Title: Doug Casey: Don't Buy Gold - The Miners Have Way More Upside Show: VRIC Media (Vancouver Resource Investment Conference), host Darrell Thomas Guest: Doug Casey (International Man; co-host of Doug Casey's Take with Matt Smith) Date: 2026-09-05 URL: https://youtu.be/8B89_phpFYg Length: 52:50 Note: YouTube auto-transcript pasted by Stephen. Fillers (um/uh), stutters and non-speech tags ([clears throat], [snorts]) removed; auto-caption names corrected (Scott Bennett -> Scott Bessent, Mondami -> Mamdani, Daryl/Darrell -> Darrell, Republicats -> Republicrats, "it wasn't compensated compensated" -> "it wasn't confiscated" (clear caption slip at 51:03), "Norwegian krona" -> krone); "Hasan" and "Mumia Abu Jamal" kept as spoken. Wording otherwise verbatim.
00:00 At the end of World War II, the United States dominated [music] the world economically, financially, and militarily. 80 years later, it carries roughly 40 trillion in federal debt, [music] maintains hundreds of military bases around the world, and is confronting Iran over a waterway critical to global energy markets.
00:18 My next guest argues [music] we're watching an empire in decline in real time. If he's right, what does the next global order look like, and where does that leave investors? >> [music] >> Hello everyone, welcome to the Vancouver Resource Investment Conference. How you all doing today? >> [music] >> Hello everyone, welcome to VRIC Media, your most trusted voice in metals and mining.
00:48 I'm your host Darrell Thomas, and today we have the pleasure of interviewing legendary investor, author, and thought leader in this sector, Doug Casey of International Man. How you doing today, Doug? >> Well, Darrell, it's nice to be here with you. Although, I think we're on opposite sides of the continent. I'm on the shores of the Chesapeake Bay right now in Virginia.
01:10 >> Yes, yes. Yeah, my sister, she actually lives in North Carolina, and they go to Virginia quite a bit. I don't know how far Chesapeake Bay is from where they're at, but you know, it may be some place I have to check out cuz I know you like to find the good hidden gems in the world.
01:30 And so >> it's quiet and peaceful here. Although, I'm only about 60 or 70 miles from the largest naval base in the world. >> Speaking of military power and such, last time we talked, well, I mentioned to you that there was an MOU that was signed between the US and Iran, and that was new news to you at the time.
01:53 You didn't catch up with the headlines at the time, but when I mentioned it to you, you said you highly doubt that it would hold up. And so I kept just thinking about that conversation. And you were correct on that call. So, I'm curious, what led you to think that? >> Hm. Well, this whole situation with Iran, you have to look at its background and where it started.
02:20 The whole war started about 6 months ago with a in fact, unprovoked surprise attack by the US and Israel on Iran in the course of negotiations where the Israelis and the Americans took out the leadership of Iran. And this is actually criminal to do something like that, to launch a surprise attack in the midst of negotiations.
02:56 It's actually worse than Pearl Harbor. So, I didn't see that the Iranians were going to just roll over and take that laying on their backs. Despite the fact that Trump has declared victory or whatever about 40 times. It's hard to tell. So, this war is going to continue for quite some time. And it's likely to spread to other countries.
03:29 That's the type of thing wars do. So, it's an overture to World War III as far as I'm concerned. Much the same way as the Japanese attack on China in the 1930s or the Spanish Civil War in Europe were both overtures to World War II. It's that type of thing. War has not been banished from the human vocabulary. >> Okay, so one thing that really is striking to me is the connection that Ray Dalio made and said this could be the Suez Canal moment for the British Empire.
04:07 And referring to the Strait of Hormuz. So the British Empire had control of the Suez Canal and the Egyptians seized the canal and said, "Hey, we're going to take control of this canal. It's right in the region and such." And so Britain, and I think it was France, launched an attack on Egypt and then I believe it was President Eisenhower who pretty much said, "Hey, we're not going to support you.
04:34 " And at the time the US was the dominant power, the reserve currency and then Britain pretty much retreated from that. So recently Scott Bessent came out and said that any country that is not on the US side of this Strait of Hormuz and the Iran conflict could face some sanctions.
