Principles of Changing World Order. Why Some Nations Succeed While Others Fail

One of the most influential and wealthy people on the planet, Ray Dalio, investigates the empires of the past, identifies patterns of the rises and falls of leading world economies, draws conclusions about our present and future, and answers the question of why the times ahead will be radically different from those we have experienced.

A few years ago, Ray Dalio noticed political and economic conditions he had not encountered before. These include massive debts and zero or near-zero interest rates that have led to the mass printing of money in the three main reserve currencies of the world; significant political and social conflicts within countries, especially in the U.S.; and the rise of a global power (China) ready to challenge the existing global power (the U.S.) and the current world order. The last time such a phenomenon occurred was between 1930 and 1945. This realization prompted Dalio to seek recurring patterns and causal relationships underlying all major shifts in the balance of macroeconomic forces over the past 500 years.

Ray Dalio invites his readers to explore the major world economies, including the Dutch, British, and American, and to consider the "Big Cycle" that defines the successes and failures of all the largest countries in the world throughout history. He uncovers the timeless and universal forces behind these shifts and uses them to look into the future and formulate principles for what lies ahead.