1/ What a wild year. Who would have thought a teen social media app would be made out to be a Trojan horse for information warfare?

Trump wants the Chinese app TikTok out, or at least sold to Microsoft.

Is this all just political fear mongering?

2/ We are not fighting each other because it is fun, or because there is just something in the human spirit that feeds off competition.

We are fighting each other because of tribal pain. And because to yell in anger is the natural reaction.

3/ The West has had the worst quarter in recent economic history -- down 10% both in the US and the Eurozone. And China, it appears, is holding up a bit better in the coronovirus environment, based on stronger national control over people, technology, and narrative.

4/ And now these tensions comes together in a farcical, buffoonish way around TikTok.

In this week's newsletter, we take a deeper look into the GDP across the US & Eurozone, and how it compares with China's second quarter.

5/ We also parse the geopolitical battle over TikTok, its alleged spying, and understanding the winners and losers of the Microsoft deal.

6/ And finally, we apply an analytical framework for how to win in open source competition, explaining both Shenzhen manufacturing success and decentralized finance growth to $4 billion.

Read more at https://lex.substack.com/p/long-take-the-symbolic-battle-over