Bread isn't just bread. It is the cornerstone of the social contract between the rulers and the ruled. Across the middle east, this social contract was part of an authoritarian bargain whereby security was traded for freedom. The world produced a record quantity of food in two thousand seven. In 20 ten, there's this huge food price spike. And many of these regimes are very, very slow to respond to it, right? So essentially what you start seeing is rising food prices.
Rupert Russell and Isabella Weber discuss Russell's book Price Wars: How the Commodities Markets Made Our Chaotic World and also the current politics of inflation.
Listen to Weber discuss her book How China Escaped Shock Therapy: thedigradio.com/podcast/how-china-escaped-shock-therapy-w-isabella-weber/
Look at Rupert's precious puppy: twitter.com/rupert_russell/status/1511428696409837573?s=20&t=OPVNgfXuokFY6ZQYRkxe4g
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