Michael

I will happily agree, that I may not have consumed the content of this book properly, as I was listening to it. Digesting a book like this, was probably better done by reading.

That being said, I find some flaws in the Mission Economy. The whole narrative is around the moon landing and how that serves as the epitome for how a government should run a mission driven project. Besides that a good part of the book is unnecessarily spent on retelling the successes of NASA, it is just one example for just one country, the USA.

The type of problems that Mazzucato suggests to be solved through a new kind of capitalism (climate change, gender inequality etc) are happening on a global scale. Living in Singapore, I am not entirely sure if her proposition can be used outside of the USA or the EU. I would've found her case to be stronger had she also addressed the application of governmental moonshots in China and India.

The book was also rather repetitive and difficult to follow (again, maybe the audiobook). A well written article would've perhaps served just as well.

Insightful I found the notion of pre-distribution of wealth, where governments draft conditions in contracts for subsidies/loans with the private sector as to ascertain profits will benefit the public as well.

For Ken Liu, the future is clear! We all will be uploaded onto the cloud :) Even though it's a much recurring theme (and probably even the truth) the book is full of wonderful and fantastical stories. It takes some time every now and then to emerge yourself fully in the worlds he created, but it always leaves you wanting more.

I had already become more skeptical towards the United States still proclaiming itself “the leader of the free world” (that title rightfully belongs to Angela Merkel after all those years), but this book has changed my perception of China more favorably as well. Mahbubani dives deeply and with nuance into why either side behaves like it does, for better or for worse. China is a force to be reckoned with, hence Mahbubani (being Singaporean) is advocating balance and cooperation to live together peacefully on this tiny Earth.