This year has seen a heightening of the semiconductor wars between the U.S. and China, stoking superpower tensions and raising visions of a global economy decoupled into opposing spheres.
Does history provide clues to how this might all play out?
Let me take you on a ride to revisit a millennia-old innovation that dictated the conduct of war, the shape of trade and the very concept of mobility and speed. A commodity that required expert handling, it was the basis of much political and military power — and the quest for supplies led to violent takedowns of would-be monopolies.
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