04:57 And so currently China and Pakistan said they're not going to go along with the US. And so I'm curious in your thoughts on this and how this could play out. >> Okay. Well, when the Suez incident happened, I was a kid. It was 1956. And few people that are alive today remember it.
05:24 And if they know about the Suez at that time, it's only because it takes a phrase in Billy Joel's song, "We Didn't Start the Fire." Yeah. If you recall that song, very good song incidentally by Billy Joel, where he mentions that. But the background of it is this. The Suez Canal was built in the 19th century by the British and French.
05:49 British and French engineering, British and French money. But when Nasser, an Egyptian nationalist, got control of that country, he decided that we don't want these foreigners on our territory. And for a while, it looked like the British and the French, and the Israelis were involved in this, too, were simply going to annex the Suez Canal and points east.
06:21 It didn't happen. They backed down and the Suez Canal's now 100% Egyptian. Okay, so what it was, it was a face-off between the Western powers and a new rising third world power, Egypt. And the Westerners backed off. And of course, it's been all downhill. Certainly, well, since before then, but for the British Empire, and for that matter, the French Empire, too, they've been put on the run throughout Africa, where they were the biggest players.
07:00 Okay, so what's going on in Hormuz now resembles Suez. In other words, the US, along with the Israelis, launches a strike against the Iranians, thought it would be a walkover. And it's turning out not to be. In fact, the US has lost that war. We've spent a lot of money in the form of these missiles and drones.
07:25 Like a Patriot missile. Most people are unaware of the fact that it costs $3 million in hard costs for a Patriot missile. That doesn't count ancillary costs of getting it there and paying the soldiers and all the rest of this type of thing. So, we spent a lot of money on drones, gotten absolutely nowhere except pissing off the Iranian population.
07:51 They don't like having their homes and schools and factories and bases and whatever else bombed. We don't really know what's going on because both sides lie, of course. So, you can't really believe anything. You just have to form a general impression. But answer to the question is, yeah, the Iranians control the Straits of Hormuz, where 20% of the world's oil moves through.
08:15 And it's not moving that much anymore because on the one hand, the Americans are saying, "We will attack any Iranian ship that goes through it." And the Iranians are saying, "We'll attack any ship that goes through it that doesn't pay us a transit fee." Which is new. So, what Trump has done, in effect, is he's punched the tar baby.
08:39 He's made everything much, much worse than it was before, and it's not going to end soon. How it's going to end, that's unpredictable, except for the fact it's going to end in a giant American embarrassment, and move us a step closer to the ultimate collapse and bankruptcy of the American empire.
09:00 >> Yeah. Yeah. >> It's a bad thing. >> Yeah, agreed. So, the thing here is that the US credibility as the most dominant, most powerful empire in the world is on the line. It seems like it's on the line with this situation. And so, in the Suez Canal incident, you know, the British Empire, they thought they were still the Right? And then they went out and was like, okay, yep, we're going to back out.
09:34 And that was a signal to the world that they were no longer a major factor. And so if the US is embarrassed in this way, what do you think that looks like for changes in the global world order? >> Well, it's part of a long-term trend. At the end of World War II, 80 years ago, the US totally dominated the world financially, economically, militarily, politically, in every way possible.
10:07 And increasingly, the US just resembles one of 200 other nation-states in the world, albeit the one that has the biggest military still, but not the best military. The military of the US at this point is oriented to fight World War II again. But wait a minute, World War II was 80 years ago. The technologies used to fight wars have advanced tremendously.
10:37 For instance, the US military is centered around the aircraft carrier. And as far as I'm concerned, the aircraft carrier is just a large and extremely expensive and very provocative floating target for missiles. And the same is true of our aircraft. They're all going to be replaced by drones that don't have pilots, they'll be piloted remotely and so forth.
11:04 So, the US is bankrupting itself with military expenditures. They may be a trillion and a half dollars a year, nobody really knows. These numbers are all hidden and faked. So, yeah, the US is a descending empire. It's funny, we never thought of ourselves as being an empire in the past. It was truth, justice, and the American way, Chevrolet, mother and apple pie, all this type of thing.
