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If trade stops (read, if the US trade policy starts giving a shit about its working class, trade is never going to 'stop'), it's certainly bad for Jack Ma. So

If trade stops (read, if the US trade policy starts giving a shit about its working class, trade is never going to 'stop'), it's certainly bad for Jack Ma. So I would take what he says with a grain of salt.

drzaiusapelord 10y ago
Yet somehow we have unprecedented relative peace since the rise of global capitalism that can only be explained via the long tail of trade policies being a disincentive to conflict and an incentive to working things out peacefully. Worse, Trump supporters have followed nothing but a narrative of appeasement for Russia. Its amusing to see their hypocrisy with China. The bias here is obvious. > giving a shit about its working class The idea that the Trump administration is fighting for the middle class is asinine. From repealing Frank-Dodd, to putting in Goldman Sachs employees into cabinet positions, putting in billionaires into cabinet positions, removing regulations that protect workers, raising mortgages on FHA loans, etc its obvious that the middle class worker can only lose under Trump.
- gph 10y ago
  >via the long tail of trade policies being a disincentive to conflict and an incentive to work things out peacefully. Can you explain what you mean by long tail in these circumstances? I started taking a course on stats and understand generally what a long tail is, but I can't parse what or how you're applying the concept here.
- rrggrr 10y ago
  > unprecedented relative peace since the rise of global capitalism This is not as it appears. The 'peace' has come at a tremendous economic and social cost to the United States, and to the people of China. That Ma frames the alternative as war demonstrates how dire the situation must be in China, that stimulating domestic demand and rebalancing their economy is no longer a viable option. The long tail was a fog hiding a crisis.
dougmwne 10y ago
As the second richest person in China, he's in a position to know the minds and influence the opinions of party leadership. I absolutely do not take his statement with a grain of salt. I take it as a threat.
- stephancoral 10y ago
  "Threat" Lol, did you even read the article? He used it during your typical anodyne corporate speech at some event in Australia. This sentiment is as old as trade itself - "If goods don't cross borders, armies do." Ma was speaking to the unifying power of globalization and trade, not some ultimatum he was giving the Trump administration.
  - dougmwne 10y ago
    My careful reading of the situation tells me that Jack Ma was speaking a message of peace because it is in his current economic interest. The other side of the quote is that war is also an economic interest. I find it troubling that the Chinese power-elite are thinking and talking in these terms.[1] [1]http://www.cnbc.com/2017/01/29/us-china-war-increasingly-a-reality-chinese-army-official-says.html http://www.cnbc.com/2017/01/29/us-china-war-increasingly-a-r...
    - fspeech 10y ago
      What about the senior adviser to POTUS?: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/feb/02/steve-bannon-donald-trump-war-south-china-sea-no-doubt https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/feb/02/steve-bannon...
      - baq 10y ago
        "si vis pacem, para bellum" if it comes to real armed conflict, everybody lost, except perhaps a few elite types.

drzaiusapelord 10y ago

Yet somehow we have unprecedented relative peace since the rise of global capitalism that can only be explained via the long tail of trade policies being a disincentive to conflict and an incentive to working things out peacefully. Worse, Trump supporters have followed nothing but a narrative of appeasement for Russia. Its amusing to see their hypocrisy with China. The bias here is obvious. > giving a shit about its working class The idea that the Trump administration is fighting for the middle class is asinine. From repealing Frank-Dodd, to putting in Goldman Sachs employees into cabinet positions, putting in billionaires into cabinet positions, removing regulations that protect workers, raising mortgages on FHA loans, etc its obvious that the middle class worker can only lose under Trump.

gph 10y ago
>via the long tail of trade policies being a disincentive to conflict and an incentive to work things out peacefully. Can you explain what you mean by long tail in these circumstances? I started taking a course on stats and understand generally what a long tail is, but I can't parse what or how you're applying the concept here.
rrggrr 10y ago
> unprecedented relative peace since the rise of global capitalism This is not as it appears. The 'peace' has come at a tremendous economic and social cost to the United States, and to the people of China. That Ma frames the alternative as war demonstrates how dire the situation must be in China, that stimulating domestic demand and rebalancing their economy is no longer a viable option. The long tail was a fog hiding a crisis.

dougmwne 10y ago

As the second richest person in China, he's in a position to know the minds and influence the opinions of party leadership. I absolutely do not take his statement with a grain of salt. I take it as a threat.

stephancoral 10y ago
"Threat" Lol, did you even read the article? He used it during your typical anodyne corporate speech at some event in Australia. This sentiment is as old as trade itself - "If goods don't cross borders, armies do." Ma was speaking to the unifying power of globalization and trade, not some ultimatum he was giving the Trump administration.
- dougmwne 10y ago
  My careful reading of the situation tells me that Jack Ma was speaking a message of peace because it is in his current economic interest. The other side of the quote is that war is also an economic interest. I find it troubling that the Chinese power-elite are thinking and talking in these terms.[1] [1]http://www.cnbc.com/2017/01/29/us-china-war-increasingly-a-reality-chinese-army-official-says.html http://www.cnbc.com/2017/01/29/us-china-war-increasingly-a-r...
  - fspeech 10y ago
    What about the senior adviser to POTUS?: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/feb/02/steve-bannon-donald-trump-war-south-china-sea-no-doubt https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/feb/02/steve-bannon...
    - baq 10y ago
      "si vis pacem, para bellum" if it comes to real armed conflict, everybody lost, except perhaps a few elite types.