Economic Security and National Security -- Interaction and Synthesis
Abstract
National security has never been more captive to economic security than it is today. Economic security is not restricted to the usual fluctuations in gross domestic product (GDP), employment, productivity, and other metrics that have been the focus of macroeconomists for decades. Instead, in the present context, economic security refers to global capital flows and the capital and commodities markets which accommodate those flows. Through these channels currencies can be destroyed, inflation can be transmitted, reserves can be depleted, and financial institutions can be destabilized. In the extreme, entire sections of global capital markets can be frozen and debilitated to the detriment of those who rely on them most; in particular, the United States. Providing true economic security requires an analysis of the economic system through the binocular lenses of physics and engineering with an approach called econophysics. This approach studies the following questions: Are global capital markets a system? If yes, is it a static or dynamic system? If dynamic, is it a linear or nonlinear dynamic? If a nonlinear dynamic, what are the emergent properties of nonlinearity? Is the system scale-invariant? What are the appropriate metrics for normalizing and parameterizing the scale? Does it represent an example of self-organized criticality? What are the boundaries of systemic-phase transitions? The studies of these and other questions are the keys to understanding expected behavior and appropriate public policy in the face of the ongoing global financial collapse. A proper understanding of global capital markets behavior is furthermore the key to understanding the vulnerabilities of the United States and other national participants. This allows for defensive and counterintelligence measures and offensive capability, where necessary -- all under the heading of weaponized money.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 2009
- Accession Number
- ADA509689
Entities
People
- James G. Rickards