The Mad Scramble for Power: Global Superpowers’ Strategies for Energy, Economics, and War
Reality Roundtable #16
The rapidly evolving geopolitical landscape of recent years can be hard to follow. With economic conflicts between global superpowers and violent clashes across multiple continents, today’s events can seem starkly different from the trajectory of past decades. So, how can a deeper understanding of energy and resource security help us make sense of these chaotic trends?
In this discussion, I’m joined by Art Berman, Michael Every, and Izabella Kaminska for a broad exploration of the complex relationship between energy, geopolitics, and economic strategy. Together, we provide valuable insights into the consequences of deindustrialization, the impact of military spending, and the urgent need to reassess strategies as resources dwindle and geopolitical tensions rise.
How is the use of fear as a political tool intertwined with the challenges of trust and disinformation in navigating turbulent international conflicts? What role is the race for Artificial General Intelligence and Quantum Computing playing in these rapidly changing situations? And ultimately, what should we, as citizens, be expecting from our leaders at the global stage as the struggle for power in the 21st century continues to intensify?
In case you missed it…
In last week’s Frankly, I unpacked the influence of beliefs on our feelings, and how it ultimately affects our actions. As global risks and complexity intensify and those with political power accelerate deeper divides, adopting an integrative perspective will become essential for fostering connection, cooperation, and civility. The over-reliance of the last few decades on objective facts and science is no longer enough. Now is the time to re-align our analytics with values and emotions that will light our path forward through challenges of the next few decades.
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I know this was Energy/Geo-Politics centric, and the contributors are all incredibly well versed, but it was also Ecology blind. I was just left with the empty feeling that if this is what humanity is about, we may as well not bother. Especially when we got to The Wire analogy at the end..is that really the inspiration we want for world leaders? How about having a voice for nature on a roundtable such as this, or would that be seen as naive and not "letting go of childlike things"?
Really debilitating talk, this roundtable. The seeming primacy of markets and greedy trade in energy sources confounds me. I can’t stand the stupidity of the whole money-printing business either. The financial monstrosity is the big beast to tackle. And don’t get me started on military buildup .. It’s not too late to learn something as a species. 🙏