Radical change required for Europe in a world (economy) where the key players no longer play by the old rules. Why geopolitics is now fundamental to global businesses. Al Gore puts his faith in human nature. Venice’s 5€ response to over-tourism – will others follow suit? How science fiction provides the vision for our real future.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
ARTICLE OF THE WEEK
Mario Draghi, Radical Change—Is What Is Needed, Groupe d’Etudes Géopolitiques
(Grand Continent, 16 April 2024)
The European sage who just produced a report on EU competitiveness asserts that “the world is changing rapidly and has caught us (Europe) by surprise.” He explains how China and the US “are no longer playing by the rules and are actively devising policies to enhance their competitive position. At best, these policies are designed to re-direct investment towards their own economies at the expense of ours; and at worst, they are designed to make us permanently dependent on them” (like in green investment). He calls for “radical change”, which de facto means the end of the neoliberal system, and the implementation of an EU-wide industrial policy (metered paywall, reads in 6-8 min).
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Adrian Wooldridge, The Emerging Geostrategy Industrial Complex Is a Win-Win
(Bloomberg, 24 April 2024)
The take on a meeting that just took place between international corporate and foreign policy elites to discuss the impact of growing geopolitical tensions on business. Some key insights: (1) We are much nearer to the beginning than the end of a new phase of economic history in which the axis of authoritarianism is deepening rapidly. (2) Companies in an ever-widening range of industries must now take global politics into consideration, with governments reintroducing industrial strategies. (3) The US and Europe are pulling in opposite directions economically (but “America’s combination of some of the world’s best companies with some of its worst politics is as worrying as it is puzzling”) (4) The growing tension between the West and the autocracies may produce dividends for the global south, in the form of non-alignment and substitution. Rich and dense – read-on (gifted article, reads in 7-9 min).
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Cara Buckley, Al Gore Thinks Trump Will Lose and Climate Activists Will Triumph
(The New York Times, 15 April 2024)
An interview with Al Gore on the occasion of a climate leadership conference hosted by his nonprofit organization. Many pearls of wisdom. Just his conclusion: “I bet on humanity. I believe that in spite of the well-known limitations we all have, and our vulnerabilities to pettiness and greed, and all of the things that can go wrong, we also really and truly have a capacity to rise above those limitations, as we have demonstrated in times past. We are capable of this. And the ability of the special interests, in this case the fossil fuel polluters to dominate laws and policies, is going to come to an end” (gifted article, reads in 5-6 min).
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Simon Jenkins, That sinking feeling: why long-suffering Venice is quite right to make tourists pay
(The Guardian, 25 April 2024)
Venice just did something that would have seemed unconscionable until recently: imposing a tax on day trippers. Is the overcrowded city victim of over-tourism leading the way? Tourism is one of the world’s fast-growing industries but over-tourism kills tourism and its destinations. Will other cities, places and regions follow suit? (free access, reads in 4-5 min).
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Namir Khalik, Does Science Fiction Shape the Future?
(Nautilus, 5 April 2024)
Yes, it does. And these interviews with six of today’s foremost science-fiction authors on the social impact of their work shows why. “Science fiction widens the frontiers of our aspirations. It introduces us to new technologies that could shape the world, and new ideas and political systems that could organize it.” It’s difficult to be an architect of the future without a pioneer’s vision of what that future might look like. For many (notably the most successful tech entrepreneurs), science fiction blasts that vision open (metered paywall, reads in more than 10 min).
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