Trump Killed the Pax Americana
By Paul Krugman
There are, I suppose, some people who still imagine that if and when Donald Trump leaves office well see a rebirth of civility and cooperation in U.S. politics. They are, of course, hopelessly naïve. America in the 2020s will remain a deeply polarized nation, rife with crazy conspiracy theories and, quite possibly, plagued by right-wing terrorism.
But that wont be Trumps legacy. The truth is that we were already well down that road before he came along. And on the other side, if the Democrats win big, I expect to see many of Trumps substantive policies reversed, and then some. Environmental protection and the social safety net will probably end up substantially stronger, taxes on the rich substantially higher, than they were under Barack Obama.
Trumps lasting legacy, I suspect, will come in international affairs. For almost 70 years America played a special role in the world, one that no nation had ever played before. Weve now lost that role, and I dont see how we can ever get it back.
You see, American dominance represented a new form of superpower hegemony.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/29/opinion/trump-trade-international-relations.html
Trump abdicated America's international leadership role, and has allowed China to fill the void. What a humiliation and a disgrace.
Newest Reality
(12,712 posts)His isolationist nationalism has a rhetorical impact the policies he has built around them are detrimental to our Global status. Ripple-effects are being seen.
China, on the other hand, has sights on being the number-one world superpower and they are doing it by actions and building alliances with countries like Africa and recreating the "Silk Road".
In hindsight, we may see that Trump has managed to cripple our hegemony and devalue our status in only four years. He is empowering and enabling the Chinese government in that respect.
We are the casino he has bankrupted, so to speak.
Laelth
(32,017 posts)Most of the world very much wants to believe that Trump was a one-off exception.
-Laelth