The computer on which this blog is written, and the device through which it is being read, both rely on rare earth elements whose geopolitical importance has become unmistakably clear over the past year. Yttrium and terbium enable modern colour displays. Lanthanum is found in smartphone camera lenses, while neodymium powers the miniature magnets embedded in speakers. These minerals are equally indispensable to advanced military systems such as radar and drones, as well as to clean energy technologies including wind turbines and electric vehicle motors. China occupies a commanding position in the supply and processing of these materials. In recent trade disputes, Beijing demonstrated its readiness to deploy this dominance as an instrument of state power, restricting exports of selected rare earths in response to tariffs imposed by the United States. Such actions revealed how control over critical minerals can translate into diplomatic leverage. Rare earths are only part of a broader pa...
Economics is the study of the choices we must make as we confront scarcity—the fundamental mismatch between limitless human wants and limited means. At its core, economics begins from the recognition that while human desires are expansive and continually evolving, the resources available to satisfy them are finite. This imbalance is not a temporary condition to be solved but a permanent feature of human existence, shaping individual behavior, social organization, and public policy across time and place. Because resources are limited, every choice carries a cost. To allocate time, money, labor, or natural resources to one purpose is to deny them to another. Economists refer to this reality as opportunity cost, and it lies at the heart of rational decision-making. Whether households decide how to spend income, firms choose what to produce, or governments determine budget priorities, all economic actors are constrained by scarcity and compelled to make trade-offs. Scarcity also explains w...