The Liberal World Order
President Biden was asked recently by New York Times reporter Jim Tankersley during a news conference in Madrid: “The war has pushed prices up. [Oil] could go as high as $200 a barrel, some analysts think. How long is it fair to expect American drivers and drivers around the world to pay that premium for this war?”
“As long as it takes,” Biden answered. “Russia cannot, in fact, defeat Ukraine and move beyond Ukraine. This is a critical, critical position for the world.”
Hours later National Economic Council director Brian Deese was asked what he would say to families who indicate they can’t afford to pay $4.85 a gallon for months, if not years, this was his response: “What you heard from the president today was a clear articulation of the stakes. This is about the future of the liberal world order, and we have to stand firm.”
Did you decide that you would pay $5+ for a gallon of gasoline to enhance Ukraine’s chances against a Russian invasion? Most of us didn’t even know where Ukraine was on the map until it was recently invaded. But we also know what our reaction was in 2014 when Russia invaded and annexed the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine. Nothing. It really didn’t concern or affect us. So, what’s changed?
First of all, let’s once and for all correct the idea that the Russia-Ukraine war is responsible for our high oil and gas prices. Blaming that conflict for our oil and gas prices and inflation is a lie. Everyone knows it. It’s one of the reasons this administration’s favorability is off the charts low – with about 85% of the adult population sensing the country is headed in the wrong direction.
Anyone with an ounce of intellect knows the major culprits in our current inflation: government spending and the executive orders and new regulations aimed at impeding, even stopping our oil and gas production.
President Biden, Brian Deese and others have indicated high oil and gas prices are part of the necessary “transition.”
Did you realize when voting for Joe Biden in 2020 that you were voting for a transition? A transition to what? Incentives for everyone to buy and drive and EV? Saving the world from climate change and greenhouse emissions? Making the rich richer? Accepting open borders? Accepting and understanding that we get all our rights from government? Being supportive of a regime change in Russia? Cow-towing to China. What?
Know the concept of a liberal world order was born immediately following WWII when world leaders created a series of international organizations and agreements to promote global cooperation on issues including security, trade, health, and monetary policy. The formation of the UN was part of that ‘new’ system as well as such institutions like the UN Security Council, International Law, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, the World Trade Organization, and the World Health Organization. The US has championed the idea and what followed was the world enjoying unprecedented peace and prosperity.
But the last twenty plus years or so democracy is on the decline around the world, authoritarianism is on the rise, and countries like China are deliberately chipping away at the liberal world order, creating parallel institutions of their own.
In our own case we have seen more divisiveness and intolerance than ever.
We’ve witnessed assaults free speech, the growth and power of more partisan Political Parties, the growth and power of our federal government, a steep decline in national pride, and less enthusiasm for, and less and less support and faith in our democracy.
Is what’s happening as described in the previous paragraph what this administration views as the desired transition? To complete that transition and arrive in a country that’s very different from what our Constitution says and advances? We’ve already witnessed a setting where equal opportunity is trumped by ‘equity’ – meaning skin color and race and gender identification are the priorities. The choice of our VP and the latest appointment to the Supreme Court are two of the most prominent examples.
That brings me to a final point – globalism v. nationalism.
The ‘liberal world order’ embraces the concept of openness to, and the embracing of, peaceful trade and other areas of cooperation between nations.
Globalism goes further. Globalism refers to a mindset that favors the overall success of the world over the success of any single country. In political terms, this means open borders or lenient immigration policies. Although these types of policies may not help the individual country, they supposedly allow for global prosperity.
The term nationalism describes peoples’ individual tendency to support their own country’s policies and decisions. This stems from a strong feeling of patriotism and causes people to value the success of their own country over that of the world as a whole. A nationalist mindset leads people to think of their own progress before the world’s.
On several occasions President Obama declared himself as “a citizen of the world.” It is a mindset that explains much of what he said and what he did as president.
President Trump declared himself as a “nationalist.”
In some circles today ‘nationalism’ is considered an enemy ideology.
In truth, what the ‘liberal world order’ did was to adopt mechanisms for world cooperation on some important issues with an acceptance of national sovereignty.
When we consider our current president has surrounded himself with “global citizens” it easier to understand why certain policies and rhetoric are set with a global perspective as opposed to a national one.
I think that’s the “transition” this administration is trying to accomplish. Perhaps there will be a day when that transition becomes mainstream in our, and other major countries’, policies, laws, and direction.
Think and say what you will, but that day is not today and may never happen.
That includes manipulating the use and price of fossil fuels when climate change is not a concern of all the largest greenhouse emitting nations.
Yes, to concept of the ‘liberal world order.’ No, to ‘globalism.’
References:
https://nypost.com/2022/07/01/biden-adviser-liberal-world-order-demands-enduring-high-gas-prices/
https://www.theodysseyonline.com/globalism-vs-nationalism
https://www.tnvalleytalks.com/topic/obama—citizen-of-the-world
SPIDER Bites
I don’t think golf would have ever become popular if all courses looked and played like St. Andrews, Scotland.
Swimmer Lia Thomas (formerly ‘William’) was nominated last week by the University of Pennsylvania for the NCAA “Woman of the Year” award. I’m just reporting a biological male could be Woman of the Year. Openly gay, former professional tennis player Martina Navratilova asked the NCAA “What is wrong with you?”
You likely noticed earlier this month GDP was down another 1.2% in Q2 this year. That’s 2 Qs in a row and ‘officially’ puts us in recession. Meanwhile the Fed will be hiking interest rates again putting the housing market into a dive. Inflation at the same time as recession is the bane of any country’s economic situation – both due, in our case, to our “blameless” WH and Congress who promise to fix it without a plan. We should all be able to vote for Senator Manchin.
Another sign of recession is the inverted yield curve that happened again on July 5. That means the rates for 2-year treasuries were paying more than the 10 year. Some analysts are saying these things are harbingers to a possible recession, but I think it’s already on us with the only question being when we get out of it.
It’s really no surprise to us folks that have been buying gasoline and groceries the last year and a half. The Labor Dept. announced last week inflation hit 9.1% in June. But, within the report, groceries, gasoline, and electricity all increased a lot more. What it translates to is the average worker now has $3,400 less, and 2-worker families $6,800 less in real income – more than most annual food budgets.
Our President spent Friday licking the boots of the Saudi Crown Prince, begging him to produce more oil and to take his calls once again. Our President was by himself after the conference, explaining how he brought up human rights with the Prince and that Saudi Arabia is all in on green energy. The Crown Prince said yesterday (after Biden’s departure) that more investment was needed in fossil fuel and clean energy technologies and that unrealistic emission policies would lead to unprecedented levels of inflation.
Moms for Liberty, an organization founded in FL in January 2021, held its first national conference in Tampa the last four days. The group has 211 chapters in 38 states that advocate for responsible school boards, policies, curricula, and teaching.
Here’s something you may not have heard about. A 38-country, member group called the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) last February announced a deal involving 136 countries requiring big, multi-national corporations pay a global minimum tax (GMT) rate of 15%. This tax is to start in 2023. At the G20, our President lobbied for a GMT of 21% but didn’t get it. Treasury Sec. Yellen has been the cabinet voice of the 15% global rate since then. Hungary, Ireland, Kenya, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka are among the countries not participating. China is supposedly ‘in’ but their word doesn’t mean much. Details on how the tax is determined, who collects it and where it goes once collected are more than fuzzy at the moment. I can’t believe this. Global tax? Oh, I forgot, we’re citizens of the world. Sorry, I’m old-fashioned and think of myself as a citizen of the USA. And Nero purportedly played the fiddle watching Rome burn.
