The post-pandemic world will not be going back to a pre-COVID ‘normal’ – whatever that was. Some argue it might see the return of inflation. Despite growing international rivalry, globalization hasn’t and won’t go away but its centre of gravity has shifted to Asia. Why online anger is so inflammatory and why positive thinking and being gentle on ourselves can yield real wellbeing results.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“I’ve never seen a period in which the degree of uncertainty as to what the world will look like politically is greater than it is today.” – Francis Fukuyama, in the article of the week

Adil Najam, I spoke to 99 big thinkers about what our ‘world after coronavirus’ might look like – this is what I learned
(The Conversation, 12 January 2021)
This is a gold mine! A research centre dedicated to longer-term thinking has been asking prominent thinkers and specialists in 101 distinct topics what they consider our post-COVID-19 world might look like. The responses are in the article (7-8 min read) complemented by the videos. The key outcome: our pre-pandemic world was anything but normal, and our post-pandemic world will not be going back to normal at all. There are four reasons why: (1) Disruption will accelerate; (2) Politics will become more turbulent; (3) Pandemic habits will persist; (4) Crisis will create new opportunities.
Click here to read the full article.

Olli Rehn, Will inflation make a comeback as populations age?
(VOXeu /CEPR, 14 January 2021)
The Governor of the Bank of Finland offers his take on one of today’s greatest economic debates: whether global population aging will lead to a trend reversal, with saving rates falling, real wages increasing, and greater inflationary pressures – an argument expanded in a new, much talked about, book by Charles Goodhart and Manoj Pradhan, and already amplified by the change in China’s economic model from forced saving towards increased consumption. We can’t and don’t know whether this fundamental argument will be proven right or wrong, but it does prompt much-needed reflection on widely held assumptions about future developments (6-7 min).
Click here to read the full article.

Parag Khanna, The next wave of globalization: Asia in the cockpit
(Nikkei Asia, 13 January 2021)
In the opinion of the author of The Future is Asian, geopolitics and globalization are two sides of the same coin, from which it follows that the current period of great power competition hardly conforms to “de-globalization” (globalization has become too much embedded in almost all aspects of our lives). His core argument: rivalry does not reverse interdependence, and he asserts that the new era of globalization will be state-driven, with Asia as its centre of gravity. A rich, dense, article that reads in about 15 min).
Click here to read the full article.

MB Ask our Experts #20: Parag will address our MB Connect and MB 100 community members in an exclusive one-hour webinar on 28th January (13.00 CET). We would love you to be there, do not hesitate to upgrade to gain access.

Abby Ohlheiser, Of course you could have seen this coming
(MIT Technology Review, 8 January 2021)
This is a short read that helps understand why online anger has become such a real-world danger and has provoked so much harm. What happened when Trump supporters invaded the Capitol shouldn’t come as a surprise – there are many economic and social reasons to explain such anger, but online extremism is the kerosene that fuels the fire (4-5 min).
Click here to read the full article.

Laurie Santos, I teach a course on happiness at Yale: this is how to make the most of your resolutions
(The Guardian, 8 January 2021)
One of the best-rated professors at Yale and a leading ‘light’ on the science of happiness tells us that the most effective way to make a change is to forget tough love and adopt instead a positive mindset and be kind to ourselves. Santos advises us to take a more evidence-based approach to picking resolutions, inspired by scientific studies of what makes us feel good. A few snippets: we’re usually happier when we’re paying attention and counting your blessings before falling asleep can boost your wellbeing in as little as two weeks. Read on (7-8 min).
Click here to read the full article.