I’ve always taken it as a matter of pride to be interested in International affairs. I think as an Economist, the dots you join are not sectoral, or discipline based, or regional, or intellectual, or even psychological… I’ve always believed Economics to be fundamentally this: “applied philosophy” (the study of the fundamental nature of knowledge, reality, and existence, especially when considered as an academic discipline.)
What am I rambling on about now? 😂🤦🏻 Well, I’ve spoken before about the modern siloing of Economics – microeconomics being curtailed by the rigidities of linear regression; macroeconomics being subject to the vagaries of the bond market and yield curve analysis (which in my book has a lot more going for it than the straightjacket of linear regression!)
However this isn’t enough. Economics is much more than this – as can be seen, again, by a conference on the relationship between China and India, hosted by the wonderful Chatham House, of which I’m proud to be a member… Applied philosophy if it is to be useful, (as per my argument for this designation for Economics), is predicated on everything. Everything. Sociological subtleties between one county and another (eg Lancashire vs Yorkshire in cotton vs woolen production, which of course was also based on geographic attributes)… Right down to why do I consider it necessary to arm myself against my fear of you invading me? (Tensions over the China/India border).. running on of course to, where do I buy my weapons from? Will I get a better deal from a country that wants me to act as a proxy on their behalf… in arming myself more comprehensively do I present as a more secure trading partner or a more volatile one? Am I contributing to my own industrial development, through enhanced weapons technology that can translate to domestic industry? Will my safety enhance my prosperity or promote a rivalry in productivity and trade that I hadn’t foreseen (the emergence of other southeast Asian economies as China moves up the value curve).
The world is changing. Trump has inadvertently switched on a macrocosm of geopolitical and geo-economic activity, through his ignorant blunderings. We may well come to thank him when the dust settles…
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