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"My Enemy's Enemy": South Korea & The Rise of Samsung
South Korea's rise as a semiconductor powerhouse, exemplified by Samsung, demonstrates the complex interplay between global competition and strategic partnerships. Samsung's founder, Lee Byung-Chul, recognized the opportunity presented by the U.S.-Japan DRAM wars of the 1980s and made a bold bet on semiconductors. With government support and access to cheap capital, Samsung entered the market and licensed technology from struggling American firms like Micron.
Ironically, Silicon Valley supported the rise of Korean DRAM producers as a way to counter Japan's dominance. This strategy, based on the principle of "my enemy's enemy is my friend," aimed to create a more balanced market and reduce Japan's threat to the U.S. chip industry. South Korea's success was also aided by the U.S.-Japan trade agreement, which limited Japanese DRAM exports and allowed Korean firms to sell more chips at higher prices.
Section: 4, Chapter: 23
Book: Chip War
Author: Chris Miller
Havel's Greengrocer Shows The Power Of Living In Truth
In his famous 1978 essay "The Power of the Powerless," Czech dissident Václav Havel demonstrates how ordinary people can resist a system of oppression through small acts of truth. His example:
A greengrocer hangs a sign in his shop window proclaiming "Workers of the world, unite!" He doesn't believe the slogan, but hangs it to avoid trouble. One day, he stops hanging the sign - a tiny act of defiance. By rejecting the ritual and "living in truth," he exposes and threatens the whole oppressive system.
For Havel, the powerless greengrocer shows that we always have a choice, however small, to act freely. And in those choices lies the power to create change.
Section: 1, Chapter: 2
Book: On Freedom
Author: Timothy Snyder
Chance Encounters Spur Unpredictable Creativity
In August 1978, Czech dissidents including Václav Havel hiked to the Polish border for an unplanned meeting with Polish dissidents, where they built a fire, drank vodka and talked. That encounter spurred Havel to write his influential essay "The Power of the Powerless."
Havel was inspired to political action years earlier after the trial of an underground rock band, the Plastic People of the Universe. The Plastic People covering the Velvet Underground connected Havel's thought to Lou Reed, Andy Warhol, and Warhol's Ruthenian immigrant roots.
These webs of unpredictable influence - stretching from Czechoslovakia to Poland to New York City - shaped Havel's key role in the Velvet Revolution. Preserving unpredictability allows such connections and innovations to thrive.
Section: 1, Chapter: 2
Book: On Freedom
Author: Timothy Snyder
When A Miscarriage Is A Crime - The Growing Threat Of Prosecution
Since Roe v Wade was overturned in 2022, many states have enacted laws severely restricting or banning abortion. Some grant embryos/fetuses full legal personhood. This has created confusion and fear around miscarriage management, as the same procedures and medications are used for both miscarriage and elective abortion.
Particularly in communities of color, where medical mistrust due to racism is already high, this could lead to devastating public health impacts as pregnant people avoid care. Some may even be prosecuted for adverse outcomes like stillbirth, a return to draconian policing of pregnancy.
Section: 2, Chapter: 7
Book: I'm Sorry for My Loss
Author: Rebecca Little, Colleen Long
Defend Institutions - They Require Constant Support
Lesson 2: Defend institutions: Actively work to protect and support the institutions that sustain a free and open society.
One must actively work to protect the institutions that are integral to a free and open society. This ranges from courts to media outlets to unions. The mistake is assuming institutions will defend themselves - in fact they require ongoing effort and vigilance from citizens to function properly. Tyrants seek to weaken institutions so they can consolidate power. The defense of institutions requires participation - whether that means subscribing to a newspaper to support the free press, joining a union, or getting involved with government at the local level. Don't take democratic institutions for granted.
Section: 1, Chapter: 2
Book:
Author:
Key Elements Of The Chinese Political And Economic System
Some of the distinctive features of China's governance model and economic strategy:
- China's political system utilizes a merit-based civil service. Provincial and local officials are held accountable for meeting economic and social targets.
