This blog runs on reader subscriptions and donations. Reading it is free, and always will be, but it does take money to run the site and keep myself fed and sheltered. Every year (except one time when I was sick and forgot) I do an annual fundraiser, and the funds raised are what make the blog viable.

Last year was an exciting time. (Exciting, alas, is not a synonym for good.) We spent a lot of time in Iran and lately on Yemen, because the ur-theme continues to be the decline of the America Empire, the end of centuries of European hegemony, and the cycles of history—in this case a movement away from democracy and liberalism.

Years ago I put up a category called the “Age of War and Revolution” with sub-categories like “End of America Empire”, “The Future is Chinese”, “The Twilight of Neoliberalism” and “The Green Age After the Collapse.” Since the 2000s I’ve been writing about why and how this shift would happen and the last few years have been the period when it started happening in ways only the most blind could ignore.

Historians will look back to this period, in which the US consecutively over-extended itself in Ukraine, Gaza and then Iran as the point at which US decline became impossible to ignore, though its inevitabililty was locked in almost two decades ago, perhaps more.

This is a fascinating period, a once every hundred years civilization switch in hegemony. For the first time in centuries the West does not lead in technology, science, industry or military ability.We also have a military revolution which has empowered middle powers to stand up to great powers and an energy revolution, as we cycle off oil as the primary source of motive energy. Democracy and neoliberal capitalism are in danger, and a form of Communism now looks like the best type of government to many around the world.

Going forward I want to write much more about the future, because when systems clearly fail, people don’t so much create new ideas as pick up the ideas on the ground. The job of writers and thinkers and readers is to find those new ideas and to spread the good ones.

Readership is up about 30% this year, even after removing bots. People want to read what is written here. But to write, money is, alas, necessary. I hope you will subscribe or donate. The goal is $14,500. If you’re personally in financial trouble, if food or shelter is an issue, please don’t give. If not, and you value this blog, please do.

SUBSCRIBE OR DONATE TO IAN’S 2026 FUNDRAISER

(Afterword. If you had a subscription and think it’s still running, please check. When credit cards change, the subscription ends. I always let people know, but email messages don’t always get thru. If you can’t use paypal to donate, let me know. Snail mail still works or if you’re Canadian, an Interac transfer. (Most US cash apps do not work in Canada. You can reach me at admin-at-ianwelsh-dot-net, about this or anything else.)