Why global economic and political turbulence would flow from a Chinese water crisis. For different reasons, China and Russia ‘enjoy’ trade surpluses, but for both this is a sign of weakness. After 6 months Russia is not winning the war in Ukraine, but this doesn’t mean Ukraine will. Why a ‘good-enough’ life can prove more than good enough. Mind and muscle, why we shouldn’t tend to one at the detriment of the other – they work and flourish in unison.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
China can print money, but it cannot print water.
ARTICLE OF THE WEEK
Gabriel Collins and Gopal Reddy, China’s Growing Water Crisis
(Foreign Affairs, 23 August 2022)
Like so many other countries, China is on the brink of a major water crisis. But contrary to many other countries, such a crisis would entail global ramifications, not only affecting China’s grain and electricity production; but also inducing global food and industrial materials shortages on a far greater scale than those wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine. As this article explains, potential water-driven disruptions in China would rapidly reverberate through food, energy, and material markets around the world and create economic and political turbulence for years to come (metered paywall that may require prior registration – reads in about 10 min).
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Paul Krugman, Of Dictators and Trade Surpluses
(The New York Times, 22 August 2022)
China and Russia have one thing in common: they both run a very large trade surplus, often portrayed as a sign of strength. But as Krugman explains, it is the opposite that is true: these surpluses are a sign of weakness. In Russia, the trade surplus results from the country’s inability to import as much as it wants (because of Western sanctions). In the case of China, it is the result of long-running internal problems (weak consumer spending despite rapid economic growth) that may be coming to a head (gifted article – reads in 5-6 min).
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Zach Beauchamp, How do we know who’s winning in Ukraine?
(VOX, 24 August 2022)
It has been six months since Putin invaded Ukraine, but it is still not obvious who’s “winning” the war. This article does a good job at explaining how experts understand what’s happening on the ground and what the war looks like six months in. In a nutshell, just because the war has been bad for Russia doesn’t mean that it’s a victory for Ukraine. “Russia probably can’t win — but that doesn’t mean Ukraine will” (free access – reads in about 10 min).
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Lili Meyer, What We Gain From a Good-Enough Life
(The Atlantic, 18 August 2022)
Today’s society is obsessed with ‘greatness’, but as a new book (“The Good-Enough Life” from Avram Alpert) argues, abandoning its pursuit in favour of more attainable goals makes more sense. Alpert claims that clinging too tightly to ‘greatness’ dreams, at the expense of smaller or partial ones, sets us up for both practical and moral failure. Rather than aim for greatness, we should accept that frustration and limitation are inescapable – and sometimes beneficial or beautiful – parts of human life (metered paywall – reads in 6-8 min).
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Bonnie Tsui, How do strong muscles keep your brain healthy?
(MIT Technology Review, 22 August 2022)
We often think about muscle as a thing that exists separately from the intellect (and perhaps that is even oppositional to it, one taking resources from the other). This is wrong: our brains and muscles are in constant conversation with each other, sending electrochemical signals back and forth. In a very tangible way, our lifelong brain health depends on keeping our muscles moving. An essential read to understand how even moderate exercise can increase metabolism in brain regions important for learning and memory in older adults (metered paywall – reads in 5-6 min).
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