"TO LIMIT OUR EXPOSURE TO A HOSTILE ADVERSARY, THE WEST’S TRADE WITH CHINA MUST BE SHARPLY CURTAILED. "
Simple stupid question: Does no one recall that Western trade was curtailed with the USSR for decades, precisely because we thought they were an adversary?
I appreciate that way back there in the 90's the groupthink amoung the blob was 'we don't want another Cold War' (read: we would like lower taces on rich people). Then that notion was butressed with two other other schools of thought - the corporate right blithering on about the sheer awesomeness of capitalism (ok, so why were those guys so afraid of the USSR? Shouldn't we just have opened to the USSR like the hardish left wanted?) and the lefty centrist guys talking up Norman Angell and the value of economic integration (ok, fine but what if, doctrinally, the CCP remained commited to the idea of the triumph of Marxist-Leninism and demonstratably were willing to massacre their own people to retain political control?). (There's a variant version of the latter view, mostly propounded by Brad Delong, that says that China has the most people, and that they're going to be the largest economy, and thus largest Power no matter what. So we should essentially just do our best to help them for the long-term sake of humanity, and cultivate their gratitude for our assistance. I have more respect for that notion that the other two ideas, but unfortunately it's wrong. Nations and cultures don't behave like that: if they did the world would've been a much nicer place in the classical era and we would be living on maybe Earth 11113333. Nice if it worked that way but it doesn't.)
CLAIRE! I was merely praising the Lord and passing the extra ammo. (I have been over, under, beside, behind, in front of, around and in this particular argument for a long time. I have a whole ammo convoy back here.)
Wonderful! An index to past important essays. Just what I've been wishing for. When it's done, I'll do a publicity blitz on Twitter (34K 'followers') and on a couple of dozen public discussion forums.
Is it possible for you to include links to articles that you’ve written that appeared elsewhere (not Substack) in the archives?
See you at the debate
Awesome!
"TO LIMIT OUR EXPOSURE TO A HOSTILE ADVERSARY, THE WEST’S TRADE WITH CHINA MUST BE SHARPLY CURTAILED. "
Simple stupid question: Does no one recall that Western trade was curtailed with the USSR for decades, precisely because we thought they were an adversary?
I appreciate that way back there in the 90's the groupthink amoung the blob was 'we don't want another Cold War' (read: we would like lower taces on rich people). Then that notion was butressed with two other other schools of thought - the corporate right blithering on about the sheer awesomeness of capitalism (ok, so why were those guys so afraid of the USSR? Shouldn't we just have opened to the USSR like the hardish left wanted?) and the lefty centrist guys talking up Norman Angell and the value of economic integration (ok, fine but what if, doctrinally, the CCP remained commited to the idea of the triumph of Marxist-Leninism and demonstratably were willing to massacre their own people to retain political control?). (There's a variant version of the latter view, mostly propounded by Brad Delong, that says that China has the most people, and that they're going to be the largest economy, and thus largest Power no matter what. So we should essentially just do our best to help them for the long-term sake of humanity, and cultivate their gratitude for our assistance. I have more respect for that notion that the other two ideas, but unfortunately it's wrong. Nations and cultures don't behave like that: if they did the world would've been a much nicer place in the classical era and we would be living on maybe Earth 11113333. Nice if it worked that way but it doesn't.)
elm
thank you for your service claire!
Don't shoot your wad here! Save it for the debate!
CLAIRE! I was merely praising the Lord and passing the extra ammo. (I have been over, under, beside, behind, in front of, around and in this particular argument for a long time. I have a whole ammo convoy back here.)
elm
i'll try to be nice and polite though
Gross.
Huzzah!
Wonderful! An index to past important essays. Just what I've been wishing for. When it's done, I'll do a publicity blitz on Twitter (34K 'followers') and on a couple of dozen public discussion forums.
"The winner gets to determine the West’s trade policy with China."
Very funny, Claire.