Technology, Economics, or Politics. Pick one and stay in that lane. In the US, especially, the topics are distinct swim-lanes. You can study political science and not economics, and vice versa. In part this is due to a belief economics itself is non-political. The math and the data should guide you to conclusions. You can have economics class that discusses how a change in a law impacts micro or macro economic decisions, but you don’t discuss overtly political topics. Even a publisher like Bloomberg has separate categories for economics and politics.

And yet, they are inextricably linked. For one thing, it’s more than obvious to most economists that political leanings shape your economics. Some people think it’s the other way around, but for people who are supposed to be data focused, they tend to pick sides on non-economic issues that reflect their political beliefs. But that’s not the important way in which they’re linked. They’re linked because political discussion leads to economic choices, which create a sense of the politically possible and impossible, which in turn, shapes more economic decisions.

And technology is linked to economic development in a way it hasn’t been for much of history. Technology generally expanded the boundaries of commerce, with great efficiency or more capabilities. Today, however, the markets go up or down directly on technological news and changes. If the AI bubble pops, and Tesla shareholders come to their senses, and a few other things happen, the economy will contract. Technology stocks and technology news is driving markets like no other time in history. If GE expects to sell more washing machines next quarter, no one cares. If NVidia is expected to sell not enough chips, possibly signalling a slowdown in AI build-out, its stock tanks, along with Micron, Broadcom, Oracle, and a host of other companies. That in turn will impact private credit and ripple across the economy.

Economics and politics have always been inseparable. And technology has always had an impact on production. But right now, they are so incredibly linked it’s hard to untangle them. Especially in an era where the presidency is won by someone who believes things about economics that are completely counter-factual. And it’s not a talking point. They act on it. As it stands, I don’t see them as separate things right now. Like the shamrock, they are three parts of the same whole. Happy St. Patrick’s day!