Comment: Mercantilism is Dangerous, But Globalism is Dead
US Mercantilism Ain’t The Problem
Contents:
The Stag and the Lion
Intro
Mercantilism is Dangerous
What Should Come After Unipolar Global Capitalism?
Things Can Get Worse Before They Get Better
Globalism’s diminished returns
The Rotting Corpse of Unipolar Globalism
Mercantile Stop-Gap
It Can Get Much Worse
Comment: US Mercantilism Ain’t The Problem
Aesop's Fable 102 - The Stag and the Lion
A stag, oppressed by thirst, came to a spring to drink. After having a drink, he saw himself in the water.
He much admired his fine antlers, their grandeur and extent. But he was discontented with his legs, which he thought looked thin and feeble.
He remained there deep in reverie when suddenly a lion sprang out at him and chased him. The stag fled rapidly and ran a great distance, for the stag’s advantage is his legs, whereas a lion’s is his heart. As long as they were in open ground, the stag easily outdistanced the lion.
But they entered a wooded area and the stag’s antlers became entangled in the branches, bringing him to a halt so that he was caught by the lion.
As he was on the point of death, the stag said:
‘How unfortunate I am! My feet, which I had denigrated, could have saved me, whereas my antlers, on which I prided myself,
have caused my death!
To which the Lion replied:
"We often make much of the ornamental and despise the useful" as he began eating the stag.
Intro:
Michael Every’s Daily entitled A Great Variety Of Moron Symptoms Appear is very good we think. We suggest reading it. He points out many ways things can (are?) go wrong from here. The pushback (if you want to call it that) comes from believing US Mercantilism (or any Mercantilism) to be the problem. Mercantilism is a symptom of Globalism's current shortcomings. Ultimately, Mercantilism is the best way forward given present circumstances.
First, we should get the truth out of the way about Mercantilism. It ain't pretty
Mercantilism is Dangerous
True Mercantile thought is sum-zero thought. It believes all value is created at the point of goods-exchange, as opposed to at the production or inspiration point. It is fascinated with the bottom-line and the present tense.
It makes no room for future growth. It is cash-and-carry personified. It does not believe a bigger pie can be created. It holds that our loss is their gain. It is also the earliest form of Capitalism. It is at its core, trading.
Mercantile thought, more than almost any other economic thought is shaped by environment, not by ideals. It was a response to environmental pressures when Feudalism broke down then. It is a response to globalism breaking down now. As risky as it is, Mercantilism's rise is a good sign that at least the world wants to trade with each other, even if a sum-zero mindset is now the new zeitgeist.
What Should Come After Unipolar Global Capitalism?
If Michael is using Marx as his guide, Socialism is “better” than Global Capitalism. We don’t think he believes that in the extreme sense. So, absent the new improved Global Capitalism we all want, Mercantilism is the best thing for everyone until trust is earned again.
Michael warns of the risks of Mercantilism. He’s not wrong. Here is our biased response:
Mercantilism is what keeps us from killing each other until the new “good” thing happens. Globalism is dead and there ain’t nothing better on the horizon just yet. Until then, hoping for a resurgence of globalism in a self-interested world is unlikely to happen for a generation. Self-sufficiency is king until it returns.
Regarding Micheal’s title: “A great variety of moron symptoms appear”. He is, we believe, referring to the stupidity inherent in thinking this new US Mercantilist model will work without a hitch in a global world. He is again right in a big way. Mercantilism is a fallback position that must hold now or we are in a lot of trouble.