How Countries Go Broke

An urgent warning about the American economy from Ray Dalio, the #1New York Timesbestselling author ofPrinciples. Do big government debts threaten our collective well-being? Are there limits to debt growth? Can a big, important reserve currency country like the United States really go broke-and what would that look like? For decades, politicians, policymakersand investors have debated these questions, but the answers have eluded them. In this groundbreaking book, Ray Dalio, one of the greatest investors of our time who anticipated the 2008 global financial crisis and the 2010-12 European debt crisis, shares for the first time his detailed explanation of what he calls the 'Big Debt Cycle'.Understanding this cycle is critical for helping policymakers, investorsand the general public grasp where we are and where we are headed with the debt issue. Dalio's model points toward surprisingly straightforward solutions for dealing with the debt problems that the US, Europe, Japanand China face today. How Countries Go Brokealso shows how these debt problems are related to the other forces - political within countries, geopolitical between countries, natural (droughts, floodsand pandemics)and technological (most importantly, AI) - that together are causing what Dalio calls the 'Overall Big Cycle' changes in the world order. By reading this book, you will improve your understanding of what's happening now and what to do about it.