- Confucian values like social harmony, deference to authority, and the primacy of the collective over the individual continue to shape Chinese politics and society. This contrasts with the individualism prized in the West.
- In the economic realm, China has adopted a hybrid model blending market-based incentives and competition with strong state direction over key industries and the financial system. Capitalism subordinated to Communist Party control.
- China's leadership takes a long-term view of its development, with grand plans like the Belt and Road Initiative aiming to extend its economic reach across Eurasia. It has also focused heavily on boosting its technological capabilities to avoid dependence on the West.
Section: 2, Chapter: 12
Book: Principles For Dealing With the Changing World Order
Author: Ray Dalio
Totalitarianism Is Fueled By A Fantasy Of Centralized Omniscience
While dictatorships concentrate power in one person or party, totalitarianism aims for complete control over every aspect of people's lives. This absolute centralization was enabled by 20th-century information technologies - radio, telephone, etc.
Joseph Stalin created a triple apparatus of state ministries, Communist Party structures, and secret police to dominate the Soviet Union. Powered by modern communications, these three branches monitored and terrorized the whole country, including each other. Stalin received daily reports from millions of informants while simultaneously spreading a cult of personality that made him synonymous with the state.
Section: 1, Chapter: 5
Book: Nexus
Author: Yuval Noah Harari
The Enduring Playbook Of Democratic Change Through People Power
From Prague to Kyiv to Caracas, dissidents have systematically employed non-violent pressure to challenge autocrats' monopoly on power:
- Symbolic resistance - slogans, colors, slogans that expose as choice what was considered necessity
- Coalition-building - linking disparate social classes around shared grievances and alternate national visions
- Dispersed leadership - making movements resilient to decapitation
- Exposing regime violence - shaming authorities and shifting enforcers' loyalty
- Seizing public spaces - denying regime's ability to dominate physical and information environment
Section: 1, Chapter: 5
Book: Autocracy, Inc
Author: Anne Applebaum
Reversing Electricity Privatization Crucial For Green Transition
the 1990s, many countries privatized their public electric utilities as part of the push for deregulation. But in recent years, hundreds of cities and towns in Germany have voted to "re-municipalize" their electricity grids - taking them back into public ownership.
The example of the city of Hamburg is instructive. In 2013, citizens there voted to reverse the privatization of their utility in order to speed the transition to clean energy. Private utilities were moving too slowly and prioritizing profits over climate concerns. Re-municipalization has allowed for more democratic control over the energy transition.
Section: 1, Chapter: 3
Book: This Changes Everything
Author: Naomi Klein
The Success of Poland's Solidarity Movement Shows the Power of "Corporeal Politics"
Lesson 13: Practice corporeal politics: Engage in real-world political action, not just online discourse.
The Solidarity movement in Poland in the 1980s demonstrates how engaging in real-world politics and forming unexpected coalitions can effectively resist tyranny. Solidarity brought together workers, professionals, the Catholic Church, and secular groups, bridging ideological divides to stand up for freedom.
This kind of "corporeal politics" - where people physically show up and engage with others face-to-face - is essential. As Snyder writes, "Power wants your body softening in your chair and your emotions dissipating on the screen. Get outside. Put your body in unfamiliar places with unfamiliar people. Make new friends and march with them."
