International Man: Governments learned during COVID that populations will tolerate extraordinary restrictions if they're sold as an emergency. Could an energy crisis become the next excuse for lockdown-style controls?

Doug Casey: We're looking at something much worse than another lockdown, as bad as that was. The big question is whether we're now in World War III. I think we are. The US has increased its military budget by 50%, and is pushing the Europeans to double their military spending. The war in the Ukraine is ongoing, and the Europeans want to ramp it up further. Nor do I think that the current focus of everybody's attention, the war between the US/Israel, and Iran, will end anytime soon. It's going to drag on for many months or even years. And if the Americans or Israelis push the Iranians too far—which is likely—the Iranians could respond with not just drone and missile attacks in the region, but with all-out cyber war. Since the world runs on computers, that could be as devastating as a nuclear war.

At the moment, the war is centered on destroying or disrupting energy in the Middle East. But it can't possibly stay there. That's because Asia, which is to say two-thirds of the world's population, is totally reliant on petrochemicals from the Persian Gulf. They can't remain passive observers as the war destroys their economies.