled with possibilities and speculations. Here, we peer through our unique lens to project the events that may unfold over the next twelve months.
Make no mistake, this year promises a blend of experiences—some positive, others not so much. Each day will reveal its own set of challenges and opportunities. But what else can we anticipate?
Will gold soar to $3,000 an ounce? Could bitcoin reach $100,000? What about the S&P 500, the 10-Year Treasury yields, and oil prices?
Will the landscape of collateralized loan obligations change drastically due to widespread corporate defaults? Might Walmart face another toilet paper shortage? Are we on the brink of a significant social upheaval? Is WWIII about to ignite in the South China Sea?
This year, we leave the answers to these inquiries in your capable hands. Trust your instincts.
After a challenging 2020, and with Joe Biden back in the Oval Office, we choose to forego rigid predictions. Why bother? The Federal Reserve has already committed to keeping interest rates near zero through 2023.
Instead, we’re offering a new approach. With a sense of humility and practicality, we aim to provide insights that will equip you to navigate the uncertainties of 2021.
A Reality Check
For those relying on government assistance to cover basic needs like food and shelter, the situation can feel bleak. Many are already feeling the pinch. Yet, as disappointment morphs into disenchantment, an intriguing shift occurs: people are demanding more action from their government.
In this landscape, America’s mainstream media continuously narrates a harrowing tale of struggle. They filter events through the narrow lens of a dual-party political framework, dismissing alternative viewpoints. Only stories that align with the approved narrative slip through their filters.
We hear a monotonous tale of wealthy individuals preying upon the vulnerable. The media fixates on race, ethnicity, and gender identity, imposing strict political correctness. Deviating from this orthodoxy risks severe backlash.
Worse still, individuals are urged to prioritize the collective over the individual. “Your success is their success,” we are told. Those who resist are labeled as selfish. We are pressured to conform to collective mandates, all in the name of the greater good.
The traditional values of hard work and self-sufficiency have become mere myths for the naive. Stealthy taxation through currency devaluation has turned industrious individuals into unsuspecting victims. Small business owners who take pride in self-reliance are often portrayed as misguided.
But what’s the alternative? To remain shackled to dependency like the rest?
By these standards, we stand alongside those labeled as suckers, chumps, and fools. Because these groups embody the ideals of freedom and independence and adamantly resist the idea of endless government control.
Moreover, amid today’s assault on personal liberties, these so-called suckers, chumps, and fools symbolize the essence of the human spirit. And as we see it, that spirit will either triumph or perish in the pursuit of triumph. Here’s what we mean…
The Indomitable Human Spirit
Henry Worsley could have easily turned back. His inspiration, Antarctic explorer Ernest Shackleton, made that choice. In 1909, Shackleton and three accomplices came closer to the South Pole than anyone before. But with death looming just 97 nautical miles away, they decided to retreat.
“A live donkey is better than a dead lion, isn’t it?”, Shackleton quipped to his wife later on.
Exactly a century later, Worsley and two companions accomplished what Shackleton could not. In 2009, they trekked on foot—unassisted—to precisely 90 degrees south, where all lines of longitude converge. Amazingly, they survived to share their tale.
Years later, Worsley attempted the journey again, this time with a different team and route, making him the first person to successfully trace both classic paths to the South Pole.
However, these initial successes were merely warm-ups. In late 2015, Worsley set out to cross the entire continent of Antarctica—an expedition Shackleton had attempted and failed a century earlier.
The challenge Worsley faced was monumental. As documented by David Grann in his article The White of Darkness:
“On November 13, 2015, [Worsley] set out from the coast of Antarctica, hoping to achieve what his hero, Ernest Shackleton, had failed to do a century earlier: to trek on foot from one side of the continent to the other. The journey, which would pass through the South Pole, was over a thousand miles, traversing one of the most brutal environments on the planet.
“Whereas Shackleton was part of a large expedition, Worsley, who was fifty-five, attempted the crossing alone and unsupported: no food caches were placed along the route to stave off starvation, and he had to haul all his supplies on a sled without the aid of dogs or a sail. Nobody had tried this feat before.”
Embracing the Challenge
After the first week, and about 70 nautical miles in, things began to deteriorate. Worsley was first caught in a whiteout, then trudged through blinding ice dust.
Another whiteout followed; he encountered more “white darkness.” He struggled through conditions described as “murky as clotted cream.” Then, “the mother of all storms” struck, forcing him to battle against a barrage of ice pellets.
On January 2, Worsley miraculously reached the South Pole. However, by then, his body was failing. His legs became “stick thin,” and his arms were frail. His Achilles tendons swelled, he chipped a tooth gnawing on frozen protein bars, and he endured sharp pains throughout his body.
Each day was a harrowing mix of eating, bending, pushing, tying, bracing, and battling despair. And yet, he pushed on. Day in and day out, he forged ahead, trudging through white darkness for 15 hours a day, at elevations of 9,000 feet—all alone. Through sheer determination, Worsley epitomized the boundless human spirit.
Henry Worsley – The Indomitable Human Spirit
For Worsley, the choice was stark—triumph or death. His relentless pursuit led him to the brink of his endurance. On January 19, he wrote in his diary: “Very desperate … slipping away … stomach … took painkillers.” His body was consuming itself.
On January 22, after seventy-one days and a grueling trek of nearly 800 nautical miles, he made the difficult decision to turn back—just 100 nautical miles short of his goal. He called for help using his satellite phone.
Unfortunately, by the time he reached a hospital in southern Chile, it was too late. Bacterial peritonitis had taken hold, leading to liver and kidney failure.
Worsley passed away on January 24, 2016.
In the opening lines of Shackleton’s The Heart of the Antarctic, chronicling his doomed attempt to reach the South Pole in 1909, he wrote:
“Men venture into the void spaces of the world for various reasons. Some are driven by a love of adventure, others by a pursuit of scientific knowledge, and still others by the ‘lure of little voices,’ the enigmatic attraction of the unknown.”
As you navigate the uncertainties of 2021, may you embrace the spirit of Worsley. May you strive to triumph, or at the very least, die trying.
Sincerely,
MN Gordon
for Economic Prism
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