The Overlord's Place at the Table

Nobody is needy in the market economy because of the fact that some people are rich.--von mises

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Harvard hosted an adaptation of Macbeth that the school designated as “an exclusive space for Black-identifying audience members.” (The performance “examines what it means to be an ambitious Black woman through the lens of one of Shakespeare’s most iconic characters,” according to the announcement.)

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Harvard employs 7,024 total full-time administrators, only slightly fewer than the undergraduate population.

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It is somewhat misleading to describe China as “the world’s second-largest” economy, as the Wall Street Journal and many others do. This is true only as far as total GDP is concerned because there are so many individuals living in China. But each of them has relatively low productivity so the GDP per capita or standard of living is low.

On the basis of GDP per capita in purchasing power parity (IMF data), China comes at the 90th rank of 220 countries, between Belarus and Thailand.

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The Overlord's Place at the Table

There were 30,000 attendees at the Climate Conference. The elite of rich and poor countries were flying in and out, eating sushi, sharing deals. And, like Samuel Bankman-Fried, they have 'kind plans.' Weaponizing the unspoken but assumed altruism of their subjects, they are going to save and rebalance the world.

The rescue will be a forceps delivery. There will be wrenching, pain, and some residual damage. And, of course, the diagnosis is a bit vague. But fear stimulates action, however risky. And the elites know their subjects are up to the challenge.

Yes, there are some problems. 

Resource-poor places like Hong Kong, Singapore, and Taiwan have lifted themselves out of poverty. Resource-rich places like Russia or Congo have struggled. Why?

And the new and weird 'climate reparations' offered by the rich, elite countries to the poor countries--for what? Compensation for keeping them in the 16th Century?

And just where will the 'compensations' go? To the poor, energy-deprived average guy? Or to his overlord, his palaces, and his army?

And the shortages that will result everywhere---shortages always stimulate the ugliest of competitions.

But, the visionaries just must carry on. A sigh at the table. A knowing thin-lipped nod. Uncomplaining, noble, and stoic. Perhaps symbolically declining a dessert. The elites know their subjects are up to the challenge.