Trump and Economic Nationalism | Soma Marla

According to Marx, an acceleration in the turnover of capital, concentrating wealth in the hands of the few, would result in a continuous tendency to crises. This, he believed, would ultimately make the system collapse. 

Re-election and swearing of Donald Trump as the 47th president, the global impact is already being felt. He combines in himself qualities of early capitalist adventurer and American Cowboy-robber baron of a bully and a businessman. Emerging from the collapsing new world economic order, he appeared on world stage to rescue crisis ridden capitalism with raw savage capitalism. He in his new avatar is surrounded by a new breed of unruly techno-capitalists who plan to plough huge profits out of powerful new technologies to crush other competitors, pauperize poor developing nations and equally workers both domestically and worldwide.

So back to square to system that brings from history, memories of ruthless colonial capitalism of eighteenth and nineteenth centuries of powerful West with a motive to primitively accumulate capital.

Trump’s break with neoliberalism

Trump’s strategy of economic nationalism is to restore American dominance in the world. He wants to combine neoliberalism at home with protectionism against foreign competition. It is a position that breaks with the neoliberal strategy of free-trade globalization hatched by Reagon-Thaacher dio in 80’s. But inside the United States, Trump continues some aspects of neoliberalism. He plans to cut taxes on the rich, dismantling bureaucracy, organizations and sacking thousands of employees. He threatened to impose tariffs on American corporations that plan to move their production to other countries. He has already scrapped the TPP and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) with Europe. He promises to renegotiate NAFTA with Mexico and Canada to secure better terms, and, in response to Chinese and EU protectionism, he threatens to impose a border tax of 45 percent on Chinese and high and equally retaliatory tariffs with India’s exports to the United States. These measures could trigger a trade war and shake the world markets. Trump is doing all this not benefit American workers but to gain competitive advantage for America’s super rich.

United States has pioneered since the collapse of USSR and socialist camp in early 90’s neoliberal world order of free-trade globalization. Despite the emergence of unipolar world and heralded by wars in Afghanistan and Iraq world capitalism had to face a severe global crisis triggered by the 2007 great recession. It had intensified competition not only between corporations, but also between the states that and subsequent trade wars have paralyzed the World Trade Organization (WTO). Similarly disrupted regional free-trade deals and regional blocs, such as Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), NAFTA and Brexit. With rise of economic might of China and Russia, trade wars between America and China became a daily routine on world arena.

Implementing neoliberalism was implemented in America ruthlessly followed privatization and deregulation. The ruling class got rid of regulations on capital and launched a war against workers. The attacks were particularly aimed to sabotage worker rights and paralyze trade unions. American neo-liberalism had forcefully coerced others especially developing nations like India to privatize state-run enterprises, discard worker rights by imposing hire and fire, threatening employment security to millions of workers.

Indeed, the world has entered a new period of imperialism the unipolar world order under the hegemony of the United States, which has been eroding of late with emergence of multi-polar world.

These developments have seriously alarmed the world capitalist system. Eventually Trump has teared down the veil and resorted to pure American dominance and primitive accumulation of capital. He scrapped USAID, withdrew from WHO and cut down on American charity in the third world. He is threatening to withdraw the financial burden to NATO and proposes return to unvarnished rules of naked capitalist competition and exploitation. In desperate mutual competition with Russia, China, European Union and to a lesser extent with India, Brazil. Trump is defying all previous norms only to restore America to a position wrestling the lion’s share from the spoils of a new trade war.

Trump is attempting to rearm the American military to push back against all rivals- China in particular, waging an ugly racist war against freedom seeking Palestine. He even imposed sanctions against South Africa for implementing land reforms. It should be noted that even after three decades of independence, racist white minority (of 7 percent) holds 70 percent of land while the landless poor suffer in that country.

Planning a Rift between China and Russia

During the last three decades China has risen to a formidable world economic power. it transformed itself from a backwater producer to the new workshop of the world. It vaulted from producing about 1.9 percent of global GDP toabout 19.5 percent in 2024. It is now the second-largest economy in the world and predicted to overtake the United States as the largest economy in near future. China is not the sole beneficiary of the neoliberal expansion. Brazil, India and Russia and other regional economies also developed. By forming a parallel economic block BRICS, these nations mostly representing global South have side-lined G7 and G 20. Alarmed by BRICS proposal to dedollarize and resort to a parallel currency system, Trump recently threatened to impose high trade tariffs to nix their proposal. America is seriously threatened by emergence of China, Recent offer to buy Greenland from Denmark is one example to curtail China in it’s potential future military operations against China.

Curry favouring Russia and mediating in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, is an attempt to separate Russia from China. This reminds President Nixon’s historic visit in early 70’s to China. However, China and Russia have developed strong economic, military and social alliances. China is heavily dependent on Russia for import of huge quantities of Oil and gas. Similarly, to in wake of economic sanctions imposed by Western nations, Russia badly needs technological and economic assistance from China to sustain its economy. Hence it is not an easy task for Trump to separate two friends.

Can Trump succeed?

Already Trump is facing several obstacles in implementing his new strategy. He is already becoming an unpopular president with an approval rating hovering below 40 percent in his first month in office. Dismantling administrative units, sacking of thousands of workers and employees, unpopular discriminatory gender and equal rights policies largely contributed to this development. He and his crony capitalist cabinet will no doubt face many obstacles, to push through their agenda.

There are also real economic challenges to his ability to follow through on his economic program. He simultaneously promises to cut taxes for the wealthy, spend hundreds of millions on domestic infrastructure (billions to build a wall along the US–Mexico border), expulsion of thousands of illegal immigrants will certainly impose huge economic burden. This is an economic reality. On top of all this, multinational capital opposes his protectionism. Dozens of American multinational corporation with tens of billions of investments overseas are certainly fighting back against Trump’s high tariffs and economic nationalism. The reality is that the United States economy continues to decline in the neoliberal world order. China, despite many contradictions it faces, continues to benefit from the current trade faceoff. Trump’s contradictions could stymie his ability to impose his economic nationalist program in future.

Anti-imperialist solidarity

With thumping success of right and return to power in many nations it is dialectical to not slow but emergence of leftist forces around the world. As can be seen in Latin America and recent German elections. Workers around world should come together show solidarity in struggles against imperialist policies of America. In this fight global working class should make alliances with third world nations fighting against Trump’s tariffs and economic protectionism. In today’s world science and economy have emerged cosmopolitan and without mutual help and respect no nation however mighty be many not survive in the long run.