Doom: The Politics of Catastrophe by Niall Ferguson review
(Evening Standard) – From plagues and volcanic eruptions to the current Covid pandemic, mankind has always been faced with catastrophes.
Thought Leader: Niall Ferguson
Peter Zeihan: China Faces Deflation as Economy Stutters
From WWSG speaker, Peter Zeihan: China is facing an economic downturn reminiscent of Japan’s struggles in the 90s. Actually, I take that back…China’s outlook is much worse.
The core of China’s problem is declining demographics. This crushes demand and leaves industrial production as the only path forward. Issuing debt and spending more on real estate, bailing out local governments and boosting industrial capacity isn’t going to do much, in fact, it will lead to deflation… a particularly nasty economic phenomenon which occurs when oversupply drives prices down into a reinforcing spiral of dysfunction involving recession, industrial busts, mass unemployment and general mehness.
If the Chinese want to avoid deflation, they’ll need to cut industrial capacity, but that’s not risk-free either. And to round out China’s list of issues, Chairman Xi’s chokehold on Chinese power adds another layer of complexity to successfully navigating this economic headwind.
Relevant posts
Feigenbaum: How China Wants High-Tech To Power Its Economy To The Top
Written by WWSG exclusive thought leader, Evan Feigenbaum. In mid-July, China concluded a pivotal economic strategy meeting, where it quadrupled down on technology as the…
Thought Leader: Evan Feigenbaum
Michael Baker: Ukraine’s Faltering Front, Polish Sabotage Foiled, & Trump vs. Kamala
In this episode of The President’s Daily Brief with Mike Baker: We examine Russia’s ongoing push in eastern Ukraine. While Ukrainian forces continue their offensive…
Thought Leader: Mike Baker
More with this speaker
Peter Zeihan: Will the US and Canada Actually Merge?
Thought Leader: Peter Zeihan
Peter Zeihan: Trump Takes on China… or Not
Thought Leader: Peter Zeihan
