The current distribution system model cannot be used to evaluate the economics of a fundamentally different distributed manufacturing model; current data would be obsoleted by the shift to on-demand, localized production.

Zaihan categorically rejects the idea that battery systems, renewable energy, Bitcoin mining integration, and resilient decentralized energy systems will happen; the technologies are not at the required stage of development.

Only about 10% of the U.S. population has sufficient solar intensity (roughly from central Texas to Los Angeles) to power a house on solar alone; six kilowatts of solar takes three days to charge a Tesla without using any household power.

The United States will be in a more stable position in five years than now, with a more stable supply chain system, despite awkward transition steps getting there; everyone else is 'so screwed'.

Software engineer labor shortages will disappear soon because baby boomers are leaving the market, taking blue-collar labor out, and the next generation (Gen Z, or 'Zoomers') are anti-social, raised by Gen X to be competitive, and have coding as their dream job.

The United States will be able to pursue new technologies more successfully than most other countries, which positions the U.S. to benefit from technological innovation even as the broader world struggles.

Electric vehicles require an order of magnitude more raw materials than conventional vehicles; a conventional car needs about 2 pounds of copper and 5-6 pounds of nickel, while an EV needs 130 of each, plus many other specialty materials with concentrated global supply chains.

Autonomous electric vehicles cannot achieve cost parity with rail for freight because a typical rail line can transport 6,000 containers, which would be extremely difficult to replace with trucks; terrain limitations make trucks competitive only in non-flat regions where rail cannot be built.

The dollar has structural advantages (controlled by a single sovereign, manipulated only to serve that sovereign's interests) that cannot be replicated by any decentralized or blockchain-based currency; the dollar or something like it is the only viable global trade currency.

Peter Zaihan's forthcoming book 'The End of the World is Just the Beginning' is about what the world looks like on the backside of the deglobalization wave, focusing on the future of energy, finance, and manufacturing in a post-global system.