11:35 But, that's not the way it works when you have a country that has about 800 bases all around the world. And in most cases, the locals aren't crazy about having foreign soldiers running around. And in fact, in many cases, those American soldiers are supporting totally corrupt regimes. So, this is going to end badly.
12:03 Whether the Americans like it or not, simply because we're actually approaching bankruptcy at this time. And nobody believes anymore that the US can provide a shield or defend them against who I'm not sure to start with. But, yeah, we're at a major turning point in world history right now, Darrell. >> Yeah, and we can see that with the other Middle Eastern nations, Saudi Arabia, UAE, you know, when the US launches an attack on Iran, Iran attacks some of their infrastructure and such like, it's
12:38 showing like the US cannot protect them in a lot of ways. >> And not only can the US not protect them, but the US is proving itself to be an attractive nuisance in these parts of the world where anybody that's allied to the US and supports the US is perceived as a potential enemy. And part of this boils down to, you know, the rise of Islam, which has been quiescent for some time.
13:12 And now, people are starting to resent these foreign invaders in the form of the Americans. The British and French have mostly gone home. They're nonentities at this point. >> Mhm. So, sticking with this big change in the global geopolitical order and everything, you mentioned the song by Billy Joel, "We Didn't Start the Fire.
13:39 " And one thing that I've learned that makes complete sense is that when there was peace, you know, after World War II, the UN was formed and you had all of these institutions, worldwide institutions that experienced the destruction of war, the destruction of their economies and their lands and everything and they're like, "Hey, we're done with this.
14:07 " You know, millions of lives lost, it was bad. And those people, most of them are no longer here, if not all of them. And so, history shows that we tend to forget that and then we begin this cycle again. And so, just curious in your thoughts on how that's playing out. >> Well, you mentioned the UN and it was formed in order to make sure that, among other things, something as bad as World War II never happened again.
14:41 Where all the governments of the world can get together and talk things out together instead of fighting it out. But, like almost any institution, every institution, the UN has degenerated over the years. And at this point, it's turned into what you might call a self-licking ice cream cone.
15:06 It serves absolutely no useful purpose. It's a sinecure for favored government people from all over the world to get together and live high off the hog in New York City. It really serves no useful purpose at all. In fact, the US should resign from it and tell them to go elsewhere and sell the building so it could be used for some useful purpose.
15:37 But how's this all going to evolve? The world is based upon economic considerations more than anything else. And I'm of the opinion that the world in general, but the US in particular, is on the edge of what I call the greater depression. I call it the greater depression because it's going to be much worse, much different, and I think longer-lasting than the unpleasantness of 1929 to 1946.
16:19 Part of it is based upon the huge amount of debt that we have in the world. Just the US government alone owes $40 trillion at this point. And there's absolutely no feasible way that can ever be paid back. Even the deficits, which are $2 trillion per year, are slated to grow. So you almost can't turn this around.
16:45 It's going to have immense effects on the value of the US currency, employment in the US, eventually the stock market, which is at the peak of a bubble right now. When that melts down, it's going to hurt a lot of people directly and indirectly through their pension funds and so forth. So I think this is a time to batten down the hatches because we're heading for stormy weather.
17:15 >> Yeah. Yeah, and history shows that. So, let's say we enter this greater depression, stock market bubble pops, the Fed has been coming in with trillions and trillions of dollars. How do you see that playing out? Do you think that would be effective or just ineffective at some point? >> Not only ineffective, but everything that they're doing is counterproductive.
17:45 They're propping up the old system, which is going to collapse. Look, this is all based upon, well, so many things. The growth of the state is a big thing. Most people are unaware of the fact that before 1913, the US government, which is by far the biggest entity in the world for everything, was only 5% of the US economy.
18:18 There was no income tax. In fact, there were very few taxes and very few regulations in the US. And the US prospered. Since then, now, the US government alone takes, it's hard to say exactly because you've got direct and indirect influences, 40% of the economy. And what it captures is mostly misallocated and passed out in grift to people that are positioned in the deep state.
