
Episode 189
Doom: The Politics of Catastrophe | Niall Ferguson

Episode 189
Niall Ferguson
Doom: The Politics of Catastrophe | Niall Ferguson
summary
In Episode 189 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with historian Niall Ferguson about his latest book, “Doom: The Politics of Catastrophe.” The book is a historical tour de force of epic disasters ranging from pandemics to botched military responses, to nuclear accidents. What all these catastrophes share in common is a striking combination of operator and managerial error resulting from systemic problems that became calamities in the face of predictable, though unimaginable crises.
While Doom is mainly a history of disaster, its lessons apply most urgently in our own time, which provided us an opportunity to explore some of the contemporary challenges that we face in western society with someone who thinks and writes about such risks and opportunities regularly. At the top of this list is an emerging cold war between the United States and a coalition of authoritarian powers led by China and Russia, two nations that are increasingly cooperating on matters of national and economic security. This episode also includes a discussion about financial markets, digital assets, and the health of Western economies.
In place of an overtime, Demetri recorded a premium-only episode with Grant Williams on endgame scenarios for the economy, including a conversation about the prospects for runaway inflation and how to manage that risk for your portfolio.
You can access the premium episode, as well as the transcript and rundown to this week’s episode through the Hidden Forces Supercast Page. All subscribers gain access to our overtime feed, which can be easily added to your favorite podcast application.
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Producer & Host: Demetri Kofinas
Editor & Engineer: Stylianos Nicolaou
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Episode Recorded on 04/26/2021
bio
Niall Ferguson is one of the world’s most renowned historians. He is the author of seventeen books, including Civilization, The Great Degeneration, Kissinger, 1923-1968: The Idealist, The Ascent of Money, and most recently “Doom: the Politics of Catastrophe.” He is the Milbank Family Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University, and the managing director of Greenmantle LLC. His many prizes include the International Emmy for Best Documentary (2009), the Benjamin Franklin Award for Public Service (2010), and the Council on Foreign Relations Arthur Ross Book Award (2016).
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Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Philosophi autem in suis lectulis plerumque moriuntur. Indicant pueri, in quibus ut in speculis natura cernitur. Plane idem, inquit, et maxima quidem, qua fieri nulla maior potest. Quae cum essent dicta, finem fecimus et ambulandi et disputandi. Nihil opus est exemplis hoc facere longius. Quae hic rei publicae vulnera inponebat, eadem ille sanabat.
O magnam vim ingenii causamque iustam, cur nova existeret disciplina! Perge porro. Hoc loco tenere se Triarius non potuit. Dic in quovis conventu te omnia facere, ne doleas. Item de contrariis, a quibus ad genera formasque generum venerunt. Quia dolori non voluptas contraria est, sed doloris privatio. Unum nescio, quo modo possit, si luxuriosus sit, finitas cupiditates habere.
Quodsi vultum tibi, si incessum fingeres, quo gravior viderere, non esses tui similis; Sed ad rem redeamus; Duo Reges: constructio interrete. Sit ista in Graecorum levitate perversitas, qui maledictis insectantur eos, a quibus de veritate dissentiunt. Nam aliquando posse recte fieri dicunt nulla expectata nec quaesita voluptate. Dulce amarum, leve asperum, prope longe, stare movere, quadratum rotundum. Si autem id non concedatur, non continuo vita beata tollitur. Re mihi non aeque satisfacit, et quidem locis pluribus. Efficiens dici potest. Aufert enim sensus actionemque tollit omnem. Minime vero istorum quidem, inquit. Non semper, inquam;
Cur deinde Metrodori liberos commendas? Qui ita affectus, beatum esse numquam probabis; Tu vero, inquam, ducas licet, si sequetur; Mihi quidem Homerus huius modi quiddam vidisse videatur in iis, quae de Sirenum cantibus finxerit. Tum Torquatus: Prorsus, inquit, assentior; Quae diligentissime contra Aristonem dicuntur a Chryippo. Tum Piso: Quoniam igitur aliquid omnes, quid Lucius noster? Teneo, inquit, finem illi videri nihil dolere.
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Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Tanta vis admonitionis inest in locis; Res enim concurrent contrariae. Duo Reges: constructio interrete. Sed haec nihil sane ad rem; Tum Triarius: Posthac quidem, inquit, audacius. Et ais, si una littera commota sit, fore tota ut labet disciplina. Quod cum accidisset ut alter alterum necopinato videremus, surrexit statim. Quid est, quod ab ea absolvi et perfici debeat?
In qua quid est boni praeter summam voluptatem, et eam sempiternam? Quarum ambarum rerum cum medicinam pollicetur, luxuriae licentiam pollicetur. Vitiosum est enim in dividendo partem in genere numerare. Miserum hominem! Si dolor summum malum est, dici aliter non potest. Istam voluptatem perpetuam quis potest praestare sapienti?
