pickA small number of people and institutions control most of the world‘s wealth. Yes, the world. Phillips reveals how they are interconnected and details the systems they use to protect and grow their fortunes. While the book can be dry at times, especially when listing wealth managers, their biographies, or major corporations, it remains highly insightful in showing how wealth enables individuals and corporations to achieve their aims.
The history of the next fifty years will be the story of how we deal with--or fail to deal with-- the coming food shortages.
Bananas (continued):
Organics also tend to be grown at higher, drier elevations to somewhat limit pests, which means the bananas need massive irrigation to grow. The result is the food product with the highest chemical and carbon footprint, as well as the highest staff turnovers from death in any industry. Happy eating.
For those of you organic buffs who refuse to eat anything that's been touched with anything artificial, know that a roughly half-mile radius around organic banana plantations is practically nuked with non-organic pesticides and herbicides and fungicides to protect your proclivities.
pickThis was a very interesting book, but I wish that Zeihan would've taken more time to explain exactly WHY the world will be become deglobalized, rather than just treat it as an inevitability.
Readers who enjoyed this will also enjoy the books of George Friedman, as well as $20 Per Gallon by Christopher Steiner. #2025Book20
The entire concept of the order is that the United States disadvantages itself economically in order to purchase the loyalty of a global alliance. That is what globalization is. The past several decades haven't been an American Century. They've been an American sacrifice. Which is over.
Even better, the North American continent faces few security threats between its own shores and those of potential suppliers. On average, North American products face less than one-third the supply chain disruptions the Germans are likely to feel, and one-tenth that of the Asians.
Most studies in the past half decade have indicated that by 2021, most manufacturing processes were already cheaper to operate in North America than in either Asia or Europe.
Finally, there's the location where workers sew on the “made in“ tag. Typically, nothing is actually made there. It's more an assembly thing. The average pair of jeans is touched by hands in at least ten countries. And God forbid you use a bedazzler to put sparkly bits on your ass--the input system for that little gadget practically involves space travel.
Finished platinum is so very pretty and as such is often used in high-end jewelry (like my you-are-mine-for-life-so-don't-try-anything-stupid commitment band).
