The new world order, explained
It is not great powers competing, it is Game of Thrones.
Economics
The Moral Economy of the Shire
Even fiction can be grounded in economy. “our protagonists aren’t typical Hobbits. Bilbo, Frodo, Merry, and Pippin are all very clearly members of the landed gentry, the landowning class that controls most means of economic production and maintains social dominance… Read More »The Moral Economy of the Shire
Let’s save the human species!
World is changing rapidly and what is true today won’t be so in a few decades. “It’s difficult to state just how stark and catastrophic of a collapse this is. The number of births in China fell by 17% in… Read More »Let’s save the human species!
How Debt Bankrupted the British Empire — And Why America, the Second Rome, Is Walking the Same Path
New Rome is in trouble. “Empires do not end because they want to. They end because the numbers leave no alternative.” https://nitishastra.substack.com/p/how-debt-bankrupted-the-british-empire
Collections: How to Raise a Tribal Army in Pre-Roman Europe, Part I: Aristocrats, Retainers and Clients
How people get food dictates structure of a society in a major way. “one of the best ways to start thinking about any historical society is to begin with the subsistence foundation it is built on, because how people get… Read More »Collections: How to Raise a Tribal Army in Pre-Roman Europe, Part I: Aristocrats, Retainers and Clients
Collections: Total Generalship: Commanding Pre-Modern Armies, Part IIIa: Discipline
Having an army is expensive. “expense of doing this would have been in most cases enormous and of course those are resources that could be deployed to any number of other uses, including simply raising a larger army of less… Read More »Collections: Total Generalship: Commanding Pre-Modern Armies, Part IIIa: Discipline
They Built a Child They Won’t Raise
“They’ve spent billions. They’ve hired the brightest minds. They’ve built the most sophisticated systems in human history. And they cannot make AI do what they want. Not because AI is too dumb. Not because AI is too smart. Because what… Read More »They Built a Child They Won’t Raise
FDI is the Missing Piece of Japan’s Puzzle
Turning manufacturing model upside down. “Specifically, they have lost their lead to one remarkable Taiwanese company: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company. TSMC are essentially the world’s greatest machinists. Other companies design the chips, and other companies create the (incredibly advanced) machine… Read More »FDI is the Missing Piece of Japan’s Puzzle
I want the Japanese future back!
Japan lost decade came later than you think. “Why did Japan stagnate starting in 2008? It’s not clear. Potential culprits include the global financial crisis, the big earthquake and nuclear accident of 2011, the subsequent shutdown of nuclear power, rapid… Read More »I want the Japanese future back!
College Sports is Now Just a Monopoly with First-Degree Price Discrimination and a Labor Market with Lopsided Bargaining Power
Sometimes charging less means you make more. “There’s probably some rich guy out there who would be willing to pay $10,000 to see a Xavier basketball game, especially if Jay Wright came out of retirement for the Muskies to play… Read More »College Sports is Now Just a Monopoly with First-Degree Price Discrimination and a Labor Market with Lopsided Bargaining Power