[21asdffdsa12]

Eh, the empire aka, protection of free trade as a service is still alive and well with no viable alternative on the horizon. Every other empire is either not free trade or - just plain mercantilism and thus will exploit way more then the quite "idealist" us- trump is just a taste of what the others in power would feel like.

[pastage]

I think the Hormuz saga and how China just quietly stopped importing oil are signs that we are nearing the end of the "free trade as a service" from the US. There are so many aspects of that I do not understand yet: how much oil trade will be done in yuan in the future is one that leads to other question about the current wars and what will happen when those end.

[fidotron]

Without AI the Chinese have won already.

If you haven't noticed it's because you've stayed too close to the homeland.

[classified]

With AI the Chinese have also won.

[rvz]

China won already with or without AI. You just did not realize it yet.

The US is in a position where they have to debase the dollar all the way to zero and the Japan carry trade will slowly unwind for the worst as soon as the Bank of Japan (BOJ) begins to increase rates in more than 30 years.

Someone has to pay for all the trillions of dollars of debt for the data center build out that is being hidden from the balance sheets of the big tech companies.

[21asdffdsa12]

That machinery and attached industries would keep on paddling for a while.

[vrganj]

I don't think the country that singlehandedly messed up the global economy by launching a pointless war on Iran - without even coordinating with its allies! - that predictably got the Strait of Hormuz closed gets to call itself protector of free trade anymore.

The US has lost its appeal as a hegemon. Constantly threatening allies with invasion isn't helping either.

[21asdffdsa12]

Open a history book- before the us century- this stuff was the norm. Its what is to be expected after the us- retreats inwards. China blockading japan. The world blockading china. Russia blockading eastern Europe and vice versa. The shitty old world pre the ww2 order.

[vrganj]

Indeed. But the US can't do this and also assume people will still accept it as hegemon and protector of free trade.

It's lost those titles when it started behaving that way.

[jhonof]

Isn't the US like very clearly anti free trade at this point?

[21asdffdsa12]

It is pro-kicking out oppossition to the system that uses the system to grow in power without contributing anything back to it. So the us has abandoned the "Wandel durch Handel" ideology- which lets admit it- was a brutal failure. Russia did not change. China changed back. None of the countries in the middle east got democratic or "contributing to the worlds allmende". Turkey is sliding back.

So its cleaning the house of parasites o clock.

[pastage]

They still need the protection and enablement of free trade.