Thursday, December 12, 2019
Thursday, January 31, 2019
The Moral Dilemma of "Buying American"
While most talking points in today's mostly conservative talk radio circuit pinball between the fact that Hillary Clinton "would have been so much worse" or a depraved obsession with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, one that has actually felt substantial to me is China's international trade policies, which I think can be correctly characterized as "overtly devious." China rips off products from all over the world with the ruthless efficiency that almost certainly would have made Henry Ford giddy. They have pirated intellectual property in a way that brings international scorn to the people that gave the world movable type and gunpowder. It is a very complicated problem, and American politicians have predictably tried to come up with very simple solutions to it: have some talks, shake some hands, sign some papers, and consider the matter settled.
The Clinton Administration pulled a very "Peace in our Time" move and struck deals with China that most serious people knew they would not keep. Obama was only marginally more successful with what quickly became the world's second largest superpower during his presidency, keeping relative peace between China and Taiwan but failing to pressure them to be more honest in their dealings. Trump has promised to be tough with China, but his trade war does not seem to be working. With each new administration comes a new opportunity for China to take advantage of the lack of oversight needed to keep these things from happening. That statement underscores the political reality that gives the Chinese the advantage in this situation: their current leaders have no serious competition, nor any real checks on their power over the economy.
China's behavior has been that of a typically cynical, dishonest, and opportunistic actor, but as a capitalist, I can tell you that their behavior has been thoroughly capitalist. Lenin tells us that "capitalists will sell us the rope with which we will hang them," and I have seen little that tells me that he was wrong. The pursuit of profit makes no distinction between nationality, race, or whether it was acquired in a strictly moral or legal way. It's the eyebrow-raising, shoulder-shrugging, upturned-palms look that we're familiar with in the United States: when someone is presented with a moral argument, most will acknowledge that they are doing something wrong, but rarely act on it. Sociologist call it the "agentic" personality, and for all of its fantastic benefits, modern capitalism encourages it: it's not my job, it's not my responsibility, yes it's bad, but what can I do? Modern China has not mandated safety or regulatory oversight or labor rights, they have mandated progress, and the common person in China is in no position to change that. 2010's China is 1920's America, and what has gone up will almost certainly come down in one fashion or another. For now at least, they are beating us at our own game.
Internationally, Trump has found himself in a pickle on China because in order to actually do anything about the currency manipulation and intellectual property theft that China is perpetrating, he needs the help of the international community, which is not very keen to help him in any way. The European Union seems more than content to watch Trump squirm and save their own issues with China for another day. He has dug this hole as much through his inability to be civil with people who are ideologically opposed to him as his actual policy "positions." It's become what I believe is the hallmark of Mr. Trump's presidency so far: an inability to deal with a situation in which he and the side he is dealing with have equal leverage.
By rights, globalization should be the end goal of true capitalism. Constraining an economy to what it can produce internally when there is an entire world of dynamic and flourishing economies outside of our borders is, to my mind, completely counterproductive. If China can produce comparable products for a lower price, should our reaction not be to find better, cheaper, and more reliable ways to remain competitive with them? Tariffs and bluster are a political solution to an economic problem, and have been shown to be almost completely ineffective. For all of his and his supporters desire to do so, Donald Trump will never undermine China's sovereignty. They can do whatever they want within their borders. Exposing China's dishonesty is the right and reasonable thing to do, but trying to change the way it does business by making their products more expensive to Americans is a route that only ends with both countries suffering.
Domestically, Trump and most Republicans pat Middle America on the back and pander to them, telling them that the only reason their towns their way of life is decaying is because China is greedy, or because illegals are taking jobs, or because Wall Street is selling them out. To a certain degree, they is correct. The thing that no politician, Trump particularly included, has ever told folks in the heartland is that their troubles are at least in part their own fault. Anyone with a basic understanding of economics should be able see the problem in a city or a state or a group of people relying on one or two industries. This, coupled with the fact that "buying American" almost certainly means "paying more for the same thing" does not make economic sense.
The reason towns in the rust belt are dying is not because of China, it's because the one significant industry in these towns (usually the steel mill or coal mine) probably fell victim to the ebb and flow of the world's needs and wants. China and Wall Street have embraced the very American ethic of constantly seeking economic supremacy, and Americans vote for China's economic supremacy every day by buying their products without demanding American made ones. More rules and tariffs will not help the American working class. It will keep the working class in a cycle of economic uncertainly and will make China and Wall Street find more creative ways of getting around the rules.
The solution is not to ask for the mills and the mines back, because they will still offer jobs that are either useless or can be done far cheaper elsewhere. The solution is to create a more diverse set of economic possibilities for yourself and your family, and perhaps more importantly in encouraging American businesses to find better ways of making products that most Americans buy from overseas manufacturers instead of shielding them from the reality of the global economy. Perhaps creating more political pressure to make education more affordable and effective instead of wasting time with tariffs and walls and trade wars would be a more sustainable solution. It will always be a tough sell because it is very natural to distrust modern education and any process involved in changing traditional ways of life, but it's what has to happen. Perhaps the biggest problem I see in 21st century America is the belief that we are just one law (or repealed law) away from a sort of cartoonish Renaissance of how life used to be. The 20th Century was ours, but it is over, and the world will leave us in the dust if we fail to accept that reality.
