Source: Fortune
Summary
Ray Dalio, founder of Bridgewater, has written a piece in Fortune arguing that the world is in stage 5 of the “Big Cycle”, a six-stage process of how major empires rise and fall. Dalio believes that the current state of the world, marked by large government debts, geopolitical conflicts, and rising income and wealth gaps, is more analogous to pre-1945 times than the post-1945 era. He also notes that AI and climate change could disrupt or accelerate the Big Cycle.
Our Reading
The numbers tell one story. Ray Dalio’s Big Cycle theory suggests that we are on the brink of collapse. Palantir CEO Alex Karp tries to reassure us that AI isn’t being used for mass domestic surveillance. Meanwhile, oil prices pass $100/barrel, and gold prices are up 70% over the past year. The income gap has increased, and the world order is shifting. As Dalio says, “what is happening now is more analogous to pre-1945 times than the post-1945 times that we have gotten used to.”
The world is getting more unstable, and it’s not just about the economy.
Author: Evan Null
