this post was submitted on 31 Jan 2025
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I think he's simply following the plan his new bfff Stephen Miran laid out in A User’s Guide to Restructuring the Global Trading System (pdf: https://www.hudsonbaycapital.com/documents/FG/hudsonbay/research/638199_A_Users_Guide_to_Restructuring_the_Global_Trading_System.pdf)
tldr: use tariffs to cause allies to fall in line and further entwine economies with the American security apparatus, then copy paste to the broader globe with tariffs on everything. effectively using inflation to consolidate capital further and pull as much manufacturing "home" as possible.
Starting with North America kills the chicken to tame the monkey (whip major world powers by bloodying minor ones) and puts him in ideal place to milk what little surplus value the bourgeoisie doesn't have obvious access to. Implementation relies heavily on American military might and a productive capacity that existed in prior decades; it's unclear whether that terrain matches the map anymore.
Trump is inconsistent and surrounded by the dipshit peons of a crumbling empire so who knows what actually happens, but I believe the intent is clear.
It looks like, so far, the threats are building solidarity among the elected officials of the Canadian provinces (except Alberta). Its gone as far as one guy (Doug Ford, hes.... Something else....) has been leading (?!?) the charge of "Canada is not for sale".
If there is a single redeemable cultural quality of Canadians, its that we are definitely not Americans. So I guess things will get... Interesting
I'd disagree that this is a redeemable quality and just pure denial (of Canadians in general, no shade at you comrade). Canada has helped finance and run cover for every American military action while directly providing the raw resources at a massive discount which fuels the hegemony, we're beyond complicit.
Even Jean Chretien, in his memoir, publicly bragged about bragging that Canada already does more for the States than it could ever do as a 51st state.
Canada actually spends less on social services than the states and the decline of our medical system could reach an exponential pace while provinces like Alberta are already pushing workers to private care. If you compare our healthcare to any developed country but the US, we're an embarassment on effective care and timeliness of care.
I have no doubt politicians will take advantage of this situation to ramp up nationalist rhetoric, but would any assessment of the situation find actual material efforts to support Canadians? There's neoliberal conversations about rolling back regulations to allow for more interprovincial trade, but these are led by reactionary think tanks financed by established corporations looking to further consolidate rather than return meaningful results to Canadians - and no Canadian institution is taking the lead on assessing the situation from a proletariat position so of course Doug Ford gets namedropped as a positive force for good. A few of my lib friends have tried to buy his stupid hat because all that matters is aesthetic here, and that's why we've already lost.