Headline, March 27 2022/ ''' '' ZERO -SUM- ZEAL '' '''

''' '' ZERO -SUM-

 ZEAL '' '''

THE WORLD STUDENTS SOCIETY - for every subject in the world - is the best and maybe the only real option to ''Restore the Magic'' of globalisation. Welcome All to !WOW!. 

SINCE 1945 THE WORLD ECONOMY HAS RUN according to a system of rules and norms underwritten by America. This brought about unprecedented growth, lifted hundreds of millions of people out of poverty.

Today the system is in peril. Countries are racing to subsidise green industry, lure manufacturing away from friends and foe alike and restrict the flow of goods and capital. Mutual benefit is out and national gain is in. An era of zero-sum thinking has begun.

The old system was already under strain, as America's interest in maintaining it waned after the global financial crisis of 2007-09. But President Joe Biden's abandonment of free-market rules for an aggressive industrial policy has dealt it a fresh blow.

America has unleashed vast subsidies, amounting to $465 billion, for green energy, electric cars and semiconductors. These are laced with requirements that production should be local.

Bureaucrats tasked with scrutinising inward investments to prevent undue foreign influence over the economy now themselves hold sway over sectors making up 60% of the stockmarket. And officials are banning the flow of ever more exports  -notably of high-end chips and chipmaking equipment to China.

FOR MANY in Washington, muscular industrial policy holds a seductive appeal. It could help seal America's technological ascendancy over China, which has long pursued self-sufficiency in vital areas using state-intervention.

As carbon pricing is politically unfeasible, it could foster decarbonisation. And it reflects a hope that government intervention might succeed where private enterprise failed, and reindustrialise America's heartlands.

The immediate consequence, however, has been to set off a dangerous spiral into protectionism worldwide. Build a chipmaking plant in India and the government will stump up half-the cost; build one in South Korea and you can avail yourself of generous tax breaks.

Should seven other market economies that have announced policies for ''strategic'' sectors since 2020 match America's spending as a share of GDP, total outlays would reach $1.1 trillion.

Last year nearly a third of the cross-border business deals that came to the attention of European officials received detailed scrutiny.

Countries with raw materials needed to make batteries are eyeing export controls. Indonesia has banned nickel exports; Argentina, Bolivia and Chile may soon collaborate, OPEC-style on the output of their lithium mines.

Economic conflict with China looks increasingly inevitable. As China became more deeply integrated into the global economy at the turn of this century, many in the West predicted that it would become more democratic.

The death of that hope - combined with the migration of a million manufacturing jobs to Chinese factories - caused America to fall out of love with globalisation.

Today Mr Biden's administration frets about the danger of depending on China for batteries the way Europe relied on Russia for gas before the invasion of Ukraine.

Democrats and Republicans alike worry that the loss of America's lead in advanced chipmaking to Taiwan will undermine its ability to develop artificial intelligence - on which, they predict, armies of the future will rely to plan strategy and guide missiles.

Some simply want to stop China becoming too rich - as if impoverishing 1.4 billion people were either moral or likely to ensure peace. Others, more wisely, focus on increasing America's economic resilience and maintaining its military edge.

RESCUING the global order will require bolder American leadership that once again rejects the false promise of zero-sum thinking. There is still time for that to happen before the system collapses completely, damaging countless livelihoods and imperilling the causes of liberal democracy and market capitalism.

The task is enormous and urgent ; it could hardly be more important. The clock is ticking.

The Honour and Serving of the Latest Global Operational Research On Globalisation, state-of-the-world, and great writings, continues. The World Students Society thanks The Economist.

With most respectful dedication to the Leaders, the Global Founder Framers of The World Students Society - and then Students, Professors and Teachers of the world. 

See Ya all prepare for Great Global Elections on The World Students Society - the exclusive ownership of every student in the world : wssciw.blogspot.com and Twitter - !E-WOW! - The Ecosystem 2011 :

Good Night and God Bless

SAM Daily Times - the Voice of the Voiceless