Section: 1, Chapter: 13
Book: On Tyranny
Author: Timothy Snyder
America's Founding Relied On Imperial Mobility
America's founding story is deeply intertwined with the age of imperial mobility - the centuries when Europeans, powered by technological and immunological advantages, could conquer and expand globally. Key examples:
- The American Revolutionary War emerged from tensions in the British Empire after the Seven Years' War
- After independence, America expanded rapidly by seizing land from Natives and Mexico, taking the place of European imperial powers
- Southern plantation owners' wealth and political power relied on enslaved African labor
- The Founders had tremendous mobility to settle newly conquered lands, at the expense of Native displacement
Section: 1, Chapter: 3
Book: On Freedom
Author: Timothy Snyder
Devaluation Often Happens Quickly During Debt Crises And Political Upheavals
While currency devaluation can seem like a gradual process, history shows it often happens abruptly during times of crisis. When government debts become unsustainable, devaluation is the only politically feasible solution. This happened in Weimar Germany in the 1920s, the U.S. and Europe in the 1930s, and many emerging economies in the late 20th century. Such rapid devaluations can destroy wealth stored in the currency, creating social and political unrest. Investors must be alert to signs of unsustainable debt and political disorder that could trigger a currency crisis.
Section: 1, Chapter: 4
Book: Principles For Dealing With the Changing World Order
Author: Ray Dalio
Wealth And Values Gaps Drive Internal Conflicts Within Countries
All societies have internal struggles between different socioeconomic classes over wealth and power. These conflicts intensify when there are large gaps in wealth and fundamental values between the classes. Wealth gaps naturally emerge in capitalist systems, as some benefit more from productivity gains than others.
Values gaps emerge as people coalesce into "tribes" based on factors like religion, ethnicity, urban/rural status, and politics. When a country experiences economic hardships on top of these gaps, it often leads to a breaking point of revolution and/or civil war to restructure the internal order. Managing these internal gaps is essential for countries to maintain stability and avoid self-destructive conflicts.
Section: 1, Chapter: 5
Book: Principles For Dealing With the Changing World Order
Author: Ray Dalio
How Phytoplankton From Dinosaur Era Affected 2020 US Election
During the Cretaceous period, an inland sea covered much of the southern US. The deaths of trillions of phytoplankton in this sea created nutrient-rich soil in a region that would become known as the Black Belt. Millions of years later, in the 1800s, enslaved Africans toiled on cotton plantations on this fertile crescent. After the Civil War, their descendants remained in the area due to social and economic factors.
Fast-forward to 2020: Black voters (who overwhelmingly vote Democrat) turned out in high numbers in Georgia's Black Belt region, narrowly swinging the state to Biden and handing Democrats control of the Senate. The political trajectories of Georgia and the US hinged on the exact locations of microscopic marine organisms when dinosaurs roamed the earth, illustrating the astonishing concatenation of geographic and human factors across vast timescales that shape historical outcomes.
Section: 1, Chapter: 8
Book: Fluke
Author: Brian Klaas
Negative Freedom Is Incoherent Because It Rejects Solidarity
The idea of negative freedom - merely getting government out of the way - is incoherent because it rejects the solidarity that makes freedom possible. Consider:
- Many "negative freedom" advocates want to defund public education, making it harder for the next generation to develop capabilities for freedom
- Adherents often reject any redistribution, allowing oligarchic concentrations of wealth to limit most people's economic freedom
- Defenders frequently deny the existence of systemic racism, dismissing the perspectives and experiences of minority groups
In each case, negative freedom assumes that one person or group's freedom is independent of everyone else's. But in reality, we can only be free together in solidarity. Freedom is a collective achievement of humanity that requires ongoing collective effort to sustain.
Section: 1, Chapter: 5
Book: On Freedom
Author: Timothy Snyder
Taiwan's Semiconductor Influence
“Chips from Taiwan provide 37 percent of the world’s new computing power each year. Two Korean companies produce 44 percent of the world’s memory chips. The Dutch company ASML builds 100 percent of the world’s extreme ultraviolet lithography machines, without which cutting-edge chips are simply impossible to make. OPEC’s 40 percent share of world oil production looks unimpressive by comparison.”
