Capitalism is a powerful force but it’s blind followers are vulnerable to subjugation because at the heart of capitalism is the need to assert individualism and what goes with this is a slowness to mobilise.
Tariffs on countries to pressure them into introducing tighter controls on borders and drug trafficking is a good idea. But drugs and migrants will continue to find new routes into countries where opportunities exist to make money. This is the basic Capitalist rule of supply and demand. A wall might help but Mexico will find new ways to smuggle Fentanyl into the US while there is demand, for instance. Cutting off supply will work only momentarily.
Trump wants to enter deal negotiations where the US holds all the cards. Makes sense. He wants to win. He is prepared to push the US into recession in order to flatten the playing field and then rebuild it with the US holding all the cards.
The problem is Russia and China also like to win. Trump and Musk will find themselves at the negotiation table under the illusion that they hold all the cards, only to discover Russia and China slapping down a royal flush (to drag out the analogy). This is because Russia and China are smarter. Both have risen from the ashes of communist ruin and opium wars and learnt valuable lessons on how to resist and gazump the West. Trump and Musk are new to this and have no idea what their doing except making sure they both become a whole lot wealthier. The West is not prepared to die for their country’s global advancement no matter how many US patriots tell you they are. It’s not woven into their DNA. Capitalism is a powerful force but it’s blind followers are vulnerable to subjugation because at the heart of capitalism is the need to assert individualism and what goes with this is a slowness to mobilise.
When push comes to shove, the US won’t hold many cards at all. The Trump administration is a former superpower’s last gasp and last grasp on global dominance. The silence of Putin tells you all you need to know. He will allow Trump and Musk to juice all the profit they can out of their dying empire as long as they share the spoils and he will wait till the time is right to bring America to it’s knees once and for all.
The only saving grace for Trump is he will conceal his humiliation with that bilious orange tan.