Principles for Dealing with the Changing World Order

Why Nations Succeed or Fail

By: Ray Dalio

Narrated by: Jeremy Bobb, Ray Dalio

Length: 16 hrs and 48 mins

Publisher's summary

New York Times Best Seller

“A provocative read ... There are few tomes that coherently map such broad economic histories as well as Mr. Dalio’s. Perhaps more unusually, Mr. Dalio has managed to identify metrics from that history that can be applied to understand today.” (Andrew Ross Sorkin, New York Times)

From legendary investor Ray Dalio, author of the number-one New York Times best seller Principles, who has spent half a century studying global economies and markets, Principles for Dealing with the Changing World Order examines history’s most turbulent economic and political periods to reveal why the times ahead will likely be radically different from those we’ve experienced in our lifetimes - and to offer practical advice on how to navigate them well.

A few years ago, Ray Dalio noticed a confluence of political and economic conditions he hadn’t encountered before. They included huge debts and zero or near-zero interest rates that led to the massive printing of money in the world’s three major reserve currencies; big political and social conflicts within countries, especially the US, due to the largest wealth, political, and values disparities in more than 100 years; and the rising of a world power (China) to challenge the existing world power (US) and the existing world order. The last time that this confluence occurred was between 1930 and 1945. This realization sent Dalio on a search for the repeating patterns and cause/effect relationships underlying all major changes in wealth and power over the last 500 years.

In this remarkable and timely addition to his Principles series, Dalio brings listeners along for his study of the major empires - including the Dutch, the British, and the American - putting into perspective the “Big Cycle” that has driven the successes and failures of all the world’s major countries throughout history. He reveals the timeless and universal forces behind these shifts and uses them to look into the future, offering practical principles for positioning oneself for what’s ahead.

©2021 Ray Dalio. All rights reserved. (P)2021 Simon & Schuster Inc. All rights reserved.

Jeremy has a history channel voice

only downside is it is easy to accidently tune out Jeremy. he has that mellow history channel-esque voice that can turn into background noise if you aren't paying attention

A must read in 2022

Since about 2017 I've started to notice that the political debate between the left and right in the U.S. is becoming more than just a cringy annoyance. Seeing Trump spend what seemed like 80% of his effort to justify the remaining 20% resulted in him doing very little good and certainly NOT making America great again.

In 2020 the so-called pandemic made politics no longer a taboable topic - the "just keep out of politics" principle I had failed as politics very much affected day to day life, from restricting personal freedom of movement for bogus reasons, to de-valuing my cash savings by over 20% in a year.
Yeah, I didn't start getting rid of cash savings until 2022. Should've started way earlier but hey - I'm an engineer, not an investment professional!

In 2020 there was a series of events which made deeply concerned about whether creating a family or raising kids in this country is a good idea at all. In 2021 those concerns have been growing stronger.
Then in 2022 AFTER the RU-UA war started - I've seen a short video about this book, and decide to get the full book as well.

This book is not doom-preaching, but unfortunately, it pinpoints and explains the concerns which were growing in me somewhat unconsciously. I had a feeling things aren't going well, but this book explains exactly what's wrong, why, and what typically comes out of it, although always noting that "typically" doesn't mean it wilp necessarily happen this time (in ~2025-2028 or so).

I don't want to be a pessimist, nor does Ray Dalio sound like a pessimist. He sounds very much like a realist, and the reality seems to lay out a rather grim forecast for the United States' status as a dominant world country.

Go buy gold while the USD is still worth something, and gold purchase is not yet restricted for common citizens. Because we've got oursself into sh1t deeper than we ever did in the history of the U.S. And if you want to dismiss me as a doom-preacher - I wish you the best of luck.

China Vs. USA and Narrator

Jeremy Bobb got me bored with his voice.

You kinda since that dalio is having a love affair with china ever since he visited the country since the 80's. just a like a woman you're attracted too, you research about her and defend everything about her.
though lots of things he pointed out regarding china made sense.
the comparison is a bit bias cause he fell in love with the stories of china.

Very actual to current events

Specific framework based on history fact based analysis, used for mathematical model learning and current event analytics.

Since the end of big debt cycle is near and economic conditions are very similar to 1929-32, the conclusions were very interesting!

Reread it twice already.

well researched

this is a Greta look at the history and current stat of economic development. if you want to better understand economic forces at ay in today systems this is a good book to review.

A MUST READ TO PREPARE FOR THE FUTURE

absolutely love this book. It proves that having a understanding of history, and staying engaged with current events will help people to better prepare for the future. And experience a good quality of life.

Indispensable perspective on the world we live in

I don’t think it’s possible to build an accurate picture of the world without considering economic cycles that drive much of our society. Ray does a great job of simplifying the historical patterns and presenting them as principles and tendencies that can be used to understand our times. For an economic novice this book was a paradigm shifting perspective. I found myself marvelling at how much sense it makes of the patterns we see in culture both now and at other points in history - such as in 1930’s Germany. The book is dense in places, and can feel repetitive as it deals with the cyclical nature of human history. But to me this was an asset, as the repetition through examples helps to clarify the principles he’s illuminating. If the book summary vaguely appeals to you, I would highly recommend it. I am incredibly grateful to Ray for taking the time to write it.

Eye Opening

Never heard of Ray Dalio but came across this and decided to give it a read. Boy am I glad I did. Also bought the book for reference purposes. Dalio is fantastic in his detailing of six cycles that all empires and great nations go through. Must read/listen.

Outstanding

Best book I’ve listened to in a long time. While most historians get lost in the details, this book does a great job of making sure u remember the big take aways. Must read.

The very best book explaining the BIG picture.

Fantastic research and analysis done by Mr. Dalio, deserves honor, most probably nobody else might put the cause and consequence relation better in centuries perspective.