Section: 5, Chapter: 29
Book: Chip War
Author: Chris Miller
Beware the One-Party State and Defend Democratic Elections
Lesson 3: Beware the One-Party State and Defend Democratic Elections
Many 20th century tyrannical regimes began with a single party consolidating power, making democracy impossible for opponents. They exploit a specific moment to make political life untenable for their opposition. The lesson is to defend the integrity of the democratic system:
- Support a multi-party system
- Fight for fair election rules and voting rights
- Consider running for office yourself
- Participate in local and state elections while you can Defending democracy is an ongoing responsibility that requires action.
Section: 1, Chapter: 3
Book: On Tyranny
Author: Timothy Snyder
Mass Incarceration Is A Uniquely American Barrier To Mobility
The rise of American mass incarceration in the late 20th century created a new system of racial control that severely limits social mobility. Consider:
- The US imprisons over 2 million people, the most in the world, disproportionately Black men
- 1 in 3 Black men born in 2001 can expect to be imprisoned, vs 1 in 17 white men
- Spending time in prison severely limits employment, housing, education, and voting rights
Several of the author's incarcerated students liken the "the cell inside" (prison) to "the cell outside" (their home communities) in terms of lack of mobility. Mass incarceration as a deliberate system of racial and class immobilization is incompatible with freedom.
Section: 1, Chapter: 3
Book: On Freedom
Author: Timothy Snyder
Modern Russian Propaganda's Corrosive Impact On Public Discourse
Unlike clumsy and unconvincing Soviet propaganda, modern Russian messaging aims not to inspire but to confuse, distract, and demoralize. Common themes:
- "Whataboutism" that deflects criticism by accusing the West of hypocrisy
- Amplifying voices that smear liberal societies as decadent and failing
- Portraying Russia as the defender of "traditional values" against liberal excess
Russians are fed a diet of nationalist triumphalism while "news" from democracies fixates on dysfunction, elite corruption, culture-war controversy, or civilizational decline.
Section: 1, Chapter: 3
Book: Autocracy, Inc
Author: Anne Applebaum
"Do Not Obey in Advance"
"Anticipatory obedience is a political tragedy. Perhaps rulers did not initially know that citizens were willing to compromise this value or that principle. Perhaps a new regime did not at first have the direct means of influencing citizens one way or another. After the German elections of 1932, which permitted Adolf Hitler to form a government, or the Czechoslovak elections of 1946, where communists were victorious, the next crucial step was anticipatory obedience. Because enough people in both cases voluntarily extended their services to the new leaders, Nazis and communists alike realized that they could move quickly toward a full regime change. The first heedless acts of conformity could not then be reversed."
Section: 1, Chapter: 1
Book: On Tyranny
Author: Timothy Snyder
Eastern European Scholars Recognized the Danger of Trump
In the lead-up to the 2016 election, most American commentators assured the public that Trump would be stopped by one institution or another. But scholars of Eastern Europe sounded the alarm early based on patterns they recognized from their own countries' experiences with tyrants.
As Snyder notes, "Those who were born into postwar Europe or the Soviet bloc had an advantage. They could not entertain the idea that history was over. They had seen the boundary between civilization and barbarism crossed more than once...When voting booths were brought out for an exercise in pseudo-democracy, they had to know how to read the body language of power and the real meaning of slogans." Those who lived through democratic collapse in Eastern Europe have hard-won wisdom that Americans ignore at our peril.
Section: 1, Chapter: 16
Book: On Tyranny
Author: Timothy Snyder
"The Japan that Can Say No"
As Japan's economic and technological prowess grew, there was a noticeable shift in power dynamics between the U.S. and Japan. Akio Morita, the CEO of Sony, who had once admired American ingenuity, now criticized the U.S. for its declining manufacturing capabilities and short-term business practices.
In 1989, Morita co-authored a book titled The Japan That Can Say No with Shintaro Ishihara, a controversial nationalist politician. The book, which highlighted Japan's economic superiority and advocated for a more assertive role on the world stage, sparked anger and concern in the United States.
