First published 2009
The concepts that built American power now work against it. Military campaigns designed to eliminate terrorism spawn more extremists. Economic systems meant to lift living standards widen inequality. Financial interventions intended to prevent crisis make collapse inevitable. Environmental programs created to save species drive them toward extinction. Ramo argues that traditional approaches to wielding influence have become obsolete. He constructs a new framework for navigating an era where outcomes defy prediction. His analysis draws from multiple disciplines including historical analysis, economic theory, network science, psychological research, and biological systems. The book maps a terrain where standard cause and effect relationships no longer apply. Ramo shows how complexity theory reveals patterns in seemingly random events. He demonstrates that unpredictability contains opportunities as well as dangers. The work offers readers tools for thinking differently about power, policy, and planning in a world where conventional wisdom fails.
Genres: business, political-science, economics, non-fiction, 21st-century, academic
Vibes: analytical, insightful, thought-provoking
Tropes: paradigm-shift, systems-thinking
Period: 21st Century
288 pages · Hardcover · Little, Brown and Company