A fascinating map from the good folks
at howmuch.net portrays the relative
relationship of projected economic growth globally over the next decade. At
first glance, the map looks cool. It is a neat way to view the world in
percentage terms of growth rates. At second glance, you may start to wonder, “Ok
what does this really mean?” A third glance might make you challenge the
representation of growth relative to other nations in percentage terms. Take a
few moments to reflect on those statistics classes you took a long time ago and
think about what these data really portray. Set aside the statistical critique,
and take yet another look and then notice possibilities for future trends: an EU
that if unified presents a substantial balance to US economic power; an
aggressive economic regional competitor to China with India; a complicated
African continent lacking structural legitimacy to manage rapid growth; balance
of power competition in the Middle East. The relationship between
economics and conflict has been a consistent dependency as variables go
throughout the history of conflict. Therefore, looking at the map, what kinds
of assessments might we consider in the context of potential Gray
Zone challenges as relative economic growth indicates balancing to credible
power?
The map:
The data for the map:
By way of an update, we spent the month of January doing a
look at the past, present, and future. I will try to sprinkle a few bits of
commentary about how Kissinger, Kaldun, Kennedy, and Gibbon saw geopolitical
lessons as we dig into some biographies this month. On that note, one thing
they all point to is that the in fact has changed. It is changing. Moreover, it
will continue to change. The paradigms in which we study and perceive global
relationships today are not sufficient to imagine how different the world will
be in the coming generations. I think that is probably a natural human
limitation; we cannot truly imagine the world drastically different than it is
today. Nevertheless, as the map from
howmuch.net shows, there are significant currents underway that will affect
how states, nations, societies, and communities of people will interact, based
on motivations and changing conditions. Those motivations, which are a function
of agency, respond to opportunities within a given set of conditions and
generate momentum proportional to the degree of that actor’s agency.
This week we have been looking at Ulysses S. Grant. If you
have never opened up his memoirs, please, go get a copy and look at his
thoughts. Aside from being a masterful strategist, he is an incredible writer. His
life was incredibly full, and ironically full of failures.
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Thank you for commenting. I appreciate your interest in the topic. It adds a little more to how we understand our world.