18:56 So, once again, that's another area that's going to end badly. >> Yeah. >> And I think we're on the edge of it. You know, this has been predicted and has been predictable for decades. This is no secret. But, you know, they've kept pulling rabbits out of the hat with new ways of expanding the currency to prop up corporations and to distribute welfare to the people, which is just corrupting the whole country from top to bottom.
19:36 So, it gives me kind of a pessimistic outlook on that part of the world. And I say that as somebody who's actually very optimistic about the long-term ascent of man. I mean, it began, we can pick a date, 10,000 years ago when we were using sticks and stones and gradually at an accelerating rate the standard of living, health, progress, everything has gotten better and better and better at an accelerating rate.
20:13 So, don't get me wrong when I'm talking about things being bad. Depends on your time frame. And over the long term, I think things are going to be great for the human race, assuming we don't have World War III with nuclear weapons, probably biological weapons, certainly cyber weapons and other weapon systems such as, well, terminators.
20:37 You know, it's funny, the movie was >> [laughter] >> a very accurate predictor. So, look, you got the good news and the bad news. And we don't know the sequence that they'll have it, but they're both out there and they'll both happen. >> Yeah. So, how are you processing or what are your thoughts on the growing divide? So, you have this internal political order and you have socialism, nationalists, you got communist, fascist, and that polarization continues to grow.
21:16 How do you think that plays into what could happen with a greater depression and all of that? >> Yeah, that's a good point you make, Darrell. You know, the US was actually an exceptional country. The US, America, used to be unique among all the world's countries. Why? Because regardless of what faults and stumbles it's had, it's the only country in the world that was actually founded on a set of principles, namely free minds, free markets, and laissez-faire capitalism.
22:04 But, it's very much drifted away from these things and especially over the last century, mainly through the educational system, kids have been indoctrinated to believe that the ideas that founded America, which were uniformly good, they want to believe that they're uniformly bad and evil. America ought to be destroyed and reoriented towards what? I don't know.
22:40 Some sort of socialism. And kids don't have any understanding of the fact that absolutely every country that has adopted socialism has suffered a huge decline in a standard of living and sometimes much, much worse than that. Examples being the Soviet Union, Cuba, Cambodia, well, almost every country in the world at this point.
23:13 I mean, socialism is covering the face of the globe like a skin cancer at this point. So, and the US is going down that path cuz most young kids have been indoctrinated to believe that socialism is something for nothing. It's a freebie. We can all live off the fat of the land and not have to work, just drink lattes all day.
23:34 But, that's not the way it works. So, that's a cause for pessimism. I mean, look at all the ultra-leftists that are not only just getting a lot of press, but are winning elections. Well, primary among the most outstanding is Mamdani in New York who as charming as he is, he's got a great smile and he talks really well, but he's basically a criminal personality.
24:03 As is AOC and Hasan and all the rest of these people that you hear about who are getting a lot of traction, especially among the youth. >> Yeah. Yeah, I've been seeing that on the rise and I know some people who have these socialist ideas and we get into these debates all the time and it's all love and fun.
24:27 But, I've also been seeing on the far right side this more nationalist, fascist kind of take control of, you get the neocons, and it seems like there's an internal tension and conflict between these two sides of the spectrum and some people have been speculating like, "Hey, we could see civil war.
24:57 We could see massive civil unrest based on how polarized the nation has become. And so, we're breaking down internally in that way, and we're having these big pendulum swings from the left to the right, and then all the way back to the left. It's interesting because Donald Trump won, well, he did do some grifting and some lies to win some votes, but many people voted for him cuz they were like, "Yeah, we want to be strong again as a nation, and we believe in America's power, we're the
25:31 greater nation, and you know, all of that. We want to get rid of the socialism." And then now it's swinging back the other way to where you have these more socialist idealistic candidates that are winning primaries, and we had Mumia Abu Jamal, we have Katie Wilson here in Seattle, right? And so, it seems like that tension is building up, and there could be some very problematic civil disorder within the country.
