Mauldin Economics, Released on 8/18/23

Our discussion touches on a wide spectrum of strategic hot spots, including the state of modern warfare. The war theater has changed, advises Pippa, and the new battlefield has moved into space. It’s the new race to control what’s orbiting the planet. We live in a GPS-dominated world, which completely relies on satellites. If an adversary knocks out the right satellite—and this capability exists today—our world would grind to a halt. Other risks include the strategic use of “space junk” that create debris fields and render an entire critical orbit unusable. This is a tactic Russia has already deployed. In WWII, taking the next hill was part of a battle mission. Today, it’s taking the next planetary body. The moon has become the 21st century’s commanding height. It explains the rise of moon missions being launched by a number of state actors. Most people have no idea what’s happening in space, but they know exactly what’s going on in Washington, and it’s pretty ugly. There is this simmering sense by Americans that the game is stacked against them. It’s not Red against Blue, or the Right against the Left. It’s us against them, the political elites. This political reality went viral when Oliver Anthony, an unknown singer, blew up his YouTube channel with his song “Rich Men North of Richmond.” It has over 17 million views and rising fast. Pippa talks about today’s political angst and how it might shape the next election. So far, the most popular presidential candidates are Trumpers—including Robert F. Kennedy, who has garnered lots of compliments from Trump. She sees the possibility of something extraordinary from RFK.

Philippa “Pippa” Malmgren is an American technology entrepreneur and economist. She served as Special Assistant to the President of the United States, George W. Bush, for Economic Policy on the National Economic Council and is a former member of the U.S. President’s Working Group on Financial Markets and The President’s Working Group on Corporate Governance. She obtained her PhD from the London School of Economics in 1991 and was the Commencement Speaker at LSE in 2013 and 2016.

  geopolitics, Pippa Malmgren, war