Price Wars – Rupert Russell

Price Wars: How the Commodities Markets Made Our Chaotic World (Rupert Russell): This investigative work examines the hidden financial gears that drive global instability. Russell argues that the prices of essential commodities—like bread, oil, and metals—are no longer governed just by supply and demand, but by speculative financial markets. By tracing the "butterfly effect" of price spikes, he connects the 2008 financial crisis to the Arab Spring and the rise of populist movements worldwide. It is a critique of how "virtual" numbers on trading screens create "real-world" chaos, suggesting that until we stabilize commodity pricing, global political peace will remain elusive.