The Levelling

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The Levelling Page 40

by Michael O'sullivan


  and levelling, 20, 212–213, 239–240, 243

  and medium-sized nations, 244, 245

  next levelling, 77, 304

  poles and regions (see poles in multipolar world)

  and small-sized nations, 244, 245–246, 259–262

  transition to, 211–213, 215–219, 225, 238–239, 304

  Napoleon III, 227

  National Bureau of Economics Research (NBER), 66, 139

  national development, 157–161, 164–165

  nations. See countries

  natural rights, 85

  Network (movie), 74

  New Deal, 291

  New Model Army, 3, 81–82, 92

  new order, emergence, 242

  New York Times, 215

  1984 (Orwell), 225

  Nixon, Richard, 107

  Nordic model, 161, 259

  Norman, Montagu, 170

  Northern Ireland, 251–252, 253–254

  Nova Constellatio, 208

  Nye, Joseph, 219, 294

  Obama administration, 33

  obesity, 48

  Oceania, as pole in multipolar world, 225–226

  old order breakdown

  description, 1–2, 4–6, 10–11

  economics and world economy, 4–5, 11, 24, 304

  interconnections worldwide, 8–10

  and international institutions, 263

  replacement and transition, 7–8, 10, 12, 242, 304

  and trade, 24

  transition to multipolar world, 211–213, 215–219, 225, 238–239, 304

  warning from trends, 6–7, 8, 11–12

  One Belt, One Road plan, 18, 188, 230, 294

  One World Trade Center, 211

  open society, 73, 93–94

  O’Rourke, Kevin, 59–60

  O’Rourke, Robert “Beto,” 129

  Orwell, George, 225, 246–247

  Otto, Mary, 45

  “out of control” world, 23–24

  outlook for the future. See future outlook

  Overton, Richard, 85–87, 88, 93

  Paine, Thomas, 85, 94

  Pakenham, Thomas, 229–230

  paradigm shifts, 71–72, 73, 74

  Peace of Westphalia, 17, 240–241

  Pence, Mike, 289

  people

  changes and upheaval, 6–7, 9–10, 25–28, 37, 47

  and the constitution, 280–282

  contract with elites, 4

  expectations, 25

  as levellers, 12–13

  in next levelling, 77–78, 80, 306

  Perkins, Frances, 291

  Perón, Juan, 156

  personal data, on internet, 273

  Petri, Elio, 68

  Pettit, Philip, 86

  Pew Research Center, 39, 43, 49

  Phillips, Bill, and Phillips’s machine, 283–284

  “Phillips Curve,” 283

  physical infrastructure programs, 149–151

  Pilgrim Party (fictional), 122–123

  poles in multipolar world

  aims and ethos of poles, 222

  China, 18–19, 222, 223–224, 279, 288–295

  description and distinctiveness, 215–216, 221–223

  Eastasia, 225, 226–230

  Eurasia, 225, 233–237

  Europe, 279, 280–288

  ideologies, 243

  and international institutions, 262–264

  in levelling, 238, 243

  Oceania, 225–226

  Orwell’s classification, 225

  specific countries in, 218–219, 220–222

  US and US-led Americas, 222, 223, 225–226, 279, 295–302

  policy populism, 156

  political discontent, 12

  political parties

  and crises, 105–107

  fictional examples, 119–125

  formation and success, 114–119

  new parties, 110–111, 113–115, 119–120

  old parties and disruption, 111–114

  protest-oriented parties, 107

  right-wing and radical parties, 54–55, 105–107

  and technology, 115

  trust in, 51, 53–54

  politicians

  biopoliticians idea, 128, 129–131

  and business cycle, 138–140

  and change, 134

  Chidley, Katherine (see Chidley, Katherine)

  economic growth promise, 155–156

  entrenchment, 126

  faith in, 51–52, 54–55

  family ties, 130

  insiders vs. outsiders, 126–128, 129–130

  labeling, 128

  and Levellers, 85–86, 87, 95–96

  new candidates and entrants, 103–104, 110, 111, 125–127, 128–131, 306

  and special causes, 129

  trust in, 51, 53–54

  vision, 157

  politics

  and Agreements of the People, 13

  and anomie, 147

  and change, 104, 105–107, 133–134

  and communications, 107

  dislocation and pessimism, 52–55

  disruption, 111–114

  and economy, 51–52, 105–106

  and government, 108–109

  international (see geopolitics)

