Europe and the USA were awash with money leading into the GFC and quickly capitulated....Why?...Beacause money is just paper - wealth is created by commodities,services,trade and manufactured goods.They are still in dire peril.This will be played out over the next few decades but I agree that the west will decline in this period.
Australia will avoid this fate because of our wealth of commodities,however we should be wary of this money for nothing culture especially pervasive in the finance sector....fees,stamp duty,short selling,playng the margins... the list goes on.
Your post trade4profit echoes my thoughts of our generation.