Economic Nationalism vs. Globalization
Trump is being mercilessly criticized by practically all of the global press after he doubled down on his “America First” policy of demanding that US companies abroad prioritize the export of healthcare items such as masks and other crucial counter-COVID supplies to American citizens instead of their original customers elsewhere, sometimes reportedly going as far as outright seizing some of these supplies in foreign countries so as to ensure that they reach his people no matter what. In parallel with this, the President has also blocked US-based medical companies from selling some of their wares abroad to customers such as Canada, thus creating the impression among many in the media that America is “hoarding” potentially life-saving equipment at the expense of the rest of the global population. That interpretation is extremely misleading, however, since it misses the crucial fact that Trump’s policies are really a revolutionary act of economic nationalism in defiance of globalization that revealed the true Neo-Realist nature of International Relations and thus proved that geopolitical power is the ultimate factor in determining who wins after the so-called “rules-based” Neo-Liberal system was exposed as a massive lie.
Morals, Ethics, And Principles Mean Nothing In An Interests-Driven Neo-Realist World
Soberly analyzing the situation without any emotional attachment or values-driven judgement whatsoever (which is admittedly very difficult for most folks, especially those in the Alt-Media Community, to do), there is absolutely nothing wrong in principle with a national leader doing all that they can to guarantee that their people have access to emergency supplies. After all, whether it’s Trump or President Putin, these individuals are tasked with putting their own people first whenever the proverbial push comes to shove since they weren’t chosen to lead the “international community” but their own sovereign states. The problem, however, is that many leaders and their predecessors either passively facilitated or outright supported the offshoring of strategic industries to other states in order to take advantage of the cost-cutting benefits of globalization, but this has in hindsight proven to have been a short-sighted mistake with potentially fatal long-term implications as is now being seen. When countries don’t produce their core essentials, they’re naturally dependent on others to obtain them, and this creates an opportunity for a third party such as the US to interfere with such shipments.
Liberating The Masses’ Minds From Neo-Liberal Indoctrination
In the given situation, the most powerful of the forces at play — whether that be the customer, the relevant company, the host state in which the latter is producing their wares, or the third-party that decides to interfere — will emerge victorious, as is the present case with the US. This observation is “politically incorrect” to openly state, however, since most of the world was under the manipulative illusion that International Relations were increasingly being influenced by the Neo-Liberal model whereby “shared interests” supported by a set of “agreed-upon rules” supposedly prevail over pure power. The indignant reaction of most people abroad to the US’ latest acts of what they’ve been led to believe is so-called “mask piracy” proves just how successfully they were indoctrinated into believing that the world operated based on a completely different set of principles than it really does, which was a deliberate deception against well-intended individuals by the globalist power structure that has a stake in duping the masses so as to more easily manipulate their minds and thus indefinitely perpetuate control over their lives.
Economic Nationalism Is Both Vindicated And Victorious
There’s now no remaining doubt that globalization presents a latent but nevertheless extremely serious national security threat during times of crisis whenever a state is unable to obtain the strategic products that they’ve voluntarily allowed to be produced abroad. The awareness of this indisputable fact vindicates Trump’s economic nationalist struggle of the past few years to encourage his country’s companies (sometimes under threat of crippling tariffs) to prioritize the production of as many goods as possible within their homeland. Under these circumstances, it’s not Trump’s fault, but the fault of those leaders who voluntarily surrendered their production capabilities to other countries for the sake of profit that the US is “pirating” counter-COVID medical equipment since the US leader can’t be blamed for putting his people first (by hook or by crook, and for “better” or for “worse” depending on one’s perspective) when that’s simply his most basic responsibility given the office that he and all of his counterparts hold. Those who are indignant about what happened are likely still in the throes of cognitive dissonance after Trump gave them a much-needed Neo-Realist reality check.
Trump Would Be Doing Something Wrong If The Global Media Praised Him
It’s unrealistic to imagine any leader with the capabilities to obtain more emergency medical supplies for their people during the height of an ever-worsening crisis eschewing that option just for the sake of so-called “international solidarity”, especially when most of the world already despises their country as it is (whether for “good reason” or “not”). Any “praise” that they’d receive, especially if it was the US like in the present case that’s being discussed, would be totally insincere and designed to simply play to their ego so as to get them to continue surrendering more of their country’s strategic capabilities to others at their own people’s expense. In fact, one can argue that the reason why Trump is catching so much flak for his “America First” policy is because most other countries simply don’t have the means to emulate it even if they wanted to, so their reaction is mostly due to jealousy since they themselves know that they’d likely never do what they’re demanding of him, which is to ignore an opportunity to help their people if it presented itself unless they themselves were hopelessly indoctrinated with the Neo-Liberal/Globalist ideology.
Towards A Worldwide Economic Nationalist Revolution?
There’s nothing that the global elite can do other than loudly complain about what Trump did in the hopes that his revolutionary act of economic nationalism against globalization won’t awaken the masses from their propaganda-induced Neo-Liberal slumber to the raw Neo-Realist reality of International Relations. The people, however, might have already realized that the world operates according to a different set of principles than the ones that they were indoctrinated into believing, which could in turn foster the creation of more grassroots populist movements across the world agitating for their governments to immediately implement Trump-like policies of economic nationalism. That scenario is the worst one that the global elite can imagine at this moment since they’ve spent the past four years doing everything in their power to ruthlessly discredit that Neo-Realist economic outlook as “racist”, “fascist”, and “xenophobic” because of the existential threat that it poses to their international power structure, especially if a worldwide economic nationalist revolution emerged as the completely unintended consequence of the COVID World Order that they plan to implement after World War C.
