How social media has undermined our societies, and why things must change if they are to be conserved. Ominous signs of shifts towards extreme nationalism in multiple guises are ubiquitous. Why international debt re-structuring is the only option to stave off a debt disaster in emerging and developing economies. Why it is so unlikely that the siloviki will support a regime change in Russia. Why good narratives can bring about change.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
ARTICLE OF THE WEEK
Jonathan Haidt, Why the past 10 years of American life have been uniquely stupid
(The Atlantic, 11 April 2022)
A powerful and must-read article. Babel is the best metaphor to understand what happened to the US in the 2010s and the fractured country it became. As the author states: “Babel is not a story about tribalism; it’s a story about the fragmentation of everything. It’s about the shattering of all that had seemed solid, the scattering of people who had been a community”. The key underlying reason explored here in depth is social media’s ability to weaken the three major forces that bind societies together: social capital, strong institutions, and shared stories. The conclusion: “If we do not make major changes soon, then our institutions, our political system, and our society may collapse”. The US is a canary in the mine for what’s happening / might happen in some other democracies (metered paywall – reads in about 10 min).
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Pratap Bhanu Mehta, Putin may lose, but Putinism will survive
(The Indian Express, 14 April 2022)
Mehta, a prominent global thinker based in India, argues that Putinism as an ideology is on the ascendency (even if Putin loses). Whether it’s white supremacism, Israeli right-wing assertion, far-right in Europe and elsewhere, Ottoman dreams, Chinese expansion or Hindu nationalism, all their leaders have admired Putin. Despite distinctive features and different histories, the ominous signs are the same everywhere. (1) Anti-Westernism, which always ends up fusing with anti-liberalism; (2) A hostility to the recent past and the desire to recreate an entity that is gone (greater Russia, India without a Muslim past, etc.); (3) Tolerance of violence deployed to rally nationalist sentiment (metered paywall – reads in 5-7 min).
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Rabah Arezki and Mahmoud Mohieldin, Preventing Developing-Economy Debt Disasters
(Project Syndicate, 14 April 2022)
This is a piece made acutely relevant by Sri-Lanka’s impending default. The two economists explain why skyrocketing food and energy prices combined with widening sovereign bond spreads have placed balance sheets in emerging-market and developing economies under severe strain. They argue that, to avoid disaster, the international community must urgently support bold debt restructuring (metered paywall – reads in 5-7 min).
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Andrei Soldatov and Irina Borogan, Could the Siloviki Challenge Putin?
(Foreign Affairs, 11 April 2022)
This would be the ‘silver bullet’ susceptible to bring the war to an end: Putin’s elimination by the siloviki – the security services and the military that surround Putin and exert much of Russia’s power. As the two investigative Russian journalists explain, the chances that this happens are very slim. The siloviki are unlikely to turn against Putin for reasons that are both historical and practical: they’re hardly capable of producing and leading a coup d’état on their own, and they are unlikely to be swayed even if popular sentiment in Russia turns dramatically against Putin. Only if the Kremlin loses control of the country and as a result their own future is threatened, might the siloviki step aside and let a coup or something else happen (metered paywall that may require prior registration – reads in 8-10 min).
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Klaus Schwab and Thierry Malleret, The Power of Narrative
(Nautilus, 8 April 2022)
Global solutions to the seemingly intractable problems we face (like the greening of the world’s financial system) begin with the right story. The reason is this: as human beings and social animals, we are storytelling creatures. Thus: we love and embrace narratives! As the most effective conduits for ideas, they have the unique power to help us determine what’s going on, what lies ahead, and what needs to be done (metered paywall – reads in 6-8 min).
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