Quae duo sunt, unum facit. Aeque enim contingit omnibus fidibus, ut incontentae sint. Quarum ambarum rerum cum medicinam pollicetur, luxuriae licentiam pollicetur. Quae enim adhuc protulisti, popularia sunt, ego autem a te elegantiora desidero. Sine ea igitur iucunde negat posse se vivere? Quare conare, quaeso. Scio enim esse quosdam, qui quavis lingua philosophari possint; Deinde prima illa, quae in congressu solemus: Quid tu, inquit, huc?
Quod idem cum vestri faciant, non satis magnam tribuunt inventoribus gratiam. Et quidem Arcesilas tuus, etsi fuit in disserendo pertinacior, tamen noster fuit; Sed in rebus apertissimis nimium longi sumus. Duae sunt enim res quoque, ne tu verba solum putes. Non dolere, inquam, istud quam vim habeat postea videro; Quid ergo dubitamus, quin, si non dolere voluptas sit summa, non esse in voluptate dolor sit maximus? Apud ceteros autem philosophos, qui quaesivit aliquid, tacet;
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Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut scias me intellegere, primum idem esse dico voluptatem, quod ille don. Isto modo ne improbos quidem, si essent boni viri. Quid de Pythagora? Duo Reges: constructio interrete. Quae iam oratio non a philosopho aliquo, sed a censore opprimenda est. Dic in quovis conventu te omnia facere, ne doleas. Satisne igitur videor vim verborum tenere, an sum etiam nunc vel Graece loqui vel Latine docendus? Vestri haec verecundius, illi fortasse constantius. Itaque hic ipse iam pridem est reiectus;
Potius inflammat, ut coercendi magis quam dedocendi esse videantur. Ut proverbia non nulla veriora sint quam vestra dogmata. Id enim volumus, id contendimus, ut officii fructus sit ipsum officium. Dic in quovis conventu te omnia facere, ne doleas. Quo plebiscito decreta a senatu est consuli quaestio Cn. Nec mihi illud dixeris: Haec enim ipsa mihi sunt voluptati, et erant illa Torquatis. Nam illud vehementer repugnat, eundem beatum esse et multis malis oppressum. Paupertas si malum est, mendicus beatus esse nemo potest, quamvis sit sapiens.
Huius ego nunc auctoritatem sequens idem faciam. Quae similitudo in genere etiam humano apparet. Prioris generis est docilitas, memoria; Illud quaero, quid ei, qui in voluptate summum bonum ponat, consentaneum sit dicere. A mene tu? Facete M. Dici enim nihil potest verius.
Idem fecisset Epicurus, si sententiam hanc, quae nunc Hieronymi est, coniunxisset cum Aristippi vetere sententia. Ea, quae dialectici nunc tradunt et docent, nonne ab illis instituta sunt aut inventa sunt? Ab his oratores, ab his imperatores ac rerum publicarum principes extiterunt. Non igitur potestis voluptate omnia dirigentes aut tueri aut retinere virtutem. Neque enim civitas in seditione beata esse potest nec in discordia dominorum domus; Quae cum magnifice primo dici viderentur, considerata minus probabantur.
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Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Istam voluptatem perpetuam quis potest praestare sapienti? Aliud igitur esse censet gaudere, aliud non dolere. Quid enim me prohiberet Epicureum esse, si probarem, quae ille diceret? Si quicquam extra virtutem habeatur in bonis. Contemnit enim disserendi elegantiam, confuse loquitur. Hoc enim constituto in philosophia constituta sunt omnia. Duo Reges: constructio interrete. Sapientem locupletat ipsa natura, cuius divitias Epicurus parabiles esse docuit.
Deinde disputat, quod cuiusque generis animantium statui deceat extremum. Quae quo sunt excelsiores, eo dant clariora indicia naturae. Quid est igitur, inquit, quod requiras? Aut, Pylades cum sis, dices te esse Orestem, ut moriare pro amico? Bonum liberi: misera orbitas. In primo enim ortu inest teneritas ac mollitia quaedam, ut nec res videre optimas nec agere possint.
Illum mallem levares, quo optimum atque humanissimum virum, Cn. Est enim tanti philosophi tamque nobilis audacter sua decreta defendere. Idem fecisset Epicurus, si sententiam hanc, quae nunc Hieronymi est, coniunxisset cum Aristippi vetere sententia. Videsne quam sit magna dissensio? Nec vero alia sunt quaerenda contra Carneadeam illam sententiam. Egone non intellego, quid sit don Graece, Latine voluptas?
Quid est igitur, cur ita semper deum appellet Epicurus beatum et aeternum? Neminem videbis ita laudatum, ut artifex callidus comparandarum voluptatum diceretur. Omnia peccata paria dicitis. Miserum hominem! Si dolor summum malum est, dici aliter non potest. Stoicos roga. Dici enim nihil potest verius. Sed quod proximum fuit non vidit. Quo plebiscito decreta a senatu est consuli quaestio Cn. Piso igitur hoc modo, vir optimus tuique, ut scis, amantissimus. Multa sunt dicta ab antiquis de contemnendis ac despiciendis rebus humanis;