In 58 posts with close to 100k words, we shared a lot in 2024! Explore 2024’s biggest geopolitical shifts, cultural battles, and bold insights with Drishtikone’s year in review. See you in 2025! Happy New Year! Be safe!
When you see Russia get into existential war over Ukraine, or Israel bomb Syria or India battle with Pakistan or Bangladesh, it is not because of some whim. It has a historical and geographical context. That is critical to understand for analyzing geopolitics.
United States of America is a miracle and a curse when it comes to business, money and wealth. It is the largest economy in the world, which means it uses the most resources in the world as well. Let us get a glimpse at its size.
Many in the US often talk about how other countries are out-competing it or beating it in some area. They do not realize that every state in the union is a unique economic unit which can, on its own, if it so chooses, compete with an entire country elsewhere!
The American Enterprise Institute showed a comparison in 2016 which show-cased how big the American economy is. They compared economies of states in the American Union with a comparable economy in terms of GDP of other countries. The result is quite mind-boggling.
C
anada’s economy in 2015 was about the size of Texas. Except that Texas had a total workforce of 12 million, as opposed to Canada which had a workforce of 18 million. With a 33% less workforce, Texas was doing as much as Canada.
On the other hand, France was able to create a total GDP of $2.42 trillion with a workforce of 25 million. California, on the other hand, produced $2.46 trillion with a workforce of 19 million!
Just another mind-blowing comparison is that if you put together California, Texas, and New York, then you have an economy that is the size of the United Kingdom, Canada, and South Korea put together! Wrap your heads around that!
The comparisons when they are shown this way take on a whole new meaning. And, in this case it shows the power of United States. It can do far more than most other countries and that is what keeps it ahead of others.
That is the real power of the United States.
And, given the incredible autonomy that every state enjoys – in terms of its own course, laws etc – that creates an environment where one state can compete with another and push up its economy if it does well. For example, when Amazon was scouting for the right place for its second Headquarters, several states were vying for it.
This healthy competition helps each state be nimble and on its toes.
The only other comparison can be with China, which has incredibly large cities within economic regions and these cities/regions around them can be independently compared to economies of independent countries!
This is what the world is competing against when it comes to these two large economies.
America's Justice Department and SEC have targeted India's Adani Group with a bribery case. Using Nationalistic sentiment doesn't help. Yes, law has been weaponized and India's sovereignty compromised but not how they think. A definitive guide to understanding the case.
There was a clear warning from Putin on provision of long range missiles that could hit deep into Russia to Ukraine. It would be consider as a direct attack by NATO on Russia. Biden has done just that!
The premise and the mindset apparent in the new Trump team points to an interesting world out there. Things will not be rosy, but they will be very different. Very, very different.
The US, and indeed the world has seen a watershed event of Donald Trump's victory. It will change the US direction and may have pushed a World War by at least 3-4 years.
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