Consequences: The Rise of a Fractured World Order - Hardcover

Priest, William W.; Roche, David; Michailoff, Alex

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1394339372 ISBN 13: 9781394339372

Publisher: Wiley, 2025

Synopsis

An engrossing and practical discussion of how to deal with contemporary challenges to democracy and civilization.

In Consequences: The Rise of a Fractured World Order, William Priest, David Roche, and Alex Michailoff deliver an engaging, timely, and insightful analysis of identifying the sources and challenges facing liberal democracies and their ability to confront autocracies and autocratic behavior. The authors identify and address structural flaws present in both democracies and autocracies.

The book explains why the creation and distribution of wealth matters in creating nations where democracy can flourish, and the populace at large can win. Strategies for the creation of wealth (broadly defined) and its equitable distribution combined with the democratic tools that voters, investors, and citizens have available make it more likely those strategies can be deployed. You'll also find:

• Detailed and accurate discussions of the end of the liberal world order, post-cold war historical shifts, and the challenges that lie ahead.
• Explorations of the threat to democracy posed by populist politics and philosophies.
• An analysis of the likelihood of contemporary political actors to reform our economics and politics, and the steps we can take if they fail to do so

A startlingly original and eye-opening read for executives, investors, policymakers, and regulators, Consequences is an essential resource for everyone interested in the interplay between politics, economics, and long-term investment outcomes.

About this title

About the Author

William Priest is Vice Chairman of TD Wealth and Founder, Executive Chair, and Portfolio Manager of TD Epoch. Having developed and led three firms over a six-decade period, he has extensive experience in the field of economics and finance. He is the author of several published articles, papers, and books on investing and finance, including the books, The Financial Reality of Pension Funding Under ERISA, Free Cash Flow and Shareholder Yield: New Priorities for the Global Investor, and Winning at Active Management: The Essential Roles of Culture, Philosophy and Technology. He holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation, is a former CPA, holds an AB from Duke University and an MBA with distinction from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton Graduate School of Business. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations as well as a member of the Barron’s Roundtable.

David Roche is Strategist at Quantum Economics and Geonomics, a Singapore-based think tank and investment advisory company. Well known for his original and provocative ideas, he concentrates on investment themes, based on fundamental long-term analysis, backed up by strongly held convictions. He has forecast some of the major turning points in global investments and forecasted the invasion of Ukraine and the advent of Grayzone Warfare between Democracies and Autocracies in April 2021. He previously worked as head of strategy at J.P. Morgan, Morgan Stanley and Independent Strategy. Author of seven books, he holds an MA from Trinity College Dublin and an MBA with the highest distinction from INSEAD.

Alex Michailoff is a financial consultant, and a graduate of the Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management at Cornell University.

From the Back Cover

Praise for CONSEQUENCES

“This book draws together insights from history, geopolitics, economics and technology to give a sharply focused assessment of the profound challenges facing the Western democracies―some external and some internal. It is sobering, though not despairing: its conclusion calls for investment in the democratic institutions that enable prosperity and freedom, alongside efforts to strengthen the wealth creation process itself. Eminently readable and thought-provoking, it well repays the time of the reader.”
―GLENN STEVENS, economist and former governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia

“In Consequences, a highly readable and brilliantly crafted book, Priest, Roche, and Michailoff, keen observers of contemporary scene, conclude that the post-Cold War vision of a liberal democratic rules-based order led by the United States is evaporating before our eyes. In a cogent analysis, they set the table, and then argue that, though challenged by algorithms, social media and artificial intelligence, there is still hope for the precious values and institutions that America has cherished over two centuries, offering a way forward to save us from sinking into autocracy.”
―JAMES ZIRIN, author, lawyer, and former Federal Prosecutor

“In a prescient fashion this book warns that the global community is navigating an unpredictable and volatile future. Populism rears its ugly head but while this is not a counsel of despair the authors know the stakes are stark. This is a policy and practice bible for both the politicians and the public alike.”
―RUTH RICHARDSON, lawyer and former Minister of Finance of New Zealand

“This is an essential reading for all those who believe that democracy is a superior system, although it needs constant improvements to face the challenges of our day.”
― LORENZO BINI SMAGHI, economist, former member of the Executive Board of the European Central Bank, former Chairman of the Board of Directors for SNAM and Italgas, Chairman of the Board of Directors for Societe Generale

“The authors of Consequences do a terrific job of describing a world in transition, with both democracy and the U.S. at a crossroads. They deal with the catalysts and drivers of change as well as potential prescriptions and solutions. No issue is ducked, and the book is an engaging and accessible read that helps make sense of a broad range of complex global issues.”
― MICHAEL PEDERSEN, former bank CEO, former Chair of the Board of the Business Development Bank of Canada, Corporate Director serving on the Boards of CGI Group, AtkinsRealis, and the Nature Conservancy of Canada

From the Inside Flap

In Consequences: The Rise of a Fractured World Order, a team of experienced finance, economics, and business experts delivers an engaging, insightful, and timely discussion of the challenges facing liberal democracies. The authors explain the sources of those challenges and how they impact the ability of contemporary democracies to confront the dangers posed by autocrats, autocracies, and autocratic behavior.

Over the course of the book, Priest, Roche, and Michailoff identify the structural flaws inherent to both democracies and autocracies, as well as how those flaws are exploited by the latter against the former. You’ll learn how modern, representative governments can protect against these attacks by ensuring that wealth is effectively created and equitably distributed. You’ll also explore the importance of the democratic tools used by voters, investors, and citizens and how to deploy them most effectively in society.

Consequences carefully examines the end of the liberal world order and post-cold war historical shifts. It focuses particularly on the threat to democracy posed by a wide range of populist politics, philosophies, and tactics. The book also analyzes the likelihood that contemporary political actors will be able to effectively reform our economics and politics, as well as the steps we can all take if those efforts fail.

An incisive and eye-opening resource for executives, investors, policymakers, and regulators, Consequences is a must-read for everyone interested in everything that’s happening in the dynamic intersection of politics, economics, markets, and international relations.

Edition details

• Publisher: Wiley
• Publication date: 2025
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1394339372
• ISBN 13: 9781394339372
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 208