But “stupid” wars still happen all the time for reasons that I will explain. It is far too easy to slip into stupid wars because of a) the prisoner’s dilemma, b) a tit-for-tat escalation process, c) the perceived costs of backing down for the declining power, (1/4)
and d) misunderstandings existing when decision making has to be fast. Rival great powers typically find themselves in the prisoner’s dilemma; they need to have ways of assuring the other that they won’t try to kill them lest the other tries to kill them first. (2/4)
Tit-for-tat escalations are dangerous in that they require each side to escalate or lose what the enemy captured in the last move; it is like a game of chicken—push it too far and there is a head-on crash. (3/4)
This principle comes from the chapter in my new book on the cycles of order and disorder in the world. If you’re interested, you can read more here: amazon.com/Changing-World…#changingworldorder (4/4)
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
While it pays to be open-minded, you also have to be discerning. Remember that the quality of the life you get will depend largely on the quality of the decisions that you make as you pursue your goals. 1/4
The best way to make great decisions is to know how to triangulate with other, more knowledgeable people. So be discerning about whom you triangulate with and skilled in the way you do it. 2/4
The dilemma you face is trying to understand as accurately as you can what's true in order to make decisions effectively while realizing many of the opinions you will hear won't be worth much, including your own. 3/4
There is now a lot of talk about how the world order is changing but not much perspective on why and how and not much measurement of its changes. (1/6)
I want to share that with you because I believe that how the world order is changing will be the biggest influence on our collective well-being in the years ahead. (2/6)
I’m doing that in my book, Principles for Dealing with The Changing World Order, amazon.com/Changing-World… (3/6)
When two competing entities each have the power to destroy the other, both must have extremely high trust that they won’t be unacceptably harmed or killed by the other. Managing the prisoner’s dilemma well, however, is extremely rare. (1/4)
While there are no rules in international relations other than those the most powerful impose on themselves, some approaches produce better outcomes than others. (2/4)
Specifically, those that are more likely to lead to win-win outcomes are better than those that lead to lose-lose outcomes. (3/4)
Learning must come before deciding. Your brain stores different types of learning in your subconscious, your rote memory bank, and your habits. (1/7)
But no matter how you acquire your knowledge or where you store it, what’s most important is that what you know paints a true and rich picture of the realities that will affect your decision. (2/7)
That’s why it always pays to be radically open-minded and seek out believable others as you do your learning. Many people have emotional trouble doing this and block the learning that could help them make better decisions. (3/7)
I want to elaborate on the common tactics used when economic and capital tools are weaponized. They have been and still are:
1. Asset freezes/seizures: Preventing an enemy/rival from using or selling foreign assets they rely on. (1/8)
These measures can range from asset freezes for targeted groups in a country (e.g., the current US sanctions of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard or the initial US asset freeze against Japan in World War II) to more severe measures like unilateral debt repudiation or (2/8)
outright seizures of a country’s assets (e.g., some top US policy makers have been talking about not paying our debts to China). (3/8)
Seek the advice of the most believable people you can find. If you don't know how to judge who the most believable people are, seek the advice of others about how to do that, such as people who have already chosen such believable people. (1/6)
By questioning experts individually and encouraging them to have thoughtful disagreement with each other that I can listen to and ask questions about, I both raise my probability of being right and become much better educated. (2/6)
This is most true when the experts disagree with me or with each other. Smart people who can thoughtfully disagree are the greatest teachers, far better than a professor assigned to stand in front of a board and lecture at you. (3/6)