ChinaTalk Adam Tooze and Matt Klein Return!
Mar 11, 2021
Adam Tooze, a Columbia University professor focused on economic and political history, and Matt Klein, a Barron's columnist and author, dive deep into the nuances of global economics. They challenge Ricardo's theories of comparative advantage in today's world, explore Stalin's socialist approach in response to capitalist powers, and examine how global inequality could be tackled. The duo also touches on vaccine diplomacy's role in geopolitical trust, the EU's carbon tax impact on trade, and the historical connections between economic shifts and political ideologies.
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Hamilton vs. Ricardo
- Ricardo's comparative advantage theory assumes businesses and workers cannot easily move between countries.
- Hamilton argued that this assumption is flawed, and countries can incentivize foreign investment and industrialization.
Stalin, Hamilton, and Hegemony
- Stalin's "socialism in one country" was a response to British and American capitalist hegemony, not a direct application of Hamiltonian ideas.
- The Soviet Union's industrialization was driven by a fear of external threats and the need for self-sufficiency.
Lenin's Theory of Imperialism
- Lenin's theory of imperialism, while insightful, overstates the inevitability of global communist revolution as a solution to inequality.
- Bolshevik revolutions are not the sole answer to global imbalances.
