Harold James and Sergei Guriev for PS Read More

Money and Empire, by Perry Mehrling; The Long Game, by Rush Doshi; and more. The PS Say More Newsletter [PS Read More]( In this week's edition of PS Read More, we share recommendations from Harold James, Professor of History and International Affairs at Princeton University, and highlight a recent work by Sergei Guriev, Provost and Professor of Economics at Sciences Po. [The Power of Hope by Carol Graham]( Sponsored by Princeton University Press [The Power of Hope]( By Carol Graham In a society marked by extreme inequality of income and opportunity, why should economists care about how people feel? The truth is that feelings of well-being are critical metrics that predict future life outcomes. In this timely and innovative account, economist Carol Graham argues for the importance of hope – little studied in economics at present – as an independent dimension of well-being. Harold James Recommends... James says: "I have been impressed by three important books that were written largely before February 24, 2022, but offer valuable insights into the impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on the nexus of technology, innovation, and geopolitics, and into the role governments can and should play in rethinking strategic competition." [Money and Empire: Charles P. Kindleberger and the Dollar System]( By Perry Mehrling "This beautifully written book’s message about the connections among money, the financial system, and the international order is highly relevant. Kindleberger took a long-term view of the US dollar’s centrality in the international financial system – one based not on US power, but on its network of economic and financial relationships. Already in the 1960s, Kindleberger and his co-authors developed a theory of how the US played the role of banker to the world. US institutions played a critical role as dealers, facilitating the market’s functioning. The danger was a collapse of liquidity, in which dealers could not supply the lubrication that allows all other markets to function. The key question for today is how far such economic leadership can be dispersed, and to what extent other currencies can take over the role of the dollar. Kindleberger’s approach supports a good deal of skepticism about the likelihood of such a shift." [The Long Game: China’s Grand Strategy to Displace American Order]( By Rush Doshi "This 2021 work offers a different take on the Kindleberger problem of hegemony, focusing on how China is challenging US power. Since the early 2010s, China has turned partly away from the international system, largely in response to the global financial crisis and the perception that the US was in decline. Doshi first gives a subtle assessment of what decline means and how it can be misdiagnosed, pointing out that Henry Kissinger believed in the late 1960s and the 1970s that the US was facing decline relative to the Soviet Union. Doshi then develops a nicely conceived concept of 'blunting': as China pursued rapid economic development in the 1990s and 2000s, it pushed back against the 'forms of control' used by the US. Blunting is perhaps not as aggressive as Doshi sometimes wants to make it appear, and in fact, it is a strategy the US should employ in response to the increasingly obvious challenge China poses today. The best approach is not to withdraw from international connections, but rather to sustain engagement while developing technical capacity and boosting resilience." [Chip War: The Fight for the World’s Most Critical Technology]( By Chris Miller "This is an instant classic. It traces the semiconductor industry’s long history, starting in the 1950s, and examines the changing facets of leadership. In particular, it describes how the US regained the technological lead from Japan after the 1980s. Miller provides a convincing study of the interplay between innovation, government sponsorship, and government demand, and delivers insights into how a globally crucial industry can thrive in a small economy (Taiwan). The book highlights the obvious vulnerabilities that Taiwan’s dominance in chip production creates, and gives a powerful sense of the extreme lumpiness of the investment (meaning that it is difficult to liquidate), while reminding readers that world-spanning advanced technology is never captured or controlled by one country. Miller began as an expert on Soviet economic development, and his analysis of that topic underscores the incapacity of government planning, on its own, to alter the terms of technological rivalry." Don't miss James's recent Say More interview, in which he argues that post-conflict stabilization in Ukraine must account for the entire region, considers where policymakers went wrong in responding to recent price surges, explains why growth remains the best means of managing debt risk, and more. [Read now](. By a PS Contributor [Spin Dictators: The Changing Face of Tyranny in the 21st Century]( By Sergei Guriev and Daniel Treisman Guriev says: "In Spin Dictators: The Changing Face of Tyranny in the 21st Century, Daniel Treisman and I show that nondemocratic regimes are not what they used to be. Whereas the tyrants of the twentieth century ruled through violence, fear, and ideology, most modern autocrats control their citizens by distorting information and simulating democratic procedures. Like spin doctors in democracies, they distort facts to win support. Beyond showing how such dictators emerge and operate, we examine the unique threats they pose and offer recommendations about how democracies should respond." In a recent Say More interview, Guriev assesses the strength of Vladimir Putin’s grip on power, predicts that Xi Jinping’s embrace of personalist rule will lead to policy missteps, urges the West to pursue a strategy of “adversarial engagement” toward modern dictators, and more. [Read now](. [Subscribe to PS Digital now.]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [LinkedIn]( 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 does not entitle the recipient to re-publish any of the content it contains. This newsletter is a service of [Project Syndicate](. [Change your newsletter preferences](. Follow us on [Facebook]( [Twitter]( and [YouTube](. © Project Syndicate, all rights reserved. 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