From 600+ conversations with the world’s leading thinkers.
At the risk of being glib, in the United States, most of the narcissistic sociopaths are also devoutly religious...
For us, for our people, who were under communist domination, we were comfortable and happy to take on a European identity when we gained independence. Identity is something incredibly personal; and how the individual combines their national and European identity is something they do themselves.
Critical theories give proposed solutions to legitimate problems that could not possibly be more open to manipulation and grift. The manipulators and grifters have filled the vacuum to the point where they're only ones who can benefit.
I think transparency in this sense is a red-herring. A multi-strategy hedge fund could give an investor or the SEC it's daily trade blotter and accomplish 'transparency,' and the recipient would have no idea what to make of the trades.
When the main participants in an economy (the general population not the investment banks) are struggling to survive- no amount of economic stimulus applied at arms-length from those participants- will inject growth.
First and foremost was the consolidation of democracy. Second was the stabilisation of the economy. Thirdly- and probably most importantly- was the ability of Brazil to deal with a problem we inherited from colonial times- inequality.
The fundamental starting point is to acknowledge that outside actors can rarely create peace, local ownership in resolving the conflicts is vital. You cannot import peace, it is created within society.
Digital technology and instant news cycles, together with the aggressive marketing of fear-mitigating products and services, are certainly driving fear in contemporary society. Today, fear is closely related to the problem of misinformation and disinformation, and to the erosion of trust in political institutions.
When you're not in a geopolitical recession, political risk still matters, but it matters largely at a country level and primarily in emerging markets. But in a geopolitical recession, suddenly the biggest macro risks are by their nature political. And you focus less on growth and more on stability and resilience, and that's a problem because the free market model tells you 'don't focus on resilience and stability, focus first and foremost on growth and everything else will take care of itself'.
Many entrepreneurs are deluded about their odds of success, that evidence is very clear. This creates problems… Should a government subsidise entrepreneurs who greatly over-estimate their chances of success?
There's a great quote that is 'political correctness is tyranny with manners'.
China realises that he who owns the brand, owns the wealth… For nations, brands give economic control, security and choice and are therefore extremely important.