26:00 >> Yep, you're absolutely correct. It seems to me that we're headed towards something like a civil war. And I hasten to say that the unpleasantness of 1861 to 1865 was not actually a civil war. That was a secession movement, which is very different from a civil war. A civil war is when two or more groups attempt to take over the same government, the same land area.
26:33 That wasn't what was going on from 1861 to 1865 in the US. It was a secession movement where the South simply wanted to divorce from the US, and there's a lot more to that story than most people are aware of. But I think we're heading towards a genuine civil war right now. But, I don't think it would be a civil war with armies facing each other in battle lines because the US is too well integrated and dispersed.
27:08 And it's like the left is mainly in cities and the right is mainly in the countryside. Although, I don't like to use these terms left and right. Because people use these words and don't define them well. So, they're nebulous. And if you can't define a word well, then you don't know what you're talking about.
27:32 So, let's talk about what is socialism? Which is, you know, this meme which is arising from the grave again. It's a system where the state, this is an actual definition of socialism. I'm using Marxist terms because this is where it all comes from. The state owns and controls the means of production.
28:02 But, private things like houses, cars, and so forth, those are privately owned. That's what socialism is. Economic production is in the hands of the state. But, there are actually very few socialist countries in the world. Most of the economic production, factories, farms, mines, all this type of stuff, almost everywhere in the world is privately owned.
28:29 What we really have is what Mussolini coined the word fascism. And that was where the word fascism comes from, is from Mussolini. And what that is is a melding of the state and corporations. A partnership, if you would, between the state and corporations, big corporations, of course. And that's what we have in the US and England and Russia and China, for that matter, which is not a communist country.
29:00 They may call it the Communist Party, but it's not communist at all. Communism, incidentally, once again, is defined as a system where the state owns everything, not just the means of production, like in socialism, but houses, cars, small businesses, stores, your clothes, for that matter, the way it was [laughter] in Mao's days.
29:23 Mao's days in the '60s or North Korea, not so long ago, although North Korea's changing to some degree. So, I think it's important to define these words. Now, capitalism is a system where everything is privately owned. And not controlled by the state. Doesn't matter if it's owned by you, if it's controlled by the state, the way it is in fascism.
29:54 Capitalism is laissez-faire. You can build, do, have, go anywhere you want. But capitalism doesn't exist anywhere in the world today. Almost all the world's systems are fascist, technically speaking, today. >> Yeah, I actually have a book over here. Ludwig von Mises, Liberty and Property. >> Oh. >> You know, it's >> Well, he's the man.
30:23 >> Yeah, yeah. >> He's a little bit dense, a little bit hard to read. He's not a fluid writer, but all his thoughts are excellent. >> Yeah, yeah, agreed. Okay, so Great Depression hits, how would you navigate that? So, let's say how's Doug Casey preparing for that, but then if you were speaking to the average person that works a career job in the US, has kids, family settled here, what should they be thinking about in navigating increased socialism, increased infringement on liberty and property, and going
31:01 through a great depression-type scenario? >> Well, most people see these big societal problems, most of which emanate from Washington, actually. And the education system, I've got to say, also. So, they're looking for a political solution. We got to elect this guy. He's going to straighten things out.
31:32 He's going to kiss everything and make it better. But the new boss always turns out to be just like the old boss, and there's very little difference except in rhetoric between the Republican and the Democratic Party. The Republicrats, the left and the right wings, if you would, of the unit party. So, I don't believe in political solutions.
31:58 I don't believe they exist. The problem is the state itself, the entity itself is our enemy. Not necessarily the people, although I got to say, the people that want to be in office and go to work for the state are a really big part of the problem because a certain type of person is drawn to political power.
32:25 Why? It's the type of person that likes to boss other people around. Kind of person that's a professional busybody that thinks he knows what's best for everybody else and wants to get into a position to impose his ideas on everybody else. That's the kind of person, I don't care if they're Republican or Democrat or green or whatever, it doesn't matter.
32:47 That's the kind of person who goes to work getting elected in the political system. So, I'd throw the political system out wholesale. I'm what's known as an an-cap, an anarcho-capitalist. I don't see that the government as an entity any longer serves a useful purpose.
