The US government in its present captured state is beyond redemption. Under Trump the US has openly declared itself to be a violent empire that’s above any international laws. The only available courses appear to be a US military coup or a revolution, neither of which seems likely. If Congress wasn’t completely compromised, they’d have already impeached Trump, so there isn’t really a political/legal solution.

The US and Israel’s attack on Iran has made this increasingly obvious, but as I’ve discussed before the captured aspect means that the spell can only be broken by a monumental military defeat or stock market crash. A disaster so pronounced that there can be no escaping the consequences for our feral elite, who seem to fail upwards.

Even worse, simply replacing Trump won’t fix our problems. Trump is perfectly representative of late-stage financial capitalism, with its rampant corruption, extreme violence and incompetence, but there are plenty of similar replacements out there.

The consequences for the US and Israel’s attack are already reshaping the global political and economic order. Crucial resources are curtailed. Countries are increasingly moving away from the U.S. dollar in trade. Supply chains are being disrupted. Economic alliances are shifting, often in ways that bypass traditional Western control. Iran is not solely reacting to these changes—it is actively trying to accelerate them.

What is emerging is a world that looks very different from the one the United States has spent decades trying to maintain.

Chris Hedges compares this moment to the Suez Crisis of 1956, when Britain’s attempt to assert control revealed the limits of its power and marked the beginning of imperial decline. The parallel is difficult to ignore. The United States is not collapsing overnight, but it is confronting a reality it has long resisted: it can no longer dictate outcomes as it once did.

The Trump Administration may not be able to dictate outcomes like previous administrations but they can wreak plenty of havoc on the way down. In fact, Trump has blown-up established rules, norms and structures because the US no longer benefits from them. In the multi-polar world unfolding the US has turned into an arsonist, where if they can’t rule as the dominant hegemon then they will burn it down. Of course, financial insiders are still able to profit from the disorder by front-running Trump pronouncements.

Welcome to the interregnum.

I’m convinced that our K-shaped economy is not going to change unless rich people lose money, while we will have to pry the empire out of the cold-dead hands of our feral elite.

As for the rest of us it will be like the old African proverb: “When the elephants fight, the ants get crushed.”

Stay safe out there and try not to get trampled.