#18 - Claire Lehmann

Bullish:

• $BTC - Bitcoin is seen as a global system that can transcend national boundaries, potentially becoming a counterbalance to traditional power structures.

  • “The constitution doesn't scale beyond America, but Bitcoin does.”

    Balaji·1:15:34
• $CHINA - China is expected to have a strong century due to its integrated system, including government, technology, and cultural cohesion.

  • “I think China's gonna have the best century, probably, because they're just they're like Apple. Right? Vertically integrated, you know, the Han Chinese nation, the CCP party state, and the Chinese network, the great firewall, the apps.”

    Balaji·1:21:18
• $INTERNET - The Internet is viewed as the only entity with the economic scale to potentially balance China's growing power.

  • “There's only one thing with the economic scale to balance China. And do you know what I think that is? The Internet.”

    Balaji·1:14:37
• $EM - Emerging markets, particularly in the Middle East, are seen as having potential for significant growth in the coming century, despite acknowledged volatility.

  • “I think Dubai, Saudi Arabia have a potentially very good century ahead of them. I think Iran let's see what happens. Maybe there's gonna be a giant war. The world is volatile.”

    Balaji·1:19:00
• $INDIA - India is expected to perform relatively well in the future global order, with notable progress in industries like steel production.

  • “I think India is actually gonna do probably fairly well. And, and the reason I say that is, it's just my sense of where civilization is. Like, for example, it's a distant number two, but India is number two on steel after China.”

    Balaji·1:22:49

Bearish:

• $USA - The United States is expected to face challenges due to declining global influence and economic issues, potentially negatively impacting those dependent on it.

  • “My basic view is the more physically, socially, financially, militarily, culturally dependent you are on The USA, the worse off you'll be.”

    Balaji·1:23:00
• $TECH - A potential backlash against technology companies is anticipated, with concerns about societal reactions to technological advancements.

  • “We're about to see, in my view, the third. Yeah. Yep. This is red and blue against tech. That is basically presaged by people setting self driving cars on fire.”

    Balaji·1:35:25
• $EU - Western Europe is expected to face significant challenges due to its dependence on the US for security and its holdings of American assets.

  • “I think Western Europe will be the second worst off. They're gonna take a massive hit because of how many assets they have that are American, how much dependence they have on The US for security.”

    Balaji·1:18:59