(ThyBlackMan.com) I have previously written about the dangerous consequences of America intentionally sabotaging its “soft power.”
Doing so has occasioned an opportunity for Russia and China to assume more prominent roles in the mediation, adjudication, and manipulation of global affairs. These two nations are not merely our political and economic rivals; they actively undermine our national security. To our great detriment, we aid and abet them.
Further, President Donald Trump’s nauseatingly chaotic approach to global trade (especially his on-again, off-again tariffs) is seriously threatening America’s precarious perch atop the world’s economy. Why precarious? Consider the G7 (or “Group of Seven” economies), which is a transnational economic collaborative that was created in 1975. Part of its goal is to ensure global economic stability — though it has not always been successful in doing so. These nations also are similar in terms of their political systems. There are no authoritarian regimes — at least at present.
In order of the size of their GDP, the G7 nations are the U.S., Germany, Japan, the U.K., France, Italy, and Canada. Notably, the group was the G8 until 2014, which is when President Obama led the effort to kick Russia out following its illegal annexing of Crimea in Ukraine.
The good? Led by the U.S., these handful of nations wield extraordinary global economic influence, accounting for approximately 44% of the world’s GDP (based on nominal values).
The bad? The G7 accounted for roughly 66% of global GDP in 1990. Thus, even as the global economic pie has grown substantially, the percentage of the pie that the U.S. and its close allies control is declining precipitously.
The ugly? As the U.S. continues its economic and verbal assault on its allies, one wonders whether they will maintain in the fold. We need as many allies as we can get, but our recent trendline has headed in the wrong direction.
For example, we are witnessing Britain and the EU talking in earnest about how to cooperate to lessen the blow of Trump’s tariffs on their collective economies. But the implications go further. The UK and the EU, which have been bitter rivals as a result of Brexit, are also genuinely interested in reducing America’s political and military dominance in their part of the world. They have concluded, accurately, that they can no longer count on the U.S. to be the guarantor of their economic strength or their physical autonomy.
At the same time, much of the rest of the world — including several of America’s enemies and “frenemies” — are banding together in a clear effort to challenge the G7, and to topple the dollar as the world’s de facto reserve currency. (A distinction that the U.S. dollar has had since 1944.) While it is still unthinkable that Russia’s ruble could supplant the dollar, China’s yuan could conceivably do so in a not-too-far-off future.
Consider the so-called BRICS+ nations, which include (among others) Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates. (“BRIC” originally stood for “Brazil, Russia, India, and China,” adding the “S” when South Africa officially became a member.) If these nations ever figure out how to do substantially more than hold expensive conferences and argue with each other, they will be a substantial force to be reckoned with.
The bottom line is that “America First” will increasingly result in “America Alone.” Neither Trump nor his cheerleaders will understand the value of our allies until we have none left.
Written by Larry Smith
