We’re like the piggy bank that everbody’s robbing
How are we to make of the news these days and how are we to react from the steps that our President and Chief is making towards a seemingly confusing and hostile country like China? Recently with trade talks wavering with President Xi, the world waits with bated breath as each side wratches up the rhetoric and economic counter-measures. The media, for their part, paint Donald Trump as the lone ranger bucking at every long standing agreement, to the chagrin of his opponents and party ilk, claiming that all of it from America’s past leadership was meant to gut America of its’ wealth and sell it to the highest bidder.
“We’re like the piggy bank that everbody’s robbing” says Donald Trump
Note that however you feel about tarrifs, they are the tool of the President to deploy since his vantage point of world affairs ‘trumps’ those from the ground. Poor job numbers in May, versus low oil prices and low unemployment still make for a victory for Trump each month even if one metric is off; still winning. With a sense of irony, I’m reminded of some wisdom from the Ancient Chinese to give perspective of this ancient dance between powerful leaders.
Han Feizi is a Ancient Chinese writer from the 3rd century, from one of his selections he wrote:
… the ancients had a saying, “Governing is like washing hair. Even if some hairs falls out, it must be done.” Anyone who begrudges the loss of some hair and forgets the advantage to growing hair has no understanding of expediency. Lancing a boil hurts, drinking medicine tastes bitter. But on that account one does not lance them or drink them, one will not recover.
Trump’s method to the madness on trade
It’s almost impossible to analyze anything in the heat of the moment with little historical context to judge against. This lack of historical context falls on the failure of the media to inform the public of our President’s role and responsibilities given such unprecedented times. In interpreting news stories about East Asia, those who have been there and understand there are layers behind the Asian societies in coded words and actions that have great meaning. China is no exception to recognising Trump using some of their oldest tactics against them to win this fight. This from China’s own past as Han would say,
…If one had to depend on shafts that were natrually straight, a hundred generations would go by before one could make an arrow, and if one had to depend on wood that was naturally curved, a thousands generations would go by without a wheel. Naturally straight shafts and naturally carved wood appear not even once in a hundred generations yet people ride carriages and shoot birds in every generation. How do they accomplish this?
They accomplish this through complex negotiations where people form groups and agree to standards, and thus build upon this fledgling thing called society. America rightfully elected Trump, and the country should throw their prayer and support towards the winning hand. Certainly China doesn’t fight for Americans against Trump any more than American’s for Trump.
For Trump to do this is to signal that countries need to rethink their own hegemonic competitiveness theories and not just expect Americans to go along with less standards, more hazardous products, and poor quality. You know Mexico and Canada are thinking about when Americans go to buy their Molson beer or Modelo in the quantities we do now. They know Americans aren’t ‘Moose heads,’ when see that Dos XX beer is now over priced for a 12 pack, we’ll reach for the cheaper domestic; and in time a business in the US will make up for the lost product. Trump’s signal is that there’s an opportunity for America First to compete in adult beverages (aka the cheap Mexican and Canadian domestic beer market) if Mexico and Canada want to risk it. Han puts it..
…all say: “Obtain the hearts of the people.” … The people are no more intelligent than an infant. If an infant’s head is not shaved, his sores will not heal; if his boils are not lanced, his illness will worsen. Even when someone holds him and his loving mother does the shaving and lancing, he will howl without stop, for the baby cannot see that a small discomfort will result in a major improvement.
In Trump’s trade war with China, L.A. ports are ground zero
Ying Ma: Trump’s tough stance on China is what world needs
Trump isn’t the only one to know about this. What’s different is that instead of the preservation of one entity (The Global Citizen)
Trump’s reversal in ‘America First’ just left the rickety world order to wobble and try and self-fund itself. Meanwhile America blasts off independently in being number one in the Global area of business, financing, energy production, and opportunity for it’s people. The American people and ‘friends of America’ who show their patronage accordingly are rewarded. Han’s image of a rule of his day had similar people like Trump and characterised their feeling as this:
“Now the ruler wants the people to till land and maintain pastures to increase their production, but they think he is cruel. He imposes heavy penalties to prevent wickedness, but they think he is harsh. he levies taxes in cash and grain to fill the storehouses and thus relieve them in time of famine and have funds for the army, but they consider him greedy. he imposes military training on everyone in the land and makes his forces fight hard in order to capture the enemy, but they consider him violent. In all four cases, he uses means that will lead to peace, but the people are not happy.”
‘We have all these tools’: Mnuchin defends using punishing tariffs to solve security problems
The divide in America is those who are with the winning hand are decidedly are changing America, and consequently the world. Versus a small few who have benefited by staying at the sidelines while US businesses wobbled and tried to stay afloat in an unfair trade zone.
WWG1WGA
~ R3d