The Tyranny of Nations: How the Last 500 Years Shaped Today's Global Economy

The Tyranny of Nations places the ground-shaking political and economic events of modern times in context. Palak Patel draws on his experience investing in government bond markets to demonstrate how the present fits a specific historical pattern that has defined the past 500 years. Modern-day trade liberalization and financial expansion all share distinct parallels with similar events in the 1600s and 1800s. Likewise Chinas economic trajectory matches that of 19th-century Prussia and 17th-century France. And a certain British Prime Minister foreshadowing Donald Trumps populism 150 years later launched a similar attack on globalization after the financial crisis of 1866. In The Tyranny of Nations there are no isms-no capitalism socialism or feudalism-but instead only privileged interests vying for power. Challenging both the mainstream and its critics Palak Patel shows how an endless cycle of cooperation and conflict between nations drives societal change. This unique perspective on the intersection of macroeconomics history and politics offers the reader a compass for navigating the future.