Welcome to a long rambling piece about the economic and market outlook. There is a lot to think about but in the end, if all you are interested in is the direction of the financial markets, go to the end of the article on US Elections and Trump. Geopolitics. A key driver of economics and

Central planning is superior to free markets if the central planner has perfect information, and acts in good faith. Free markets are better when information is imperfect. When information is localized by a factor or location, decentralized groups can process information more effectively. These groups, can be regarded as centrally planned cells within a neighborhood

What does China want? What did Germany want in the 1930s? A little respect, a little less bullying, and a bit more space. Germans felt aggrieved at the terms of Versailles, that reparations had gone too far and that they had been unfairly treated. What did Russia want in the 1950s? Security. Russia was driven

Human history is replete with class oppression. In an unequal society the natural tendency is for those of superior wealth or power to maintain supremacy. This often requires some form of oppression. Persuasion is greater than force. Efficient oppression involves convincing the oppressed that they are not oppressed or that their wealth and welfare are

Something to slow down the informational transmission of a society to increase informational efficiency. Since each node has an optimal rate of processing information, a network that transmits information too quickly is not efficient. Fools serve a useful purpose and should be valued.