Examines history's most turbulent economic and political periods to reveal why the times ahead will likely be radically different from those in recent memory. A few years ago, Dalio noticed a confluence of political and economic conditions he hadn't encountered before: huge debts and zero or near-zero interest rates that led to massive printing of money in the world's three major reserve currencies. Here Dalio brings readers along for his study of the major empires-- the Dutch, the British, and the American-- and puts into perspective the "big cycle" that has drives the successes and failures of all the world's major countries through history. -- adapted from jacket

How the world works. Introduction ; The big cycle in a tiny nutshell ; The determinants ; Determinants addendum ; The big cycle of money, credit, debt, and economic activity ; The changing value of money ; The big cycle of internal order and disorder ; The big cycle of external order and disorder ; Investing in light of the big cycle -- How the world has worked over the last 500 years. The last 500 years in a tiny nutshell ; The big cycle rise and decline of the Dutch Empire and the guilder ; The big cycle rise of the British Empire and the pound ; The big cycle rise and decline of the United States and the dollar ; The big cycle rise of China and the renminbi ; US-China relations and wars -- The future. The future -- Appendix: Computer analysis of the conditions of, and prospects for, the world's leading countries.