Most of life is reminders. Our phone gives us reminders of an upcoming meeting. Our spouse reminds us to take out the garbage. Daily or even frequenter emails from retailers remind us we should buy from them, apparently in their view every single day whether they are selling food, cars, generators, hacksaws or anything else you can purchase. We sometimes contemplate having a garage full of hacksaws, one for every day of the year. But we have to remind ourselves to eat right, to exercise, to be kind to other people and creatures. The latter is easy because our cat, Willow, has mastered the intricacies of Internet marketing, never ceasing to remind us to feed her. She keeps on a very strict schedule for when she plays, when she wants attention and everything else. Fortunately, she is a simple creature, her needs not many even if they must be adhered to on a consistent schedule.
So, we reckon that much of our life is either being reminded by someone, some device, some animal to do something. If 80 percent of life is showing up, as Woody Allen said, then the rest of life is reminding yourself that the meeting is at 10 am. And let’s be honest, the reminders are important—without them we likely wouldn’t show up, at least not at the right time, not at the right place. Perhaps Woody has it backwards, and 80 percent of life is being reminded to show up. So we dedicate this week’s International Need to Know to reminders—reminding ourselves yet again that democracy is better than the alternatives, that solar power is taking over for reasons having nothing to do with climate change, and that China aims to change the international order to their liking. It’s this week’s International Need to Know never forgetting important international information, fondly remembering to post global data.
We will be providing grief counseling to Toronto Blue Jays fans next week.* Back on Thursday, November 20th
*In as mocking a way as we can.
Without further ado, here’s what you need to know.
Democracy is Better: Lithuania – Belarus Edition
It’s unfortunate that democracy’s brand is so bad we have to constantly remind people that it is far better than autocracy, that it is, as Winston Churchill famously said, the worst form of government except for all the others. But unfortunately, this is where we are. Last week we compared India and Pakistan. This week, thanks to a tweet by one of the Belarusian opposition leaders, Franak Viacorka, we compare Lithuania and Belarus, which is another stark example that democracy is the better form of government. Viacorka compares the GDP per capita of Belarus with its neighbor, Lithuania. As you can see in the chart below, Lithuania’s GDP per capita of $29,386 is more than three times Belarus’s $8,317.** Lithuania, we remind you, after it freed itself from the shackles of the Soviet Union and Russia’s ever busy, murderous, wandering eye, democratized and developed its economy. Hence Lithuania has freedom and prosperity. Belarus toils under a dictator, an exceedingly foolish one who has tied his power, and thus his country’s fortunes, to Russia. Elections, freedom and liberty, are not just good for your soul, they are also good for your pocketbook.
**Poland, another neighbor, which also democratized, has an even higher GDP per capita. Even Ukraine, yet another neighbor, which only recently democratized and has been at war fighting off Russia for over three years, also has a higher GDP per capita. C’mon Belarus authoritarian leaders, become a democracy.
Solar Whether You Want It Or Not
And by you, we mean the Trump administration and the MAGA Republicans. The plain fact of the matter is solar power continues to become more efficient and more affordable, as does battery storage. This is true for countries around the world, including India, as you can see in the first chart below from EMBER. Meanwhile the triplet of charts below that chart shows new solar additions, EV share of sales, and battery sales all rising faster than forecast. Again, that’s because of economics not subsidies. It makes sense to invest and install these technologies and it’s happening at an ever greater rate. As John Raymond Hanger notes, “About three times more solar was built in the first half of 2025 than in all of 2021 and nearly two times more than in all of 2022!” The energy world is changing, and for the better. It will be cleaner, cheaper and more ubiquitous. Those countries that adapt most successfully will have huge economic and security advantages.
China Corner: Home to AI?
At the recent Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meetings, Xi Jinping proposed a global organization to govern artificial intelligence. This proposed World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization would set governance standards and work to address AI cooperatively. Or so is the spiel by Xi. At the meeting, Chinese officials pushed for the headquarters to be located in Shanghai. If the United States continues to degrade politically, then international organizations are increasingly likely to be located in other countries. China, as the most powerful country in the world, is a likely location for many future international organizations. That is to be expected as a country becomes more powerful, but again we must remind you that China is an increasingly authoritarian and expansionist country so the idea that more and more organizations will be located in China is not an idea full of dancing bears and shining unicorns. That the United States is not such a great location anymore for global cooperation is also a problem. Have a good week
