Best of BS Opinion: A world oscillating between stability and chaos

Here are the best of Business Standard's opinion pieces for today

Sometimes, the world feels like a pendulum, always in motion. One moment, it swings toward stability; the next, it borders plunging into chaos. Just as we begin to think we've found our footing, another force — political, economic, environmental — pushes us in the opposite direction. In today’s stories, we watch the pendulum sway wildly across gold markets, soil health, climate action, stock trends, and even Donald Trump’s political fate. Let’s dive in. 

Gold, the ancient symbol of wealth, is at it again — riding a wave of safe-haven demand, even as a strong dollar tugs against it. Our first editorial explores how the metal has soared over 42 per cent since early 2024, propelled by inflation fears and central bank hoarding. Retail buyers, especially in India, continue to pile in, despite whispers of a ‘Trump tariff’ on gold imports. Speculative winds push it higher, but as history shows, the pendulum will swing back. 

And beneath our feet, another battle rages — one that plays out in the very soil we depend on. Decades of overuse and chemical-heavy farming have drained the land, tilting the scales towards degradation. But technology is fighting back. Our second editorial highlights how the Soil Health Card scheme, now a decade old, is giving farmers data-driven insights. The earth is caught in a delicate dance—will human ingenuity keep it fertile, or will the weight of past mistakes tip the balance? 

Meanwhile, the global response to climate change mirrors this push and pull. Mihir Sharma brings our attention to the ambitious targets once set with conviction, are now in limbo as economic anxieties take precedence. India, ever vulnerable to shifting monsoons and rising heat, finds itself on uncertain ground. The pendulum, which once swung towards hope, now inches back towards doubt. 

India’s stock market, too, has lost its footing. Smallcaps and midcaps, which soared in a post-Covid high, are now feeling the gravitational pull of global headwinds. Debashis Basu explains how a slowing economy, shrinking fiscal space, and a Trump-shaped question mark over global trade threaten to capsize the optimism that fuelled the bull run. The market may yet rally, but without fresh momentum, the oscillation between euphoria and reality will continue. 

And then, of course, there is Donald Trump — the ultimate pendulum. From political oblivion to another White House victory, his journey has swung between collapse and resurgence with breathtaking speed. In his review of Michael Wolff’s new book, All or Nothing: How Trump Recaptured America, Nicolas Niarchos highlights how the book captures the chaos of Trump’s comeback. Love him or loathe him, his return has jolted the world into another era of unpredictability. 

Stay tuned, and remember, the pendulum swings, and with it, the world lurches forward — sometimes towards progress, sometimes towards disorder!