Day 1

The other night while watching the Democratic candidates debate in South Carolina, I would occassionally flip the channel to CNBC World where there were reports of Asian markets plummeting for the 2nd consecutive night to the tune of over 10% in certain bourses. On my coffee table was an issue of the Economist with a cover regarding Sovereign Wealth Funds and the massive transfers of power taking place in the international political economy.

It was at at this point I realized, 2008 may be one of the most crucial years of my generation. It is a foregone conclusion that this will be a definitive presidential election as in addition to being the most wide-open election since 1932 (no incumbent or VP), it can potentially provide a complete change of direction from the Bush years, and the world readily awaits what this change will be. As our approach to Iraq and the rest of the world may fundamentally shift, whether we can still redeem ourselves will be determined by our actions taken over the coming year and the choice of who we elect president.

The US economy appears to be mired in recession while the global economy is attempting to determine just how dependent on the US it truly is. The next year will provide a roadmap for the next number of years of how the global economy is truly structured in this day and age in terms of distribution of power. Couple this with the new global financial system and the recent disasters associated with complex products that have been a purported boon, and how the world responds to the current challenges and who comes out a winner will be evidence of how the next number of decades play out as we are amidst the first true challenge of the 'global economy'.

In the end I don't believe the world is any imminent danger of breakdown or chaos, but we are going to experience major transitions in both economic and political power in the world. How will the United States respond? How will YOU respond?