Pandemic, Wars, MAGAnomics, And The Manufacturization Of The Economy: Donald Trump, Karl Marx, And The Mercantilists – OpEd
Abstract
Key Takeaways
- Hyperglobalization, driven by the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia’s war in Ukraine, which disrupted global supply chains, has given way to confrontational globalization: Global supply chains have begun to be rerouted through friendshoring, nearshoring, and inshoring, which also includes reshoring.
- For President Donald Trump, who aims to revive the American economy, friendshoring and nearshoring are unacceptable: MAGAnomics is based solely on inshoring, where not only do previously departed manufacturing companies return to the country (reshoring), but other companies in this sector of the economy must also give preference to operating in the United States.
- The primary instrument for increasing the share of manufacturing in the US economy is the imposition of high tariffs: Prioritizing manufacturing bears a superficial resemblance to Karl Marx’s economic theory. However, the far more obvious parallel is with the economic views of the mercantilists, which were thoroughly criticized by Adam Smith as early as the 18th century.
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