Jan

29

Book Review: Mind Set! by John Naisbitt, from Steve Ellison, April, 2007

Some interesting bits:

- One trend is the continuing growth of China, which Mr. Naisbitt points out is quite decentralized: “Beijing pretends to rule, and the provinces pretend to be ruled”.

- While some fear that American culture is obliterating local cultures, Mr. Naisbitt asserts that the world is changing America more than America is changing the world, as more than 1 million legal immigrants per year enter the United States.

- In an intriguing tidbit, Mr. Naisbitt quotes Alan Greenspan as expecting private currencies to return by the end of the 21st century.

Steve Ellison updates:

That book was written in 2004, before bitcoin was invented (speaking of "private currencies"). Mr. Naisbitt is no longer with us, having passed on at age 92. The last thing I noticed him doing, in 2010 or so, was touting the emerging world as the most important story. In my opinion, A LOT has changed since then. We have macro experts on the List who would have much better insight, but I would start with Rocky's accurate prediction in 2016 that the Brexit vote was the canary in the coal mine for the post-Cold War global elite and their policies of globalization, mass immigration, and "cling[ing] to the religion and arrogance of knowing what is best for the common man — and which often also involves rejecting common sense and facts in evidence."

The decentralization of Chinese government finances is today a key reason why a massive economic stimulus from Beijing, as urged by many Western economists, simply cannot happen. The critical mass of government spending is in the provinces, and their governments are starved for revenue after the real estate bust. Christopher Balding writes frequently about all things China on X as @BaldingsWorld.


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