33:10 Yes, you need police, right? If you're going to have a state, the state should just protect you against physical force that others initiate. That implies police to protect you from robbers, murderers, what have you. An army to protect you from criminality from outside the country. And a court system to allow you to adjudicate disputes without resorting to force.
33:43 So, the state should do nothing else other than those three things. In fact, I'd make the argument that those three things are so important for the functioning of a society that they're too important to be left to the state and the kind of people who go to work for it. Now, that sounds like a shock.
34:00 How can you do it without the state? That's a whole different discussion that we don't need to get into right now. But, so, what should the individual do under the circumstances that we got? The answer's not to elect the right guys or find a political solution. That's worse than a waste of time. What you've got to do is look out for yourself and your family and your friends first, okay? And that means to try to become as wealthy and as self-sufficient as you can.
34:38 Using non-violent means, needless to say. That should go without saying. So, you know, charity begins at home. And that's the answer to the question: make sure that your personal balance sheet is moving in the right direction. And make sure that your personal moral standing, your personal ethical standing is sound.
35:05 I'm not just talking about staying out of jail. I'm talking about doing the right thing. So, >> Yeah. >> that's my answer to the question of what people should do. Those two things basically cover all the bases. Don't get involved in politics. It's like jumping into a cesspool. >> Yeah. Yeah, agreed.
35:28 I'm actually watching some of the local politics where I live and it's really a shark fest, you know, and good people that try to get into this, if they aren't willing to participate in all of the shark eat shark activity, they typically get booted out.
35:48 And so, it does take a certain personality and you begin to see the corruption from many people that may have seemed like good people that started off locally that grows into this political system. So, it definitely corrupts people and you get a lot of grifting and they're not held to the same accountability, the same standards as the average people, right? I'm seeing that.
36:13 And so, yeah, there's nothing good in that system at all. So, >> Well, yeah. I mean, look, they say a fish rots from the top. And like this whole Epstein thing, none of these guys have been prosecuted and they're everywhere throughout the government.
36:32 None of them will be prosecuted because they're all buddies with each other and they realized that if one guy is prosecuted, he'll roll over and he'll rat out all of his other buddies which are equally corrupt. It's like Anthony Fauci. They're grilling him and exposing him to harsh language and you've been bad.
36:52 You shouldn't have done this. What's going to happen to Fauci? All the money that he indirectly stole. No, he's not going to have to give any of it back. I doubt he'll ever have to serve any time. You know, he'll live a fine life even though he almost destroyed the country single-handedly. And it goes right on down to the local level.
37:14 They're all the same kind of people. >> Yeah. Yeah. So, you mentioned personal balance sheet, you know, it has to be solvent. It can't mirror the United States government's balance sheet. And you mentioned getting as wealthy and as self-sufficient as you can. So, speaking about wealth, how do you see gold playing into this? Is it just kind of a buy gold and sit back and just let the world crumble type of thing or let's dive into that wealth component. How would you define that
37:48 or what components you think should go into that? >> Well, I've been a gold bug if you would since about 1971, which incidentally is the year that the Nixon administration cut the last links between the dollar and gold and turned the dollar into a fiat unit backed by nothing except the taxing power of the US government.
38:20 So, I've been buying gold consistently since then. And I've put together a good pile of it. The problem with buying gold today, and it's about 4,400 or something like that as we speak, is that gold at 4,400 is not the same investment as it was at $40. When it was less than 1% the price it is today.
38:46 Should you buy gold today? Yeah, you should. But it's no longer the kind of one-way street high-potential speculation that it used to be. I think it's going a lot higher. But it's like I said, at this price level it's not quite the same thing. That's on the one hand. But on the other hand, I've always been most involved in the shares of the companies that mine gold and other metals, too.
39:16 Gold's not, you know, there's 92 elements in the periodic table. And so I've been involved in a lot of others besides just gold. But at this point, as we speak, gold shares are, relative to everything else in the world, I mean, gold itself is kind of reasonably priced in my opinion. Gold shares are severely under priced, have high potential, and I think the public is going to pile into them out of fear and greed in the future.
