National Tech Wars

It’s been clear for a while that the major world powers are going to need to do something about securing their own technological future in a world of competing nation-states (“The resurgence of national tech wars,” newsletter #53). One of the things that has come out of the global pandemic, beyond the generic need to have … Continue reading “National Tech Wars”

An Update on Basic Income Experiments

Last year, I wrote on preliminary results from Finland’s basic income experiment (“Preliminary results from Finland’s basic income experiment … social ‘science’ is hard,” newsletter #30). Two things have happened since then. First, the final results have come out.* Second, a city in California, Stockton, has conducted a similar experiment. The final results of the Finnish … Continue reading “An Update on Basic Income Experiments”

China is also a market

I wrote a lot in 2020 about China’s geopolitical aspirations, and the impact of Covid on the global supply chain, but it’s also important to remember that those geopolitical aspirations also impact how the rest of the world deals with China as a market. In the tech field, it’s always been tricky: Google doesn’t play … Continue reading “China is also a market”

“Afghan lives matter!”

Make no mistake, the Chinese government does not do things by mistake. Trade tensions between the US and China have grown substantially during the Trump administration, but China has also been engaging in a bit of a trade war with Australia, with the latest move being a tariff imposed on Australia’s wine — for which China is the … Continue reading ““Afghan lives matter!””

The future of free trade

For all that Donald Trump is a buffoon, he had some big successes (from a U.S. point of view), particularly with regard to international trade. His renegotiation of NAFTA is almost certainly an improvement, and his hard stance on trade with China was a long time coming. That said, he made a number of strategic … Continue reading “The future of free trade”