Ishihara's essays in the book were particularly provocative, calling for Japan to challenge American dominance and leverage its control over semiconductor technology to gain geopolitical leverage. He argued that Japan's dominance in memory chips was crucial to American military strength and that Japan should be willing to say no to U.S. demands.
The book's publication and the sentiments expressed by Morita and Ishihara highlighted a growing sense of nationalism in Japan and a willingness to challenge America's leadership position. This raised concerns in Washington about the future of the U.S.-Japan relationship and the potential for Japan to pursue a more independent foreign policy.
Section: 3, Chapter: 20
Book: Chip War
Author: Chris Miller
Militant Resistance By Fossil Fuel Corporations Requires Hardball Government Response
The chapter argues that climate action cannot be achieved through a naive partnership with fossil fuel corporations - it requires directly confronting these corporations' entrenched interests. As long as fossil fuel extraction remains profitable, these companies will fight tooth and nail to keep expanding production.
Policymakers must be willing to take bold and assertive steps to curtail fossil fuel extraction and shift investment to clean energy, in the face of fierce corporate opposition. This could include revoking drilling permits, banning new fossil fuel infrastructure, and criminal prosecution of corporations for climate damages. Playing nice will not work - hardball tactics are needed to break the fossil fuel industry's stranglehold over politics and the economy.
Section: 1, Chapter: 4
Book: This Changes Everything
Author: Naomi Klein
Information Flows Differently In Democracies Versus Dictatorships
Harari distinguishes democracies and dictatorships as contrasting modes of organizing information:
Dictatorships:
- Information flows primarily to a central hub, which makes key decisions
- Assume the center is infallible, discouraging challenges and self-correction
- Historically limited by capacity to process information centrally
Democracies:
- Information flows between many independent nodes - individuals, civic bodies, companies, etc.
- Assume everyone is fallible, so power is divided and decisions can be challenged
- Independent press, academia, judiciary etc. check government power
- Must integrate many voices without overloading the system
Section: 1, Chapter: 5
Book: Nexus
Author: Yuval Noah Harari
Unpredictability Arises From Sovereign People Pursuing Values
Unpredictability, the second form of freedom, emerges when sovereign individuals make choices based on their own unique combination of values. Key points:
- Values exist in a "fifth dimension" with its own logic that can seep into our world
- As we choose values over time, we gain the capacity to combine them in new ways
- Every sovereign person constantly faces choices between values in their own unique circumstances
- When sovereign people interact, they generate societywide unpredictability
This human unpredictability keeps us free from those who would oppress us by making us predictable. "Free people are predictable to themselves but unpredictable to authorities and machines."
Section: 1, Chapter: 2
Book: On Freedom
Author: Timothy Snyder
Cute Fetus, Gross Fetus - The Duality Of Fetal Imagery In Politics
The anti-abortion movement has masterfully employed fetal imagery to further its cause since the 1980s. Fetal development is depicted as a seamless journey from conception to cherubic newborn. The fetus is shown as an independent being, with the woman's body erased. The humanity of the fetus is highlighted or downplayed as needed for maximum emotional impact.
The overall effect has been to change hearts and minds on fetal personhood. This makes sense, as the authors note, "Frequency of language use and imagery matters. The more frequent the language use or imagery, the more strengthening occurs." The fetus is now a symbol more than a biological reality.
Section: 1, Chapter: 5
Book: I'm Sorry for My Loss
Author: Rebecca Little, Colleen Long
The Anatomy Of Modern Autocratic Smear Campaigns
Compared to 20th century total censorship and mass violence, 21st century autocrats calibrate subtler ways to tarnish and intimidate critics, combining:
- Malign prosecution and stripped credentials to legally sideline opponents
- Manufactured scandals spread online to mar reputations
- Conspiracy theories alleging hidden foreign backing to undermine legitimacy
- Troll and bot armies that drown out or distort opposition messages
- Blackmail and threats to turn even family and friends into liabilities
The public, disillusioned, is left seeing honest brokers as no better than the ruling cabal.
