Opinion today: unrest in East and West

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Trade wars are absorbing all the attention in both Washington and Beijing. But Rana Foroohar writes that the Chinese believe the US inability to curb its elites will be the country's downfall. By contrast, the Chinese president has shown determination to clamp down on the princelings. Whatever your view of the legitimacy of mass arrests and seizure of assets, the goal of heading off popular anger about the unequal division of economic spoils (and promoting economic development) is the right one, Rana believes. And the US also must find a way to control its moneyed and privileged class.

Italy's Salvini threatens the EU establishment 
Wolfgang Munchau explores the ways in which Italy's populists, and their allies across the bloc, can exploit the fertile territory created by chaotic EU immigration policy,

Spending the new NHS money well 
Jennifer Dixon of the Health Foundation argues that the NHS will be the test bed for how other global health systems adapt to rapidly rising and multiplying demands.

How data is changing the workplace
Gavin Kelly of the Resolution Foundation explainshow employers currently have the upper hand in using information to make personnel decisions — but could employees and even trades unions make better use of these new tools against the boss class?

What you've been saying

Comment by Richer on If the US fails to protect citizens’ data, it will lag behind:

Greater input by the rest of the world in global rule-making (or even imposing rules on the world) is inevitably the norm when half of the US opposes the concept of global rules for fettering the US even slightly in the short term. And this isn't a bad thing. The level of corruption and lobbying in the US is so high that it is inconceivable that the US would pass any data protection legislation at all — so the EU filled the gap. I think Americans will need to accommodate themselves to a more multi-polar world; it is a consequence of their own choices.

Rwanda’s used-clothes sellers are struggling — Letter from Linda Calabrese:

David Pilling is right to argue that the US should not deny Rwanda access to its market (“America must allow Rwanda to make its own choices”, June 21). In fact, the phase-out is having a detrimental impact on Rwandan citizens. During a visit to Kigali last month, I went to Nyabugogo market to look for caguwa (second-hand clothing in Kinyarwanda). There, I found used clothes sellers struggling to find enough affordable supply of second-hand clothing to meet demand, and their customers consequently facing higher prices.

Today's opinion

FT View: To Chequers, and some hard truths about Brexit
The UK cabinet meets this week to make some long overdue choices

FT View: Washington and its allies need to contain Beijing
US should not acquiesce to Chinese dominance of the South China Sea

When algorithms go to war in the workplace
Businesses crunch data to gain power; workers should bend it to their own ambitions

US and China must find ways to control their elites
Success rests on heading off popular unrest, rather than winning trade fights

Global growth still firm in the face of trade wars
Despite the pessimistic narrative, US and China activity data remain strong for now

Fearless Matteo Salvini’s threat to the EU establishment
In Italy and beyond, far-right populists’ ambition is to destroy the bloc from within

FT View

FT View: To Chequers, and some hard truths about Brexit
The UK cabinet meets this week to make some long overdue choices

FT View: Washington and its allies need to contain Beijing
US should not acquiesce to Chinese dominance of the South China Sea

The Big Read

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