All Fools Day

Today's Krugman column is kind of interesting, in a disingenuous sort of way. The title, and premise, of the essay is that Putin is in the process of destroying world trade, and thereby sending the world economy into, at least, deep recession.

So are we about to see a second deglobalization? The answer, probably, is yes. And while there were important downsides to globalization as we knew it, there will be even starker consequences if, as I and many others fear, we see a significant rollback in world trade.

For once, I find Krugman full of shit. There, I said it. From the beginning of the USofA, if nowhere else, capital has always moved to the most autocratic locations it could find. New England mills moved to the 'business friendly' Confederate states. When that didn't prove profitable enough, Mexico and the Caribbean dictators were next. Once sea and air transport became reliable, Eastern dictators came next. The very idea that Russia would be a lawful vendor was preposterous.

It was, brace yourself, Uncle Ronny who tried to stop the Europeans from becoming beholden on Russian gas. That from a time when Republicans saw the truth about Russia: our sworn enemy forever.

The Russians will earn much-needed hard currency from sale of the natural gas, and the prospect of losing it makes them equally dependent on Western Europe and less likely to use the gas as political leverage.

That report, if you don't go read (and you very surely should) is from 1982; pre-Putin to boot. The Monitor, being a lackey to capital interests, was for Russian gas. And it made the usual excuses.

In the end, American capitalists will ignore the evils of dictatorship if cozying up to a bunch of them gets them an additional penny of profit. Was true in 1800, and still true today.

Toward the end Krugman dons his rose colored aviator glasses, you know them from the 70s:

So if you're a business leader right now, surely you're wondering whether it's smart to stake your company's future on the assumption that you'll keep being able to buy what you need from authoritarian regimes. Bringing production back to nations that believe in the rule of law may raise your costs by a few percent, but the price may be worth it for the stability it buys.

As if American capitalists have ever cared about the rule of law. Who is he kidding? The American capitalist depends on the dictator to control labor, resources, and money to their benefit; if some baksheesh be needed; so OK. Well, one of them might find out a different hard way. Governor DeMented and the rest of the Redneck Bigots running the state are about to strip Mickey Mouse of a prized perk given to them by the rule of law in Florida. 'We made the law, we will change the law, we are the law.' Bet they didn't see that coming. Turns out, most civilians didn't know they had the perk.