Since Dmitry Orlov has first hand experience in the effects of peak oil production on an empire, I thought this might be a good place to put this:
Exclusive: ‘US empire’ will fall due to lack of faith, not finances or war, author warns
By Nathan Diebenow
Thursday, January 27th, 2011 -- 8:23 am
As many in America longingly talk of "recovery" from the most devastating economic condition since the Great Depression, others have begun thinking in a very different direction, urging fellow citizens to prepare for the worst.
Dmitry Orlov, author of "Reinventing Collapse: The Soviet Example and American Prospects," is one of the latter.
Soon, he told Raw Story in an exclusive interview, Americans will "stop expecting anything of Washington," turning the US into more of a "banana republic" than a super power.
Orlov, who witnessed the Soviet Union's collapse from within, lamented that America's condition is so severe there is "absolutely nothing" most can do to keep it alive or hasten its demise.
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/01/exclusive-people-stop-expecting-washington-author-tells-raw/