The Clinton Administration pulled a very "Peace in our Time" move and struck deals with China that most serious people knew they would not keep. Obama was only marginally more successful with what quickly became the world's second largest superpower during his presidency, keeping relative peace between China and Taiwan but failing to pressure them to be more honest in their dealings. Trump has promised to be tough with China, but his trade war does not seem to be working. With each new administration comes a new opportunity for China to take advantage of the lack of oversight needed to keep these things from happening. That statement underscores the political reality that gives the Chinese the advantage in this situation: their current leaders have no serious competition, nor any real checks on their power over the economy.
China's behavior has been that of a typically cynical, dishonest, and opportunistic actor, but as a capitalist, I can tell you that their behavior has been thoroughly capitalist. Lenin tells us that "capitalists will sell us the rope with which we will hang them," and I have seen little that tells me that he was wrong. The pursuit of profit makes no distinction between nationality, race, or whether it was acquired in a strictly moral or legal way. It's the eyebrow-raising, shoulder-shrugging, upturned-palms look that we're familiar with in the United States: when someone is presented with a moral argument, most will acknowledge that they are doing something wrong, but rarely act on it. Sociologist call it the "agentic" personality, and for all of its fantastic benefits, modern capitalism encourages it: it's not my job, it's not my responsibility, yes it's bad, but what can I do? Modern China has not mandated safety or regulatory oversight or labor rights, they have mandated progress, and the common person in China is in no position to change that. 2010's China is 1920's America, and what has gone up will almost certainly come down in one fashion or another. For now at least, they are beating us at our own game.
Internationally, Trump has found himself in a pickle on China because in order to actually do anything about the currency manipulation and intellectual property theft that China is perpetrating, he needs the help of the international community, which is not very keen to help him in any way. The European Union seems more than content to watch Trump squirm and save their own issues with China for another day. He has dug this hole as much through his inability to be civil with people who are ideologically opposed to him as his actual policy "positions." It's become what I believe is the hallmark of Mr. Trump's presidency so far: an inability to deal with a situation in which he and the side he is dealing with have equal leverage.
By rights, globalization should be the end goal of true capitalism. Constraining an economy to what it can produce internally when there is an entire world of dynamic and flourishing economies outside of our borders is, to my mind, completely counterproductive. If China can produce comparable products for a lower price, should our reaction not be to find better, cheaper, and more reliable ways to remain competitive with them? Tariffs and bluster are a political solution to an economic problem, and have been shown to be almost completely ineffective. For all of his and his supporters desire to do so, Donald Trump will never undermine China's sovereignty. They can do whatever they want within their borders. Exposing China's dishonesty is the right and reasonable thing to do, but trying to change the way it does business by making their products more expensive to Americans is a route that only ends with both countries suffering.
Domestically, Trump and most Republicans pat Middle America on the back and pander to them, telling them that the only reason their towns their way of life is decaying is because China is greedy, or because illegals are taking jobs, or because Wall Street is selling them out. To a certain degree, they is correct. The thing that no politician, Trump particularly included, has ever told folks in the heartland is that their troubles are at least in part their own fault. Anyone with a basic understanding of economics should be able see the problem in a city or a state or a group of people relying on one or two industries. This, coupled with the fact that "buying American" almost certainly means "paying more for the same thing" does not make economic sense.
The reason towns in the rust belt are dying is not because of China, it's because the one significant industry in these towns (usually the steel mill or coal mine) probably fell victim to the ebb and flow of the world's needs and wants. China and Wall Street have embraced the very American ethic of constantly seeking economic supremacy, and Americans vote for China's economic supremacy every day by buying their products without demanding American made ones. More rules and tariffs will not help the American working class. It will keep the working class in a cycle of economic uncertainly and will make China and Wall Street find more creative ways of getting around the rules.
The solution is not to ask for the mills and the mines back, because they will still offer jobs that are either useless or can be done far cheaper elsewhere. The solution is to create a more diverse set of economic possibilities for yourself and your family, and perhaps more importantly in encouraging American businesses to find better ways of making products that most Americans buy from overseas manufacturers instead of shielding them from the reality of the global economy. Perhaps creating more political pressure to make education more affordable and effective instead of wasting time with tariffs and walls and trade wars would be a more sustainable solution. It will always be a tough sell because it is very natural to distrust modern education and any process involved in changing traditional ways of life, but it's what has to happen. Perhaps the biggest problem I see in 21st century America is the belief that we are just one law (or repealed law) away from a sort of cartoonish Renaissance of how life used to be. The 20th Century was ours, but it is over, and the world will leave us in the dust if we fail to accept that reality.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)