CONFIDENTLY WRONG
In the Soviet Union, everybody was aware that the media was controlled by the state. But in a corporate state like the U.S., a veneer of independence is still maintained, although trust in the media has been plummeting for years.
With Bezos at the Helm, Democracy Dies at the Washington Post Editorial Board
Tag: TPP
China, the U.S., and the Idea of National Competition
China, the U.S., and the Idea of National Competition
What appears to be meant in the U.S. by ‘competing with China’ can be inferred by the rising Pentagon budget, by the failure to raise the minimum wage, by hiring private corporations to get around restrictions on domestic spying, and by appointing a high-level administrator to shut-down inconvenient political opinions on the internet. The political parties are now balkanized to the point where their adherents trust members of their own party, but not the other. What this likely means is an iterative process between ‘wealth of nations’ style economic nationalism and neoliberal internationalism where the only constant is the consolidation of political control by oligarchs and corporate executives. I believe that Italians in the 1920s and 1930s had a name for this type of governance.
Biden’s choice for US trade representative signals anti-China stance
Will the New U.S. Trade Rep Be Hobbled by Lobbyists?
Will the New U.S. Trade Rep Be Hobbled by Lobbyists?
Tai could represent a new era in Democratic trade policy, replacing both “free trade” scams on one flank, and the incoherent economic nationalism of Donald Trump on the other, with careful, substantive policy that serves America’s economic interest.
But the way these things work, Tai is at risk of having corporate types imposed just below her, in the key deputy USTR slots. There is a revolving door between USTR and powerful corporations, notably Big Tech companies, which have much to gain or lose from trade deals. As I’ve written, the next round of trade deals will resolve significant questions about e-commerce, privacy, the use of algorithms, and much more.
Related:
Joe Biden’s US trade chief pick ‘unmatched’ on China issues, would not be soft on Beijing
[Clete] Willems said she would “share Lighthizer’s hawkishness on China and has a tonne of direct background on China’s industrial policy from her days at USTR”, adding that “having someone who can directly converse with China in their own language is going to command respect”.
Grading Biden’s Foreign Policy Team: Tony Blinken
Lesser Evilism Paved the Way for Donald Trump
Lesser Evilism Paved the Way for Donald Trump – Red Flag
With Joe Biden’s selection of California U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris as his vice presidential running mate, the Democratic Party is sending a clear message to working-class voters: Drop dead. Or, as Briahna Joy Gray, reporter and former press secretary for Bernie Sanders, tweeted:
Ms. Cat’s Chronicles 
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