Game Theory #7: America's Game

The lecture explores the historical transitions of global power, focusing on the British and American empires. It argues that the British Empire's limitations—ethnic exclusivity, a gold-based currency, and limited resources—paved the way for American dominance. America overcame these limitations by establishing the U.S. dollar as the world's reserve currency, promoting a "nation-game" based on meritocracy, and leveraging its vast resources. The lecture details America's economic strategies, including the Bretton Woods Conference, the petrodollar system, and its relationship with China, to illustrate how the U.S. achieved global economic control. It concludes by examining contemporary challenges to American hegemony, such as the US-China trade war and Russia's invasion of Ukraine, framing these events as a "game reset" in global power dynamics.