period of mercantilist activities – if not an all-out war for resources. The reason Japan and China both insist asserting sovereignty over the particular stretch of the East China Sea is that the area is rich in undersea natural gas deposits – another vital resource.

Of course these days, demand for virtually every natural resource used by industrial societies is close to exceeding what's available. Even iron ore supplies are being stretched thin by the massive construction efforts taking place in the developing world, and especially China. Of course, just mining and processing iron into steel requires large amounts of energy and other resources, which are consequently suffering from supply constraints as well. The squeeze is even greater for copper, which is less plentiful than iron but just as essential for construction and energy transmission.

In order to secure the resources they need in coming years, nations around the world are likely to undergo a New Age of Mercantilism in which they try to hoard their natural resources so they can continue to produce more valuable exports. (And this is where investors who have secured a stake in resources will reap handsome rewards.)

Curiously, the competition for resources is taking place against a backdrop of economic weakness...