The cold war was a contest between two superpowers, two philosophies — and two assault rifles. The Soviet-made AK-47 was one. It was reliable, if basic. The American M16, built later, was more accurate. But its very sophistication meant that more things could go wrong with it. In Vietnam’s jungle heat, it was liable to jam mid-battle, which is the last thing you want. The guns became metaphors for the ideologies that produced them: communism’s focus on the high minimum, capitalism’s quest for excellence.
Of these two principles, which makes for the better life? Is it the floor or the ceiling that we should prioritise?
The intellectual trend seems obvious. After the cold war, the ceiling ruled for a long time. Thanks to trade and just-in-time manufacturing, consumers had access to a retail cornucopia that was once the preserve of the few. This system was optimal but not, it turns out, robust. A rogue Russia, a protectionist US or just a blocked-off shipping lane in the Gulf is enough to scramble people’s lives. Hence the new fashion for domestic industrial production or at least friendshoring, “just-in-case”. The world is choosing redundancies and inefficiencies. A more solid but perhaps less miraculous future beckons.