Hedge fund billionaire Ray Dalio warned that the post-World War II global order is approaching a critical breaking point, calling recent conflicts and political shocks a part of a broader historical pattern rather than isolated events, clearly indicating a decline.

Global Order On The Brink

On Monday, in a post on X, the founder of Bridgewater Associates said many people appear “shocked by what's happening,” pointing to recent conflicts in Minneapolis and Greenland.

According to Dalio, that surprise stems from a failure to understand what he described as the breakdown of long-standing monetary, domestic political and international political systems. He said the world is experiencing the unraveling of the post-World War II framework in ways that closely mirror past historical cycles.

Pointing to concepts shared in his book “Principles For Dealing With The Changing World Order,” published five years ago, Dalio framed these events as part of the “Big Cycle,” which is a recurring sequence of stages that has repeated throughout history.

In the post, Dalio said he believes the global system is currently in “Stage 5,” which is the “pre-breakdown” period, while on the brink of entering “Stage 6,” which involves the “breaking down of the old orders.”

He added that these stages come with identifiable characteristics and cause-and-effect relationships that can be used to assess where the world stands and what may come next.

In his recent article on X, Dalio said Stage 5 is marked by worsening financial conditions, widening wealth and values gaps, rising polarization and intensifying conflict. All dynamics that he thinks clearly align with the events taking place in the country and across the world.

Rising Debt Levels A Concern

Dalio has repeatedly expressed concerns regarding rising debt, noting that when debt outpaces income growth, governments will have to choose between either printing money or a harsh debt crisis, which undermines monetary systems, while fueling more political instability.

Billionaire Ken Griffin echoed similar concerns, saying that the “recklessness of government spending” is the primary risk to markets and global stability.

Economist Richard Haass, similarly, warned that the $38 trillion U.S. national debt posed a significant threat to the country’s global standing and could even lead to a “national security crisis.”

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