Section: 1, Chapter: 5
Book: Autocracy, Inc
Author: Anne Applebaum
Public Sector Key To Rapid Transition To Renewable Energy
This chapter argues that the public sector must play the leading role in the transition to renewable energy. While the private sector can play an important role, only public institutions have the incentive and capacity to drive a rapid, coordinated shift on the scale required.
Examples from Germany and the U.S. show that the most rapid transitions to renewables happen when the public owns key electrical utilities. Private companies will only pursue clean energy if it is immediately profitable. But the public sector can make the long-term investments needed to completely replace fossil fuels. Decentralized public and community ownership of power generation has been key to Germany's renewable energy revolution.
Section: 1, Chapter: 3
Book: This Changes Everything
Author: Naomi Klein
Be Alert to Dangerous Expansions of Executive Power
Lesson 17: Listen for dangerous words: Be alert to rhetoric that demonizes certain groups or justifies violence and oppression.
Would-be tyrants often use the rhetoric of terrorism and extremism to justify dangerous power grabs. As Snyder writes, "The trick is to define terrorism and extremism as what those in power say they are, while leaving the details ambiguous and mutable." He points to Hitler's use of the Reichstag Fire to claim emergency powers and suspend civil liberties.
Similarly, Putin has exploited terrorism (sometimes likely abetted by his own regime) to consolidate his authoritarian rule in Russia. If a leader tries to seize broad new powers to fight vaguely defined threats, it's a serious red flag. Carefully evaluate any attempts to trade freedom for security.
Section: 1, Chapter: 17
Book: On Tyranny
Author: Timothy Snyder
Politicians Set Unworkable Health Standards
"Politicians without medical expertise are setting unworkable standards that put pregnant people in danger."
Section: 3, Chapter: 10
Book: I'm Sorry for My Loss
Author: Rebecca Little, Colleen Long
China's Chip Ambitions Threaten US Technological Leadership
China's aggressive push for self-sufficiency in semiconductors has sparked concern among US chip industry leaders. The country's massive subsidies and state-backed efforts to acquire technology threaten to erode America's competitive edge. This concern is heightened by the fact that many US chip companies heavily rely on the Chinese market, creating a complex dynamic where their biggest customer is also their biggest competitor.
Section: 7, Chapter: 49
Book: Chip War
Author: Chris Miller
Sadopopulism Stokes Division To Protect Elite Wealth
Elites increasingly rely on "sadopopulism" - stoking division and resentment between groups - to protect their wealth and power while immobilizing everyone else. Key tactics:
- Generating a sense of victimhood among a dominant group (whites, men, natives, etc)
- Directing attention and blame toward a scapegoated group (immigrants, minorities, the poor, etc)
- Undermining social programs by framing them as unfairly aiding the scapegoated group
- Promising that the dominant group will maintain relative status over the scapegoated group
Sadopopulism encourages people to tolerate an unfair status quo as long as they can take comfort that others are hurting more. It is an essential tool for maintaining societies with imperially derived concentrations of wealth in a postimperial age.
Section: 1, Chapter: 3
Book: On Freedom
Author: Timothy Snyder
Corrupting Courts And Crippling Civil Society To Eliminate "Enemies"
Subtler than jailing opponents, modern autocrats use "rule by law" to criminalize dissent, imposing regulations to throttle critics' ability to operate legally:
- "Foreign agent" laws to stigmatize activists and NGOs as suspect outsiders
- "Extremism" and "anti-terrorism" designations to ban opposition groups
- Politicized tax, libel and "morality" police to harass newsrooms and campuses
- Restrictions on NGO funding and activity to cut off resources
- Pliable prosecutors, judges and bureaucrats to enforce double standards
- State media to trumpet supposed financial or sexual misconduct
By imposing a presumption of guilt and denying the persecuted any viable defense, such systems strangle opposition in a noose of quasi-legal restraints.
