World Security and Global Political Economy

I publish here periodically, to discuss some of my favorite subjects. Usually, these revolve around politics and economics, on the largest scales. Power can be thought of as the intersection of

• Lawyers,

• Guns, and

• Money

If you have enough lawyers, you tax and money and regulate the guns. If you have the guns, you kill the lawyers and take the money. If you have enough money, you can buy all the guns and lawyers you need.

But “enough” is a word that carries a lot of weight. In reality, nobody dominates by one means alone. I’m interested in the interactions and unanticipated consequences of the interplay of legitimacy, violence, and wealth. Power—in all its dimensions and interactions—fascinates me. How could the Russians so badly underestimate the resolve of the Ukrainians that a three-day invasion could threaten the survival of the Russian economy? How could Democrats be so blind to the concerns of common Americans that they could lose to a sociopathic narcissist they thought driven from power forever? How can people be so unaware of the ongoing global demographic transition that they abandon a liberal globalized order for a fragmented neofeudalism?

These articles are a portion of a much larger set published on Medium.com: everything from cosmology to comic books. But in case you want to avoid all that, this site is for you. I think of it as my better stuff. Once I have a sample that’s large enough, I’ll add a small subscription fee.

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