1). “Brutal Signs of a Collapsing Empire | Richard D. Wolff”, Jul 2, 2024, Nima R. Alkhorshid interviews Richard Wolff, Dialogue Works, duration of video 1:02:31, at < https://www.youtube.com/watch?
2). “China's COMAC will be bigger than Boeing and Airbus, combined, by 2040”, Jun 27, 2024, Inside China Business, duration of video 10:23, at < https://www.youtube.com/watch?
3). “China Developing Comac C939 Wide Body Aircraft to Compete with A350 and B777”, May 17, 2024, Jetline Marvel, duration of video 5:55, at < https://www.youtube.com/watch?
4). “China wants to dominate global commercial aerospace markets by 2035. They are ahead of schedule”, Apr 29, 2024, Inside China Business, duration of video 9:52, at < https://www.youtube.com/watch?
~~ recommended by dmorista ~~
Introduction by dmorista: During this Independence Day the population of the U.S. will be enjoying, and distracted by, fireworks, parades, cook outs, and family. And while there is nothing wrong with enjoying an extended Holiday Weekend, the development of the Global Socioeconomic, Political, and Industrial Reality is moving along inexorably.
In Item 1)., “Brutal Signs of ….” Richard Wolff highlights an article, published by Bloomberg News and written by Fareed Zhakaria, that claims that the U.S. has the world's largest solar power cell producer. This is true only in the narrowest definition and, in reality, China produces several times the amount of solar power generating equipment than the U.S., or Europe, does. Wolff, in the discussion with Alkhorshid, discusses the rise of the far-right in the U.S. and Europe (along with growth of the left in both places) pointing out that the basic conditions of Capitalism have changed profoundly and that no politician in the West can really affect that.
Of course it is useful to have some historical perspective when considering the current situation. The U.S., along with Germany, rose to become an economic, industrial, and technological colossus, in the period from the late 1880s until the 1930s; all while the Hegemon of the Day, The British Empire, languished slowly losing power and influence as its productive capabilities shrank, in relative and in some cases in absolute terms.
Now, China is rising displacing the U.S. and its European Allies / Vassals from one industry and economic position after another. Wolff, mistakenly IMHO, posits that there is absolutely nothing the U.S. and the West can do. While it is clearly the situation that Chinese companies will continue to dominate one industry after another (China now has 200 times the shipbuilding capacity of the U.S., it produces about 3 times as many motor vehicles as the U.S., it produces about 12 times as much steel, and so on and so on) wise policies in the U.S. and in European countries can help them maintain viable industries in at least some key areas.
One example is the 25% tariff on light trucks that was quietly enacted in the early 1970s and signed into law by Richard Nixon. Largely due to that tariff “commercial vehicles, including pickup trucks and other “Sport Utility Vehicles”, compose 83.74% of U.S. motor vehicle production. Tariffs, along with subsidies, are useful to protect vital industries. The cost of tariffs is, in large part, borne by the general population who face higher prices. The U.S., Germany, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and China all used tariffs to protect industries while they were rising economic powers. The revenues generated by tariffs must be used to foster the productive sectors of the economy if the ideas of Alexander Hamilton and Friedrich List are the guide. Of course Donald Trump used the tariff revenues, generated overwhelmingly from urban populations that hated Trump, and were doled out to right-wing corporate farmers and ranchers that were an integral part of Trump's political coalition.
An example of subsidization is the Computer Chip fund passed through the congress and signed into law by Joe Biden. This fund has been a pretty successful venture, it led Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (TSMC) and Intel to each build 2 major Wafer Fab factories in the Phoenix, Arizona area. The act also stimulated the building of several other hight-tech factories in other places in the U.S. The act did not specify anything about where such subsidized factories were to be located, nor did it have any regulations for issues like availability of water or energy. Phoenix has an increasing water supply problem, and even though these computer chip factories have extensive water reuse, they each need an additional amount of water per day measured in the millions of gallons. Such efforts and policies cannot substitute for the sort of extensive investment that China is making in a variety of fields.
The aerospace and commercial aircraft industries are one of the crown jewels of all manufacturing endeavors. Item 2)., “China's COMAC will be bigger ….', Item 3)., “China Developing Comac C939 ….” and Item 4)., “China wants to dominate ….” all discuss the growing stature of China in producing commercial aircraft. The articles point out that China is working to replace Airbus and Boeing as the world's leading commercial aircraft manufacturer. And the dominant position of China, in global supply chains in general, is giving COMAC (Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China) a significant advantage.
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