Section: 1, Chapter: 5
Book: Autocracy, Inc
Author: Anne Applebaum
Democracy Requires Institutions That Generate And Propagate Facts
For democracy to function, we need more than individual freedom of speech - we need institutions that make facts available to all and give factual speech consequence. Some examples:
- A free press with legal protections and a culture of journalistic ethics
- Independent universities where scholarship can critique power
- Public schools that teach media literacy and critical thinkingLibraries that provide access to reliable informationWhistleblower protections and freedom of information lawsPenalties for fraud, false advertising and libel
Democracy is a system for determining and acting on facts collectively. It cannot function if oligarchs and officials can lie with impunity.
Section: 1, Chapter: 4
Book: On Freedom
Author: Timothy Snyder
The Global Nature of EUV
“The scientific networks that produced EUV spanned the world, bringing together scientists from countries as diverse as America, Japan, Slovenia, and Greece. However, the manufacturing of EUV wasn’t globalized, it was monopolized. A single supply chain managed by a single company would control the future of lithography.”
Section: 6, Chapter: 39
Book: Chip War
Author: Chris Miller
How Putin's Kleptocracy Took Shape With Help From The West
As deputy mayor of St. Petersburg in the early 1990s, Vladimir Putin oversaw schemes to steal city funds and launder money through shell companies in Europe, enabled by Western banks and lawyers. In one case, his partners registered the St. Petersburg Real Estate Holding Company in Germany, took it public, then used it to launder funds before German police finally raided it in 2003.
The political system that became Putinism emerged from the nexus of the KGB's experience with clandestine finance and the amorality of the international business community. Even as Western leaders preached "rule of law" to Russia, Western enablers helped build the opposite.
Section: 1, Chapter: 1
Book: Autocracy, Inc
Author: Anne Applebaum
Totalitarian Regime Run By Nonhuman Intelligence
"If a twenty-first-century totalitarian network succeeds in conquering the world, it may be run by nonhuman intelligence, rather than by a human dictator."
Section: 1, Chapter: 5
Book: Nexus
Author: Yuval Noah Harari
Dictator's Dilemma: AI And Authoritarianism
Chapter 10 explores the complex relationship between AI and authoritarian regimes. Harari argues that while AI might seem to favor centralized control, it also poses unique challenges to dictatorships.
The author introduces the concept of the "dictator's dilemma," where authoritarian leaders must balance the potential benefits of AI with the risks it poses to their own power. Such risks include the challenge of controlling AI systems that aren't susceptible to traditional forms of coercion, and the difficulty of maintaining ideological control in a world where AI can generate and disseminate information.
Section: 3, Chapter: 10
Book: Nexus
Author: Yuval Noah Harari
Populist And Autocratic Leaders Emerge During Times of Internal Conflict
In the late stages of the internal cycle of conflict, countries often turn to populist and autocratic leaders who promise to restore order and take power away from entrenched elites.
This happened in the 1930s with the rise of fascist leaders like Hitler and Mussolini during the Great Depression. It also happened after the French Revolution with the rise of Napoleon, and in countless coups and revolutions in Latin America and Asia. Such leaders often come from outside traditional power structures and tap into resentment against the "establishment." While they can temporarily stabilize a country, they often end up leading it into damaging conflicts abroad. Being alert to the rise of populist autocrats is crucial to navigating the internal cycle.
Section: 1, Chapter: 5
Book: Principles For Dealing With the Changing World Order
Author: Ray Dalio
How Fossil Oligarchs Thwart Moral Mobility
Powerful companies, especially in fossil fuels, are using their wealth to prevent society from enacting the changes we need to expand mobility for the next generation.
Climate change affects the poor and people of color first - overcoming the selfish escapism of fossil oligarchs and building a sustainable future is a prerequisite for freedom.
