I wasn't suggesting that as a "species" they could flourish and continue to do so (though that's possible) but that just as one can profit by driving a company into the ground (remember naked short selling) one can profit by destabilising a whole economy and destroying entire industries. Generally speaking if you've made billions of dollars you don't care that you can't earn any more the same way.
Indeed if I can destroy US car manufacture and have stakes in Japanese car manufacture then it's a plus for me.
If you make money destroying society then you switch to selling anti-depressants, DIY divorce kits, handguns, etc. and make more money. It's the capitalist way. Ain't it fine.
>They [Wall Street traders] can flourish even if the U.S. declines, as long as they can tap into growth in other regions of the world.
They can flourish by forcing US decline. This is part of the problem.