Facebook's Libra Must Be Stopped - Katharina Pistor

The Sunday Newsletter [View this message in a web browser]( JUNE 23, 2019 This week at [Project Syndicate]( Katharina Pistor warns that Libra, Facebook's planned cryptocurrency and payment system, could take down the global economy; Yanis Varoufakis worries that the Italian government's proposed "mini-Treasury bills" could lead to the euro's demise; John Andrews urges the United States, Iran, and other Middle East players not to overreact to recent events; and more. Join the conversation. Economics & Finance [Facebook's Libra Must Be Stopped]( [Katharina Pistor]( warns that a run on the tech giant's new payment system would look like the 2008 financial crisis on steroids. Economics & Finance [Fiscal Money Can Make or Break the Euro]( [Yanis Varoufakis]( compares Italy's planned parallel payment system with the one he proposed for Greece in 2015. [The Technology Trap]( From Princeton University Press [The Technology Trap]( Capital, Labor, and Power in the Age of Automation By Carl Benedikt Frey How the history of technological revolutions can help us better understand economic and political polarization in the age of automation. "Carl Frey's highly original, admirably engaging, and deeply researched book should be read by anyone interested in how technological change will disrupt not only our jobs, but also our politics and society." — Ian Goldin, coauthor of Age of Discovery Politics & World Affairs [The Gulf of Deniability]( [John Andrews]( urges the United States and its allies not to overreact to recent attacks on shipping in the region. Economics & Finance [The World Is Running Out of Time]( [Bertrand Badré]( worries that the window is closing for reforms needed to avert social upheaval and climate catastrophe. [The Coming Sino-American Bust-Up]( On Point [The Coming Sino-American Bust-Up]( [Nouriel Roubini]( predicts a full-scale escalation of the conflict, regardless of what either country's current leader intends. Politics & World Affairs [The G20 in Osaka]( [Shinzo Abe]( explains Japan's goals in pursuing a four-point agenda at the group's upcoming summit. Economics & Finance [Economic Lessons From Everest]( [Jim O'Neill]( shows why not all market failures, from overcrowded tourist hotspots to the pharmaceutical industry, are alike. [Why UBI?]( Big Picture [Why UBI?]( Universal basic income is that rare idea supported by libertarians and socialists alike. But should it be taken seriously? Politics & World Affairs [Don't Feed the Donald]( [Shlomo Ben-Ami]( has little faith in Shinzo Abe's plan to flatter the US president into behaving like a loyal ally. Watch [In the Company of Women]( Five leading thinkers discuss the institutional and cultural obstacles women face in the workplace, and what [gender inequality]( is costing in terms of economic growth and wellbeing. [The Price of War with Iran]( Archive [The Price of War with Iran]( [Geoffrey Kemp]( & [John Allen Gay]( outline the costs and subsequent chaos that war with Iran would bring. Economics & Finance [The Lost Spirit of the G20]( [Javier Solana]( laments the continued US drift toward trade protectionism ahead of the upcoming summit in Japan. Economics & Finance [From Versailles to the Euro]( [Robert Skidelsky]( that eurozone creditors have not learned from the ruinous debt burden imposed on Germany in June 1919. [Summer Sale 50% Off]( Ride into summer with our [Summer Sale]( and take [50% off]( a Project Syndicate subscription when you [use the discount code SUMMER](. Enjoy unlimited access to the world's leading thinkers on economics, politics, finance, world affairs, sustainability, and technology, as well as weekly long reads, book reviews, interviews, our annual print magazine, The Year Ahead, our complete archive, and more. [Last chance! Sale extended through today.]( Project Syndicate publishes and provides, on a not-for-profit basis, original commentary by the world's leading thinkers to more than 500 media outlets in over 150 countries. This newsletter is a service of [project-syndicate.org](. © Project Syndicate, all rights reserved. [Unsubscribe from this list](