Section: 1, Chapter: 3
Book: On Freedom
Author: Timothy Snyder
Oligarchs Claiming "Free Speech" For Their Lies Is An Abuse
When powerful oligarchs claim "free speech" to defend their ability to spread disinformation, they are abusing the concept to protect their power. Three key reasons:
- Oligarchs face no personal risk for their speech - they are not critiquing the powerful but embodying power. Free speech exists to protect the vulnerable truth-teller, not the powerful liar.
- Oligarchic speech is often not done by an individual whose body is on the line, but by untraceable networks of anonymous entities and bots. Free speech is for protecting real humans.
- Powerful interests spreading lies through media they control is not "speaking truth to power" but "the powerful suppressing truth." The point of free speech is to allow criticism of unaccountable authority.
Section: 1, Chapter: 4
Book: On Freedom
Author: Timothy Snyder
Learn from the Hard-Won Wisdom of Other Countries
Lesson 16: Learn from peers in other countries: Connect with and learn from people facing similar challenges around the world.
Americans can be dangerously parochial, assuming that tyranny can't happen here. But we have much to learn from the experiences of other nations that have faced democratic crises. Snyder notes that during the 2016 election, "Ukrainian journalists who came to the American Midwest were surprised by the lack of knowledge about or interest in Ukraine" and observed many of the same propaganda tactics Russia had used against them being deployed here.
Building international connections provides vital perspective. Snyder advises maintaining friendships abroad, traveling (make sure to have a passport), and supporting global organizations. The fight to preserve freedom is a global struggle, and we can't prevail alone.
Section: 1, Chapter: 16
Book: On Tyranny
Author: Timothy Snyder
Books about Politics
History
Society
Politics
Autocracy, Inc. Book Summary
Anne Applebaum
In "Autocracy, Inc.," Anne Applebaum exposes the global web of dictators and their enablers who have formed a corrupt, mutually-supporting network to undermine democracy, repress their citizens, and rewrite the rules of international politics in their favor.
Prediction
Decision Making
Thinking
Leadership
Superforecasting Book Summary
Philip Tetlock
In Superforecasting, Philip Tetlock and Dan Gardner reveal the techniques used by elite forecasters to predict future events with remarkable accuracy, and show how these skills can be cultivated by anyone to make better decisions in an uncertain world.
History
Politics
Philosophy
On Freedom Book Summary
Timothy Snyder
In "On Freedom," Timothy Snyder argues that true freedom is not simply the absence of barriers, but the positive presence of the conditions and capabilities that allow individuals to make meaningful choices, realized through the five interdependent forms of sovereignty, unpredictability, mobility, factuality, and solidarity.
Economics
Society
History
Heuristics
Factulness Book Summary
Hans Rosling
Factfulness by Hans Rosling reveals the ten instincts that distort our perspective on the world, and provides a fact-based framework for understanding global progress and thinking more clearly about the future.
Health
Feminism
Medicine
Politics
I'm Sorry for My Loss Book Summary
Rebecca Little, Colleen Long
"I'm Sorry for Your Loss" is a groundbreaking exploration of the cultural silence, medical myths, and legal quagmires surrounding miscarriage, stillbirth, and abortion in America, weaving together personal stories, historical context, and expert insights to envision a world where no one has to grieve alone.
Sustainability
Climate Change
Economics
Politics
This Changes Everything Book Summary
Naomi Klein
In "This Changes Everything," Naomi Klein argues that the climate crisis challenges us to abandon the core "free market" ideology of our time, restructure the global economy, and remake our political systems - and that in the process, we have the chance to create a safer and more just world.
History
Politics
Philosophy
On Tyranny Book Summary
Timothy Snyder
In "On Tyranny," Timothy Snyder draws urgent lessons from the 20th century's bitter experience with tyranny to equip ordinary citizens today with the tools to recognize encroaching authoritarianism and fight back before it's too late.