What Venice Teaches Us About the Safety Net
European Straits #92
Dear all,
I’m spending a few days in Venice with my family (it’s the mid-term holidays in the UK). This is my third time here: the first was in 2013 for a conference talk with executives in the chemical industry, then I spent a few days in 2016 with my daughter Béatrice.
Venice is certainly worth many visits as I certainly haven’t gotten bored with the incredible sights around every corner. It’s also interesting to be back here just three months after releasing Hedge, as an entire section of the book is dedicated to the Venetian Republic.
What Venice teaches us about the Safety Net
Why is Venice relevant in a book about the Safety Net? It’s because it provides insights on how nations can best position themselves in the Entrepreneurial Age. Indeed the Venetian Republic is an illustration of a rare model of power: the thalassocracy, or a state with primarily maritime realms and the means to defend and expand them. There are three reasons why those are particularly relevant today.
A first tra…