39:47 They've been doing very well over the last couple of years, really well. But I think they're going to do a lot better because the total market capitalization of every mining share in the world is only about, well, 15% of what Nvidia alone, which is the biggest market cap stock today, part of the AI bubble. So, the public's not involved in them.
40:14 Institutions don't own mining shares, I mean, they're not even a rounding error. And at times in the past, mining shares have been 12, 15% of the S&P. Now, I don't know what it is. It's 1 or 2%. It's almost nothing. So, anyway, that's my answer. Do buy gold, but don't treat it as a speculation.
40:39 Treat it as an asset you're putting aside. And do buy lots of mining shares, especially gold and silver mining shares. And if you own any computer stocks or AI stocks or things of that nature, tech stocks, dump them. I mean, we're at the top of the bubble. >> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, I think that's sound advice. So, do you think there could be a problem with confiscation as governments like to steal, tax us to death, and squeeze the lemon till there's no juice left.
41:20 And so, do you think that confiscation could be an issue in the future? >> Yeah, that's a good point. Because the US government is manifestly bankrupt. And as annual interest payments approach 50% of its tax income, it becomes totally unsustainable, to use a popular word. So, what should you do? Look, if you're in a position to, and I realize most people aren't in a position to, but if you are, you ought to look to diversify politically.
41:56 In other words, don't have all your assets in one country. I know that's hard for most people, but if you can, you should. Because you know, if you were in Russia in 1917, you wish that you had a crib someplace else. You're in Germany in 1933, you wish you had a crib someplace else. Cuba in 1959, you wished you were diversified.
42:24 Vietnam 1976, you didn't want to be there. You were in a world of trouble. China in 1947, so everywhere in the world it's good to be diversified politically because your biggest danger today, I mean your financial and economic dangers are big, but your biggest danger is political. And one of the political dangers is, yeah, the government might actually reach into your bank account or reach into your safe deposit box and confiscate more of what you have including gold.
42:54 So, that's the problem. On the other hand, the good thing about gold and silver is they're private investments. There aren't serial numbers on those things and if you have them, you should keep them privately. That's what you should do. >> Mhm. Yeah. And which countries do you think are attractive, you know, if someone wanted to look abroad and diversify their residence? >> Well, once again, it's a question of what kind of assets you have.
43:29 Cuz some countries are a lot more expensive than other countries. Like today, I would say there's different parameters of deciding what stands for most prosperous, but probably the most prosperous country in the world is Singapore, which went from an absolutely nothing nowhere place 50 years ago, and I was there 50 years ago, to now.
43:57 It's got the highest income, highest wealth probably of any place in the world. Trouble is to get in there, you have to be wealthy or extremely talented to do that. I've always been a fan of Switzerland and I've lived there for years. But, that's another, you know, stable, most stable country in Europe, certainly.
44:28 In this hemisphere, well, the nicest place, although it's got a set of problems, is the Cayman Islands, in the Caribbean. But, once again, that's the rich man's spread. What would I do if, let's say, I was a middle-class guy and wanted to plant a flag in another country? At this moment, I'd probably pick Argentina, which has a horrible reputation because after World War II it followed the dictates of Juan Peron, who was a fan of Mussolini, and he destroyed the economy.
45:09 It used to be one of the five most prosperous countries in the world, and he ran it into the ground. But, a couple of years ago, against all odds, they elected a guy named Javier Milei, and he's been firing government employees, doing his best to abolish government agencies, cut taxes, cut regulations. I'd like to see him do more and do it faster, but they have a political system similar to that of the US.
45:40 The president can do so much, but you got to have the Congress to approve laws, do the rest of it. But, Argentina, it's become more expensive than it used to be, but I would investigate that. A lot of the people speak English, but it helps if you speak Spanish. So, I'd say in this hemisphere, that's the best choice. Central America doesn't offer you many good choices.
46:10 I've been to 155 countries and I've lived in 10 at this point. So, I'm trying to speak from experience. I think Panama is very interesting, but it's a question of how you're going to support yourself once you get there. It's a question of what your skills are and what you can do to provide goods and services to bring the income in.
