The author has been described by News Ltd as an "iconoclast", "Svengali", a pollie's "economist muse", and "pungently accurate". Fairfax says he is a "Renaissance man" and "one of Australia’s most respected analysts." Stephen Koukoulas concludes that he is "85% right", and "would make a great Opposition leader." Terry McCrann claims the author thinks "‘nuance’ is a trendy village in the south of France", but can be "scintillating" when he thinks "clearly". The ACTU reckons he’s "an enigma wrapped in a Bloomberg terminal, wrapped in some apparently well-honed abs."

Sunday, December 26, 2010

Will history's rhythms reassert themselves?

From a book I am reading on my iPad while vacationing on a vineyard in the Hunter: "(xxxx)'s steady advance in the world's markets had aroused the antagonism of those older industrial countries, who felt their chances in those markets was being threatened." One nation in particular had "engaged in creating a strong network of alliances and agreements directed against (xxxx)", designed to encircle it. Substitute China for Germany and the US for England and you have some uncanny parallels between today's dynamics and those that existed prior to WWI.
at 11:05 AM