  Levellers as model, 96, 97, 98

  new ideas, 110–111, 116

  in next levelling, 78–79, 80, 116–119, 305–306

  old order breakdown, 5

  public goods, 157

  replacement and transition, 8, 116–119

  and social media, 108–109

  sortition, 109–110

  and trade, 34, 35–36

  voter estrangement, 108–109

  Polyani, Karl, 301

  Pope, Carl, 272

  Popper, Karl, 72, 73, 93–94

  populism, 93, 101, 156

  postal service, 49

  Pottinger, Henry, 84–85

  Prince, Thomas, 87

  productivity

  and economy, 141, 142–144

  lack and drop, 142–147

  and Levellers, 146–147

  protectionism, 32, 34, 64

  Prussia, war, 227

  public goods, 157

  Puritanism and Liberty (Woodhouse), 85

  Putin, Vladimir, 160, 218

  Putney Debates, 3–4, 12, 82, 84–85, 91

  “QE inequality,” 190

  the Quad (Quadrilateral Security Dialogue alliance), 244–245

  Quah, Danny, 212

  quantitative easing (QE)

  central banks, 16–18, 174–179, 183, 190

  consequences, 44, 175, 177–178

  and currency, 177

  description, 175–176

  and investment, 178–179

  and markets, 181–183

  as problem, 16–18

  restrictions on, 208

  as solution, 149, 175

  and wealth inequality, 180–181

  radical and right-wing parties, 54–55, 105–107

  railway stocks and bubbles, 171

  Rainsborough, Thomas, 81, 84, 87, 91, 100

  Reagan, Ronald, 107

  Rees, John, 83

  regions of the world. See poles in multipolar world

  Reich, Robert, 127

  religion, 90

  Remonstrance of Many Thousand Citizens (Overton), 85–86

  “rent economy,” 142

  republic, 3, 278

  Republican Party (US), 269–270

  La République En Marche, 110–111, 117

  research, and productivity, 142–143

  Revival Bank, 300–301

  “Rheinish capitalism,” 202

  Richmond Federal Reserve, 214

  right-wing parties, 54–55, 105–107

  Riksbank, 171, 177

  risks (financial)

