The Awesome Science of Chinonomics

Social Capital , simply put, is what makes civilization go . At the neighborhood level, it's what makes you feel at ease with crossing your street to ask your neighbor for that specific wrench you need to tighten that one hinge you're trying to fix. The trust you have in your neighbors --the comfort of knowing your car tires won't be slashed at night or that your house won't be broken into-- allows you to focus on things that are different from security and survival to (hopefully) be more productive. Sure, you can also spend all your time  doomscrolling  and brainrotting , but at least you have the optionality to do something good with that extra time. When it works in harmony, the social contract we tacitly (sometimes expressly) enter into allows us to develop our human capacities.  After all, what is art and the pursuit of knowledge if not just the leisurely, luxurious activity that's permitted only when those with the capacity, the interest, the means and intent ...

The search for a new social and economic world order continues in the middle of all this madness. At least in my head. Growth and its power-law dynamics brought us to a place where the losers can't hold it together any longer. Rage engulfs  the developed world. Irrationality  reigns supreme . Capitalism (coupled with rule of law and property rights ) had provided the avenue to exercise our self-determination. The principle that material success is entirely (or at least mostly) dependent on our effort had proven a quasi-religious mantra for many. And it was alluring. More than that: self-vindicating . The idea that I'm the architect of my destiny and that nothing can hold me back can be an inebriating, hypnotizing force that arms us with untold amounts of discipline and resolve to over-perform. Forget for now about the fact that that over-performance can be easier to achieve in the fast lane   of that avenue. Or that a government has to build the actual ave...

The king of Qatar recently resigned from his post. According to the people with knowledge of the politics of the region, his health was in a very weak state, rendering the effectiveness of his actions meager. He declined in favor of his 33 year old son, who according to people in touch with the politics of the region has a very pro-western stance. Much like the abdication of the Qatari royal, the markets recently witnessed the initial steps leading up to the abdication of our monetary dictator. His actions were increasingly perceived as ineffective . Each decree carried less and less weight. After our MIT-trained monetary autocrat came out with the latest decree --that the Fed will very likely begin to withdraw the cash injections into the economy-- the markets reacted , although not exactly in the way our beloved leader wished . The old status quo , whereby the movements in the financial world were a direct consequence of the latest ruling of the monetary dictator, was shattered...