Trigger Warning: this is an optimistic post about optimism!

I’ll guess many folx will be put off by the thought that the 
US Navy could be good for anything let alone
“Global prosperity”. But the podcast is about more than that

It’s not me, but Gregg Easterbrook, ex of The Atlantic — a left-of-centre monthly  — talking about optimism. Because, he says, things have generally got better for humankind in the last hundred years. Steven Pinker, of Harvard Uni, says the same, eg in his “Better Angels of our Nature”. I’d never heard of Gregg Easterbrook but should have. He’s full of sharp insights and stimulating analysis. I’m optimistic too, btw. I don’t believe Homo sapiens is doomed to extinction, at least not quite yet.

An hour on the Hidden Forces podcast, is well worth some of that time:

“How the US Navy Creates Prosperity & Why We'll Miss It”

In Episode 222, Demetri Kofinas speaks with Gregg Easterbrook about the unique role that the US Navy and advancements in naval architecture and marine engineering have played in transforming international trade and commercial shipping. In the second half of their discussion, which is available to premium subscribers, Gregg and Demetri focus on the economic and geopolitical aspects of the Blue Age, the likelihood of conflict on the high seas, and its consequences for the global economy. [Here]

ADDED: I’ve often mentioned — because it’s true — the role played by the US in keeping maritime seaways open. For friend and foe alike. In this part of the world the most important seaways are the Malacca Straits and the South China Sea. Two-thirds of world trade passes through them. Who knows what would happen if China controlled them. We do know what happens if the United States controls them: they remain open to all, including China.  

LATER: ChinaPower treats the Malacca Straits as a subset of the South China Sea. I’d be inclined to see them separately: South China Sea trade oriented to the United States and Malacca Straits trade oriented to Europe. Whatever, it’s substantial.