Interesting, but if you go by the older – and I think more accurate – discipline of political economy, you will realize that the role of stable governments is critical – their policies, their ability to moderate corruption, their avoidance of or engagement in war, their moderation of income inequality, their reining in of the banking sector toward prudence and away from speculation, and their ability operate a pretty good rule of law.
The irony: EU governance may turn out to be a destroyer of governments, an ultimately destabilizing factor in Europe, as Niall Fergurson (spelling?) points out.
John Mack
,
Forgot to add: stimulating perspective. Thank you. Needs to be part of every MBA and economics curriculum, but in the context of obligations to corporate stakeholders (not just shareholders, as Bill Clinton has pointed out) and public policies that encourage political stability and, as the Chinese like to put it, “widespread prosperity,” prosperity beyond the elite.
This is a interesting article that reflects the views of Martin Armstrong who also reminds us of the shifting centers of finance and capital concentration throughout history. Although, refering to the US, he does point out the dangers of currency devaluation, rising debt and expanding public wage bills like during the fall of the Roman Empire. With the conviction of Rajratnam in New York recently we may see more and more hedge funds heading East – following the head offices of some the the larger banks. Also, the Chinese are now the largest producer and purchaser of gold which suggests that they intend to shift some of their foriegn currency(USD mostly) reserves into something more reliable. Europe is trying to swim against the tide at the moment, hopefully it will swim to shore, take a deep breath and sort out the “Mitterand-Kohl Pet Project” before we all drown.
How about a similar chart which shows how much was actually produced? The current state of the world may look somewhat irrelevant in the grand scheme of things if time is the only metric, but weighting it according to percentage of total human output to date might be interesting.
John Mack ,
Interesting, but if you go by the older – and I think more accurate – discipline of political economy, you will realize that the role of stable governments is critical – their policies, their ability to moderate corruption, their avoidance of or engagement in war, their moderation of income inequality, their reining in of the banking sector toward prudence and away from speculation, and their ability operate a pretty good rule of law.
The irony: EU governance may turn out to be a destroyer of governments, an ultimately destabilizing factor in Europe, as Niall Fergurson (spelling?) points out.
John Mack ,
Forgot to add: stimulating perspective. Thank you. Needs to be part of every MBA and economics curriculum, but in the context of obligations to corporate stakeholders (not just shareholders, as Bill Clinton has pointed out) and public policies that encourage political stability and, as the Chinese like to put it, “widespread prosperity,” prosperity beyond the elite.
Greg Heaslip ,
This is a interesting article that reflects the views of Martin Armstrong who also reminds us of the shifting centers of finance and capital concentration throughout history. Although, refering to the US, he does point out the dangers of currency devaluation, rising debt and expanding public wage bills like during the fall of the Roman Empire. With the conviction of Rajratnam in New York recently we may see more and more hedge funds heading East – following the head offices of some the the larger banks. Also, the Chinese are now the largest producer and purchaser of gold which suggests that they intend to shift some of their foriegn currency(USD mostly) reserves into something more reliable. Europe is trying to swim against the tide at the moment, hopefully it will swim to shore, take a deep breath and sort out the “Mitterand-Kohl Pet Project” before we all drown.
Oliver ,
How about a similar chart which shows how much was actually produced? The current state of the world may look somewhat irrelevant in the grand scheme of things if time is the only metric, but weighting it according to percentage of total human output to date might be interesting.