Part 2 is up and is linked in the next post! The United States of America has become an *extraction* economy. We extract value from our existing position in the world afforded to us through dollar dominance, without rebuilding the foundations that created that position. China (for all their faults) has become a *creation* economy. They're building electricity capacity, investing in human capital, and developing infrastructure that goes far beyond attention economy mechanics. That weird AI UFC octagon on the White House lawn is the perfect encapsulation of what American power looks like now when we increasingly optimize for spectacle instead of substance (Roland Barthes would be on the floor) We're conducting policy via social media while China builds for 21st-century economic dominance. As David Autor of MIT said "the Trump administration is basically fighting the war of twenty years ago". While they’re electrifying everything, we are financializing everything - and the consequences are severe. So… how do we fix it? Also, I got the chance to go on the Ezra Klein show (that came out this morning!) and I dive a bit deeper into some of the things we talked about. Thanks everyone!

Stupidity is very expensive and the bill has to be paid eventually