11/12
While USD primacy clearly benefits the defense and foreign affairs establishments, Wall Street, and the global financial elite, in other words, it comes at the expense of American workers, producers, farmers, middle-class households and the US manufacturing sector.
Remember how "positive engagement" with China from Reagan to Trump were going to democratize the country and make it, in the words of former Deputy Secretary of State Bob Zoellick a "responsible stakeholder in the liberal, rules based global order"? NOT.
It has become popular among some pundits to say America must not force Asian countries to choose between it and China. During a recent Asian trip, many leaders told me they are being pressured by China and want the U.S. to stick around.
@ryanl_hass Yes, of course, but Mexico, India, and others in Latin America, the Middle East and Africa offer further opportunities. Oh, and yes, if you start counting real costs like those of greenhouse gases, supply chain risk, technology theft, and more, The good old U.S. looks good.