Chs. 28, 30, & NYT

Chapter 28 discusses the processes that have led to the state losing more power and authority over time. One point that I found interesting was when the author explained how advances in technology have made people less reliant on the state for defense. Since the weapons development carried up to the point of the creation of atomic bombs, parties on either side of a conflict hit a celing when it comes to how much destruction they can cause. The idea of mutually assured destruction also prevents them from actually using the weapons, which means that advances in technology essentially crippled the state's ability to defend us as much as they used to be able to. 

Chapter 30 offers explanations as to why globalization can cause issues and how those issues can be avoided through government actions. There have been chapters in the past that leaned into the concept that globalization may not be all that great, but this is the first time where an author actually addresses solutions to those problems. The last paragraph in this chapter talks about countries having to conform their practices to fall under an abstract definition of "fairness" that actually seems to make things a little unfair in circumstances. I think this can be tied back to our recent discussions about economic fairness in the cotton and garment industries, where "fairness" was a concept that was used to strengthen imbalances.

The NYT article discusses China's Belt and Road Initiative, or B.R.I. This is a proposed plan to connect multiple economic corridors throughout Asia, Africa, and Europe, with the goal of imporving trade and other conditions. The actual details of China's plan are not available to the public, but Khorgos port in Kazakhstan will play a major role in it. This is an example of a scenario in which globaliztion could hypothetically drive economic connections into the future, but as with all of the other example we've discussed, there are drawbacks. The level of human rights violations that have been linked to this project and China's policy of detaining people who speak out against them give the project a negative light.