Bad Money - Book Review

So far, at least for foreign affairs, there does not appear to be much "change" or "hope" for the rest of the world, but ongoing strife in the Middle East, and perhaps as indicated by Phillips, "a military strike rooted in the frustration of...decline."

That aside for now (it is addressed in the book) Phillips examines the role of oil in the U.S. economy, as its dollar value base, its strategic importance, and how the Asian countries in particular are moving towards or are controlling eighty per cent of the world's oil resources. The dollar is on the negative end of "antidollar diplomacy" facing a series of problems stemming partly from its "semiofficial link between U.S. currency and a strategic commodity." Asia becomes the focus of the story, along with their attention to "peak oil." The message from peak oil is "the economics are precarious, the geopolitics is dangerous, but the domestic U.S. politics stand to be awful," as seen with dynasties, above.

The future

Phillips' closing summation is succinct and clear - and not very positive. Looking at the long 'cycles' of history, "No previous leading world economic power has enjoyed a full-fledged manufacturing renaissance after becoming enamored of finance." U.S. finance capitalism is now showing its true colours, "consummating these events with a mixed performance of dishonesty, incompetence, and quantitative negligence." His final statement will hopefully be considered by the not so new Obama/Clinton dynasty: "...further abandoning the hubris of military and financial imperialism would also help because both postures represent drags on the American future."

For Bad Money, we are living the future, slowly at the moment, but the momentum so far does not look good for the economy nor for foreign relations, in spite of the fine rhetoric. Hopefully in another two years or so, we will be able to read another well-written historical review of now current events, with Phillips' characteristic provocative clarity and forthrightness.

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