Sunday, January 24, 2021

Sputnik — CFR Says Trump Was Right to Press China on Trade, Urges Biden to Do the Same in Concert With Allies

Confronting China is easier said than done. That vessel has already put to sea.

The problem is that no one knows just what to do that could possibly work to achieve specified objectives, you know, like drawing up a feasible plan that can get agreement. 

Why? For one thing, because of different and often competing interests. There are costs as well as benefits, and they are not evenly distributed. 

As I keep saying, without a systems approach, there will be unintended consequences, and dealing with the world system, in which global trade is deeply embedded, is no simple task when a complex adaptive system of planetary scale is involved. The Trump administration just demonstrated that.

Sputnik International
CFR Says Trump Was Right to Press China on Trade, Urges Biden to Do the Same in Concert With Allies

7 comments:

Andrew Anderson said...

As I keep saying, without a systems approach, there will be unintended consequences, Tom Hickey

Without a JUST approach there will be unintended consequences as ancient Israel discovered repeatedly (documented in the Old Testament) as an object lesson for those wise enough to heed.

Andrew Anderson said...

For one thing we should remove illegitimate reasons for foreigners to desire US dollars and those reasons include:

1) Non-negative yields and interest on inherently risk-free US debt, including so-called "bank reserves."

2) The ability of foreigners to buy US land.

Moreover, that so many US citizens are wage, debt and rent slaves is itself a disgrace and makes US unduly dependent on exports to keep them above water.

Tom Hickey said...

Without a JUST approach there will be unintended consequences as ancient Israel discovered repeatedly (documented in the Old Testament) as an object lesson for those wise enough to heed.

The point of doing a systems approach is designing a system to work under stress. The low hanging fruit is to remove stressors. Lack of fairness in a social system is a stressor that leads to dysfunction over time.

There is no good reason to refer a system in use in ancient times in designing systems for the present day since the context is completely different. However, principles advised by sages worldwide from time immemorial should be taken into account as background. Some of these principles are universal, while others are specific to conditions which may no longer apply.

Peter Pan said...

Bring back TPP! Systems approach!

Andrew Anderson said...

Some of these principles are universal, ... Tom Hickey

Such as equal protection under the law - which government privileges for private credit creation violates in favor of the so-called "credit worthy", typically the richer at the expense of the poorer:

‘You shall not do injustice in judgment; you shall not show partiality to the poor nor give preference to the great, but you are to judge your neighbor fairly. Leviticus 19:15

Not to mention that government privileges for usurers makes a mockery of Deuteronomy 23:19-20 and, I suppose, the commands of other religions such as Islam. And that such privileges implicitly rule out a more equitable society in favor of the rich.

Tom Hickey said...

Bring back TPP! Systems approach!

Not. The US designed it to exclude China.

There is one big lesson of history. Don't meddle with trade. It leads to war.

Peter Pan said...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comprehensive_and_Progressive_Agreement_for_Trans-Pacific_Partnership

This is what went ahead after the TPP was ditched. China and US have expressed interest in joining.