Ones and Tooze Live in Washington, D.C.

Global economic and political uncertainty currently defines the international landscape, characterized by a transition from the "polycrisis" framework to a state of profound, unpredictable disorder. While financial markets exhibit a surprising degree of continuity and complacency, policymakers and analysts grapple with the erosion of global governance and the destabilizing impact of individual political actors. The conversation, featuring historian Adam Tooze, highlights how the U.S. political environment—marked by populist insurgency and the degradation of state capacity—mirrors the challenges seen in China’s efforts to manage its own economic model without reaching a breaking point. Furthermore, the rapid, speculative investment in artificial intelligence introduces a new dimension of systemic risk, as corporate leaders attempt to preemptively design social contracts in the absence of traditional labor-led social bargaining. These converging forces create a climate of cognitive dissonance where rationalist models of global management struggle to account for increasingly idiosyncratic and volatile leadership.