After a deep read. Excellent take on this week’s events. Reads like an Atlantic article. Offers a clear perspective on current world balance and offers a path to move into the future. Bravo!
it would be a beautiful thing if Trump accidentally created a more equitable world economy with his idiot stunts. In the meantime, we are in for more of a bumpy ride.
Carney has proposed some great ideas in the past about some of the world biggest economic challenges. And it looks like more people in power are listening to him now than they did as the former Governor of the Bank of England and Canada.
Thank you for continuing to share such truths so applicable to the times. We need this! And you're such a great writer you make it easy for us to absorb 🖤
This is what it looks like when geopolitics stops pretending it’s about vibes and starts talking about leverage. You take Unamuno, Havel, and Davos technocracy and weld them into a single argument: power doesn’t need belief, but systems do and middle powers have been mistaking participation for protection.
The Greenland episode is the perfect case study because it collapses abstraction into cost. No moralizing, no nostalgia—just a clean demonstration that coordination works when coercion gets expensive. “Taking the sign down” is an elegant metaphor, but what makes this unsettling (and persuasive) is that you show exactly how much it costs to live without it and why the bill is finally being paid anyway.
Not a manifesto, not a prophecy—more like a user manual for a world where the ritual is over and the math has changed.
It will be interesting to see how Carney's theory and these new blocs work out when the threat is mor abstract or if local elections mandate taking some political risks to stay on track.
That’s exactly the stress test, isn’t it, when the threat loses its material outline and becomes statistical or electoral. Leverage is easiest to defend when the cost is visible; it gets much harder when the bill is deferred and the risks are abstracted into polling curves.
What I’m watching is whether these blocs can survive that translation, when coordination has to justify itself not through urgency, but through patience, trade-offs, and voters who feel the pain before they feel the payoff. That’s where theory either becomes governance… or quietly dissolves back into ritual.
Thoughtful work, Edwin, appreciate you engaging it at that level.
I was listening to his book values and I forgot to lock my phone and it returned it early. I waited months for it. I was so mad I contacted the library.
Power doesn’t retreat because it’s convinced...it retreats when compliance becomes too expensive. The illusion collapsed the moment coordination replaced obedience. Taking the sign down isn’t symbolic; it’s structural resistance.
I've attended Carney's lectures in the past. But watching him at Davos this week made me think: people will be writing about this Davos in history books.
Thanks for reading and for your thoughtful commentary.
I have always viewed Carney as a man of intelligence and expertise in matters that impact the world economy. Like I said on my piece, his proposition may grow or not but the veil of pretend ignorance is off.
Your commentary made me reflect on something I heard Carney say a few years ago at a lecture: plans are useless but planning is essential. Whether his plan works or not, the fact that middle powers are planning marks a serious shift.
Edwin, you caught my attention this morning!
I’m glad :) I hope you find this piece useful
After a deep read. Excellent take on this week’s events. Reads like an Atlantic article. Offers a clear perspective on current world balance and offers a path to move into the future. Bravo!
Thank you, Kevin.
It means a lot coming from you.
Cheers
You are broadening my perspective on history for one area.
it would be a beautiful thing if Trump accidentally created a more equitable world economy with his idiot stunts. In the meantime, we are in for more of a bumpy ride.
Great piece, as always.
Thank you for reading the piece, Mandy.
I appreciate you :)
Carney has proposed some great ideas in the past about some of the world biggest economic challenges. And it looks like more people in power are listening to him now than they did as the former Governor of the Bank of England and Canada.
Thank you for continuing to share such truths so applicable to the times. We need this! And you're such a great writer you make it easy for us to absorb 🖤
Thank you o much for your continued support! I glad you found some use in this :)
This is what it looks like when geopolitics stops pretending it’s about vibes and starts talking about leverage. You take Unamuno, Havel, and Davos technocracy and weld them into a single argument: power doesn’t need belief, but systems do and middle powers have been mistaking participation for protection.
The Greenland episode is the perfect case study because it collapses abstraction into cost. No moralizing, no nostalgia—just a clean demonstration that coordination works when coercion gets expensive. “Taking the sign down” is an elegant metaphor, but what makes this unsettling (and persuasive) is that you show exactly how much it costs to live without it and why the bill is finally being paid anyway.
Not a manifesto, not a prophecy—more like a user manual for a world where the ritual is over and the math has changed.
Thanks for reading Dipti.
It will be interesting to see how Carney's theory and these new blocs work out when the threat is mor abstract or if local elections mandate taking some political risks to stay on track.
Thank you for your thoughtful commentary!
That’s exactly the stress test, isn’t it, when the threat loses its material outline and becomes statistical or electoral. Leverage is easiest to defend when the cost is visible; it gets much harder when the bill is deferred and the risks are abstracted into polling curves.
What I’m watching is whether these blocs can survive that translation, when coordination has to justify itself not through urgency, but through patience, trade-offs, and voters who feel the pain before they feel the payoff. That’s where theory either becomes governance… or quietly dissolves back into ritual.
Thoughtful work, Edwin, appreciate you engaging it at that level.
Likewise,
Your words are humbling.
Cheers
I love mark Carney for that. Can I sing the Canadian national anthem right now. I’m in Canada btw.
I’ve always thought he was a brilliant man. Big thinker.
I was listening to his book values and I forgot to lock my phone and it returned it early. I waited months for it. I was so mad I contacted the library.
Power doesn’t retreat because it’s convinced...it retreats when compliance becomes too expensive. The illusion collapsed the moment coordination replaced obedience. Taking the sign down isn’t symbolic; it’s structural resistance.
Indeed
The ground is moving very fast at the moment beneath our feet. Day to day.
Indeed, my friend.
Excellent analysis! Wow, the next 3 years are going to be the most interesting period of time to be alive!
Thanks for reading!
And, yes. You're 100%
I've attended Carney's lectures in the past. But watching him at Davos this week made me think: people will be writing about this Davos in history books.
Thank you for sharing, Annette!
Thanks for reading and for your thoughtful commentary.
I have always viewed Carney as a man of intelligence and expertise in matters that impact the world economy. Like I said on my piece, his proposition may grow or not but the veil of pretend ignorance is off.
Your commentary made me reflect on something I heard Carney say a few years ago at a lecture: plans are useless but planning is essential. Whether his plan works or not, the fact that middle powers are planning marks a serious shift.