Introduction: This is the fourth in a series of dashed off speculative opinions. Normal procedure on the FM website for these topics would be 3 thousand word posts, supported by dozens of links. I dont’ have the time to finish them, and too many of these outlines have accumulated in my drafts file. Perhaps these will spark useful debate …
The periphery of Europe – a flashpoint to the global economy Read More »
Summary: In response to the growing financial crisis, the government at last takes large-scale measures to stop the rip. These move us ever farther from a free-market system, towards an increasingly centralized and government-dominated economy. Taken in haste, we will have a long-time to consider the wisdom of these steps. Few things so effectively panic …
A new sitrep, as we move into phase 3 of the financial crisis Read More »
The 20th century was the age of the great democracies — esp. the United States, the leader and largest — and their triumph over Empires, fascism, and communism. This century appears to be running in a different direction, as Brad Setser explains in the essay below. We must either change course or learn how to adapt to …
“The changing balance of global financial power”, by Brad Setser Read More »
Brad Setser, economist at the Council on Foreign Relations, explains how we have weathered the economic crisis that started (arbitrarily) in December 2006. He shows that we have avoided a recession or currency crisis, but at the cost of global imbalances growing even larger. That just defers the date of eventually re-balancing, and ensures the cost …
The US economic crisis – status report at 18 months Read More »
The daily newspapers display events as string of beads. Discrete, unrelated. That masks the key to understanding what is happening:  the systemic drivers at work. This is in my opinion not a series of isolated events or even a cyclical downturn. We are experiencing a change in the fundamental structure of the global economic regime. You …
Framing current events about the global economic and geopolitical system Read More »