  consequences, 206, 208–209

  and debt, 173–174, 184–185, 201, 205–207, 209

  treaty on, 184, 207–208

  The Road to Somewhere (Goodhart), 79–80


  Rodrik, Dani, 237–238

  Rome and Roman Empire, 151, 152

  Romer, Paul, 69

  Roosevelt, Franklin D., 291

  Roosevelt, Theodore, 293–294

  rule of law, and economy, 161–162

  Russia, 137, 143–144, 160, 218–219, 296

  same-sex marriage, 49–50

  Santa Fe Institute, 74

  Santolaria, Nicolas, 26

  Sawers, John, 249

  Scales, Bob, 67

  Schott, Peter, 35

  Schröder, Gerhard, 107

  Schwab, Klaus, 142

  science, ideas and paradigm shifts, 71–72

  Scotland, 87, 251–253

  search engines, 214

  Second French Empire, 227

  Selassie, Bereket, 281

  Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), 245

  Shiller, Robert, 65

  Shorrocks, Tony, 42

  Skilling, David, 271

  skyscrapers, as power, 211–212

  small-sized nations in multipolar world, 244, 245–246, 259–262

  Smoot, Reed, 65

  Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act (1930), 65

  social change, 47–51

  social media, 49, 74, 107, 108–109, 141, 273–274

  social mobility, 47

  soft vs. hard power, 219–220, 223–224

  Solow, Robert, 159–160

  Somewhere/Anywhere theory, 79–80

  Soros, George, 107

  sortition, 109–110

  Spanberger, Abigail, 129

  Special Drawing Rights (SDR) bonds, 265–266

  Spinoza, 94

  St. Mary’s Church, 3, 81, 82

  Stability and Growth Pact, 195

  stock market. See financial markets

  strength of countries, 158–159, 162–164, 165

  Sufi, Amir, 176

  Survey of Consumer Finance, 43

  Sweden, 6

  Syriza, 110

  Taleb, Nassim, 69

  technology

  automation issues, 46

  in China, 224, 231, 272–273

  economy and economic growth, 142, 214

  first globalization, 58, 60, 61–62

  as force, 58–59

  frameworks and standards, 297–299

  and globalization, 213–214

  and governments, 272–273

  and inequalities, 46

  interconnections worldwide, 8–9

  Levellers as model, 96, 98, 99–100

  pace of change, 26

  political parties, 115

  and productivity, 145

  regulation, 275–276

  as solution, 26

  transparency, 262

  Thatcher, Margaret, 133

  Thirty Years’ War, 240

  314 Action, 129

  “Thucydides’s Trap,” 224

  TomTom Traffic Index, 50

  top 1 percent of wealthy, 40, 42

  “total factor productivity,” 144

  trade

  China, 33, 216, 232

  and first globalization, 59–60

  and globalization, 30, 31, 32–33

  and jobs, 35

  Levellers’ demands, 89

  policy and agreements, 32–33

  and politics, 34, 35–36

  problems and disputes, 24, 33–34

  protectionism, 34

  recess, 30, 31, 32

  US vs. China dispute, 33, 34–35

  Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), 33

  transnational governance, 62–64

  Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), 33

  transparency and corruption, 262

  transportation, 60

  traveling time to work, 50

  Treaty of Portsmouth, 293

  “trilemma of globalization,” 237–238

  Trudeau, Justin, 26

  Trump, Donald, and administration

  economic growth, 14

  economic policy, 140–141

  parallels with Hoover, 64–65

  and political conventions, 80

  and trade, 24, 33, 35, 65

  Tucker, Paul, 169

  Turkey, 153–154

  Uber and Uber economy, 142

  United Kingdom (UK)

  governance code, 205

  place in the world, 18, 246

  in poles of multipolar world, 225–226, 249–251

  political parties and splits, 112–113

  political types, 127–128

  post-Brexit scenarios, 250–256

  productivity, 145

  stereotypes and exceptionalism, 246–247

  See also Brexit; English history

  United Nations, 263–264, 266

  United States

  aging of population, 148

  banking reforms, 300–301

  and Big Tech, 272

  central bank (see Federal Reserve System)

  change in civil service, 134

  China as threat, 288–289

  climate change, 269–270

  Constitution, 281

  corporate governance, 204–205

  currency/dollar, 154, 155, 226, 267

  debt, 187, 192

  decline in influence, 277

  democracy and republic, 3, 279

  diplomatic power, 293–294

  economic influence, 226, 267

  and globalization, 64–65

  Greenspan approach, 171

  Hamilton’s deeds, 280, 281, 283, 284, 286, 295

  Hamilton’s impact, 277–278, 279

  immigration, 217

  inequalities, 40, 41, 43–47, 299–300

  infrastructure overhaul program, 149–150

  investment, 146–147

  labor reforms and taxes, 301–302

  and Latin America, 221

  in levelling, 246

  long-term unemployment, 299–300

  manufacturing, 35

  marriage views, 49–50

  military power, 295–297

  new candidates in politics, 111, 119, 126–127, 128–130

  next recession, 76, 185

  as pole in multipolar world, 222, 223, 225–226, 279, 295–302

  productivity, 144, 147–148, 301

  and QE, 175, 176–177, 183

  skyscrapers, 211–212

  technology frameworks, 297–299

  trade and dispute with China, 24, 32–33, 34–35

  voter self-identification, 52

  wealth inequality, 42, 43

  women as candidates, 111

  US Treasury, 283, 286

  Van Reybrouck, David, 108, 109

  Vance, J. D., 35

  Venezuela, 221

  verified online users, 273–274

  Versailles, 23

  Vines, David, 69

  Volcker, Paul, 128, 170

  voters. See elections and voters

  Wall Street Crash (1929), 65

  Wall Street Journal, 65

  Walwyn, William, 87, 88

  war, rules of, 297

  Warsh, Kevin, 69

  wealth, 25, 40, 42–43

  wealth inequality

  and countries, 42

  description as metric, 10, 41

  generations and class, 43

  and globalization, 41–44

  importance as problem, 10, 41

  and QE, 180–181

  trends and factors, 42–44

  welfare automation, 46

  West, 212–213, 216–217, 219–220, 257

  West, Geoffrey, 72

  Wildman, John, 87

  Wills, Samuel, 69

  Winstanley, Gerrard, 94

  Woodhouse, A. S. P., 85

  Worcester College, 84–85

  World Bank, 263, 264

  World Class 2.0 policy, 298

  World Climate Authority, 270

  World Economic Forum, 38–39

  world economy. See economics and world economy

  The World Turned Upside Down (Hill), 4


  WTO (World Trade Organization), 264, 266

  Xi Jinping, 216, 230–231, 291

  Yardeni, Ed, 181

  Yellen, Janet, 128, 299

  Yes, Minister and Yes, Prime Minister (TV series), 133–134

  youth, inequalities, 47

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