46:30 And that's going to be all over the place depending on who you are and what you've done and so forth. I got to give you a commercial if I can, Darrell. >> Yeah, go ahead. >> Listen, that's why with my co-podcaster, Matt Smith, we wrote this book called The Preparation, which is about what a young man should do.
46:55 And it's talking about young men in particular, but it applies to young women. Instead of going to college, because college is a gigantically expensive waste of time. In fact, it's not even a waste of time. It's much worse. It's an indoctrination period that will corrupt you intellectually and in other ways. And what this book does is it lays out exactly what you should do, how to do it, where to go to get a proper education to turn yourself into a Renaissance man during those four years where most people just
47:33 you know, drink and chase girls, frankly, in college. So, anyway, everybody should buy this book. Why? Because if you can't set up shop in a new country, which most Americans don't need to, cuz this has been the best place in the world to live. No question about it. That's why the rest of the world still wants to come here because with all the problems we have it's still better than almost any other place in the world.
48:05 But what we talk about in The Preparation is what a young man should do during those four years from roughly 18 to 22 to prepare himself to do anything and everything in the world. Be a Renaissance man and a stand up guy as well. Anyway, I think that's the answer to the question kind of indirectly.
48:27 >> Yeah, yeah. Okay, so one last thought, I've been converting some of my currency, majority of my currency into gold, but I've also been buying some foreign currencies like the Swiss franc and Norwegian krone just to diversify out of the dollar cuz I think that a lot of money printing is coming and the dollar's going to be devalued significantly.
48:53 Then also if there's some bubble pop and gold falls 20, 30%, you know, I have to have liquidity in that situation as well. What are your thoughts on Swiss francs? And it's another currency. I mean the government controls it and such, but just curious of your thoughts on those. >> Well, I used to live in Switzerland.
49:16 I used to live there when the Swiss franc was worth 23 cents. Now the Swiss franc, I don't know what it is today. It's about a buck and a quarter or something like that. I'm not sure. So, it's appreciated about five times against the dollar and the Norwegian krone, they have huge oil reserves.
49:38 It's got a small homogeneous population and they've built a national wealth fund with the proceeds of their oil reserves. So, you know, they have no financial problems whatsoever. And that speaks well of the krone. Okay, so those are good choices. I'm still a fan of owning precious metals more than a currency cuz anything can happen in a country and a government.
50:10 And you got to remember that Switzerland and Norway are both members of all these international clubs that governments belong to. Well, especially Norway. It's a member of NATO and the UN. Switzerland is more independent, but I think one thing you can do is if you're going to buy gold is to store it offshore.
50:34 And there are a couple of companies around the world. One in Singapore, one in the Cayman Islands that allow you to store your gold and silver offshore. Because you brought up confiscation before which Roosevelt did in 1933 to Americans' gold. But if they had gold offshore, it wasn't confiscated.
51:03 And that's a plus. So it's something worth considering. >> Yeah. Yeah. Well, Doug, appreciate this thoughtful conversation. A lot of rich history and perspective there. Where can people go and connect with you, read some of your publications, and all of that? >> Well, there's two basic things that are both free.
51:31 One is on YouTube called Doug Casey's Take where twice a week I talk about these things with Matt Smith. And we have interesting people on as interviewees sometimes, too. So on YouTube Doug Casey's Take. And also have a blog, internationalman.com. So, it's free.
51:58 We have great articles from a number of people every day. So, I suggest everybody opt into that cuz it's free and it's very good. internationalman.com. And well, this book, The Preparation, I guess is another thing and we have a couple of other publications that are paid newsletters, but take things one at a time and get the free stuff first before you think about a paid newsletter.
52:22 >> Okay, sounds good. Sounds good. Well, thank you, Doug, for your time. And everyone, if you're watching, hit the subscribe button. Love to have your support and thank you all for tuning in. If you enjoyed this interview today and found it valuable, I encourage you to click the link that is pinned in the comments as well as the description to the Commodity University as we go deeper into what drives commodities and commodity pricing and we also jump into different dynamics of this industry.
52:47 And so, I encourage you to click that link to learn more. Go check it out.