Source: OneWorld
I wasn’t quite aware that Trump has re-directing medical supplies to the US. I read dozens of articles/day and this was not emphasized, perhaps indirectly hinted a couple times, but MSM is definitely not giving Trump credit for the re-direction. I’ll post this article to our Facebook page, Libertarians for Trump. Maybe more alternate media will pick up on this (there are varieties of “alternate”).
I like your other article (linked to in this article) on the coming Covid world order, but would dissent from your view that the draconian counter-measures are really that useful. Most of them aren’t, though I concede that border restrictions will have to increase. Previously I was a completely free trade/free movement internationalist ideologue, based on deductions from libertarian principles. I greatly admired Richard Cobden and his anti-corn law league.
But then I was forced to endorse Trump after Rand Paul and Ted Cruz fell by the wayside. I studied Maine’s classic book, Ancient Law, about the Greco-Roman system and it’s combination of competing city-states under a federal common law system. That combines the best elements of nationalism and internationalism.
The principles of justice are universal and hence international; but our knowledge of them is imperfect due to not fully realized human nature (an evolutionary work in progress). We can only approximate human nature and human justice, and must allow for competing viewpoints that adjust to local conditions and personalities.
From an idealistic viewpoint, we should evolve toward globalism, to do this without old-style nationallist wars–while retaining choice, approximation and competition– we can organize governments according to ideas instead of territory/ethnicity. The foundations have been laid by the Roman Republic, which was never formally abolished. Hence, the twelve tablets are still the supreme constitution, and the common law system should be recognized as resulting in the best available approximation of natural justice.
We must accept the view of realism, that we live in the best of all possible world; no other world is possible, because we cannot change the past. We must not take the naive view that human nature is a blank slate to be programmed by ideology, rather, it is hard-wired over very long periods of time.
Covid: Economic Revolution
I am not sure whether you are actually in favour of Trump’s “Mask-Heist” or not. Regardless of whether it ever happened at all – which is quite disputable.
Weeks before Trump supposedly redirected these medical goods, Germany impounded a shipment of several million medical masks in transit from China and destined for Switzerland. Only after a long dispute, involving EU supervisors was the shipment finally released.
So the “emperor without clothes” was not the first “economic revolutionary”.
Removing emotional involvement, moral considerations – sentimentality – from actions and replacing these by a purely interest driven approach is basically a form of economic realism. One could also call this cynism in it’s original sense. Or perhaps “Nature”, the natural order of things.
Apart from the “Mask-Heist” other examples will include:
1 Why save children on a sinking ship? They are the cheapest to replace.
2 Why combat poverty structurally? Getting rid of the unproductive poor is far more effective.
3 Why educate the masses? Education will only make them jealous and dangerous while not really improving their productivity.
4 Why not euthanise or better abort the potentially disabled? They are only a burden to society.
5 Why not just exploit the workforce of the weaker and then be done with them? They are in endless supply anyway.
Subjecting any action to a cost-benefit calculation with the objective at hand is a legitimate and effective modus operandi.
Why then were morals, ethics, sentimentality introduced in the first place?
What is the economic or evolutionary value of these factors when they only serve to restrain action?
The reason for such general restraints are indeed economical and evolutionary as well.
A cost-benefit calculation can by it’s very nature never be complete. It is impossible ti include ALL interest factors and it is impossible to provide appropriate and accurate weightings to all factors CHOSEN.
There will always remain a larger or smaller degree of uncertainty, aka. RISK. Most of this risk is located on the unpredictability of human behaviour.
To counter this unpredictability – to make human behaviour more predictable – moral, religious and sentimental restraints are often a cheaper alternative to the employment of violence and force when human behaviour needs to be under control.
Example:
It is far cheaper for a government to seduce a large portion of it’s subjects to “love” or “respect” it, than it is to pay a huge police or military apparatus to enforce their compliance.
The conclusion is obviously that while quasi violent acts of “theft” or “piracy” or “MAGA” may be cheaper for the time being, they may be far more expensive in the long run.
By disregarding “sentimental” restraints in favour of openly demonstrated power and force, the “empire” is wilfully relinquishing a very valuable and time tested tool.
This may prove to be a very expensive decision in the future.
When an empire’s arrogance becomes large enough to regard it’s power as for granted, it becomes foolish.
This foolishness will seal it’s doom
A lesson that every empire in history has had to learn yet.
It’s trumpfuhrer’s JOB to keep pressing the national button like TROLL. But inside, he’s a nasty hollow person. He believes in free market for ventilators, but bailouts for private equity firms etc etc. He’s a poseur.
Economic nationalism and “the true Neo-Realist nature of International Relations.” Neo-asbergerian realism steeped in a Hobbsean sauce. I do like my reality neat. It reminds me of Jared Kushner’s perpetual smirk.
Correction: aspergers.
Trump is a nationalist and wears a US flag but his “heart” belongs to Israel. Like a spouse, you can only pick one.