Former German Defense Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg has mockingly remarked that the German government’s decision to back the US, British and French strikes in Syria with rhetoric but not with missiles “has shown once again that it’s a grandmaster of dialectics.” US President Donald Trump may snort in agreement. But Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Hegelian approach to geopolitics makes more sense than her Western allies’ willingness to rattle their weapons.　Merkel’s statement on Saturday morning

Viewpoints April 19, 2018

The food that people eat has become a major risk factor for disability and death worldwide. Yet countries and their philanthropic supporters seem not to be paying attention. They‘re investing far too little in improving diets and preventing nutrition-related disease.　The problem is part of a larger trend in human mortality. Until recently, in many low- and middle-income countries, malaria, diarrhea and other infectious diseases were the biggest killers. While such illnesses are far from being er

Viewpoints April 19, 2018

So President Donald Trump wants to reform the US Postal Service. Shall we welcome him to the club?　Let’s put aside for a moment the real -- and futile -- purpose of Thursday’s executive order calling for postal reforms: He wants to put the hurt on one of the USPS’ biggest customers, Amazon, whose chief executive, Jeff Bezos, owns the Washington Post.　The post office does indeed need to be reformed. And do you know who the leading voices for reform are? The people who run the place. Let’s go back

Viewpoints April 17, 2018

When the French government unveiled its plan to make the national railway company more competitive and curtail benefits for some workers, commentators in France feared crippling protests comparable to those in 1995, when Alain Juppe’s government had to backtrack on rail sector reforms. Early signs were that President Emmanuel Macron would escape a similar fate. Polls showed support for his approach and the rail unions were divided in their response.　Public support then started to fade, and the o

Viewpoints April 16, 2018

Central bankers have been dubbed “masters of the universe” for the tools and powers they have acquired since the financial crisis. Some of them now want to play a more active role in the fight against climate change.　Monetary authorities are right to be mindful of the way in which climate risk affects their mandate to ensure price stability and guard financial stability. But that is different from seeking to promote the shift to a “greener” economy, which is the role of government.　Last week, ce

Viewpoints April 16, 2018

The tit-for-tat trade sanctions fight between the US and China may be getting the headlines and rocking financial markets, but some less-noticed recent flare-ups between the world’s pre-eminent powers may present more lasting, and perilous, complications for American policymakers.　The new National Defense and National Security Strategies produced by the Donald Trump administration made clear that Washington has a decidedly more pessimistic outlook on its future relationship with China. For years

Viewpoints April 15, 2018

In recent weeks, investors have witnessed a rare concurrence of market developments. Widespread concern about escalating trade conflicts has caused equities to plunge and US Treasury yields to decline. So far, the reaction has been a textbook case of investor behavior.　Yet, for all the turmoil, the dollar did not prove to be a safe harbor, and has remained weak against major world currencies. The new dynamic holds an important lesson for investors. As President Donald Trump ratchets up the rheto

Viewpoints April 15, 2018

As Bloomberg News reported this week, a key stumbling block in trade negotiations between China and the US has been Beijing’s extensive support for its technology firms. But if President Donald Trump’s administration thinks that will change any time soon, it hasn’t been paying attention: Far from reducing support for the tech sector, China is on the verge of nationalizing it.　By many measures, China’s tech companies seem unstoppable. Private equity and venture capital investment grew from $14 bi

Viewpoints April 13, 2018

Here’s a prediction that is sure to annoy everyone: Now that he’s national security adviser, John Bolton will become more moderate.　Some extremists moderate when they take public office because of bureaucratic pushback from the middle. That’s not what I expect for Bolton. He’s made a career of fighting the bureaucracy from the right.　I predict Bolton will moderate for the opposite reason: In this stage of President Donald Trump’s administration, there’s almost no one left to push back at Bolton

Viewpoints April 12, 2018

The trade fight between the US and China is posing a dilemma to the European Union: Should the world’s largest trading bloc pick a side? And, if so, which one?　In theory, the US is the more natural ally for Europe: The two have cooperated closely since the end of World War II. And yet, Donald Trump’s slipshod approach to trade diplomacy risks pushing the EU into the arms of China. The EU’s main strategic interest in this fight is to ensure that the multilateral trading framework -- including the

Viewpoints April 12, 2018