The current political and international circumstances, along with the pressure from Europe and the US, have caused China’s desire for cooperation with Iran to grow more than ever. In other words, when America imposes pressure on any two countries, it is natural for those two countries to increase their economic cooperation and exchange.
MoA—There is no evidence and no quote in the piece to support the assertion that the unilateral “international order, led by the United States” is in fact “guided by principles of democracy, respect for human rights and adherence to rule of law.” The wars the U.S. and its allies have waged and wage in Iraq, Syria, Libya, Yemen and other countries are, in fact, not in adherence to the rule of international law nor are they executed with respect for human rights or the principles of democracy.
MICHAEL HUDSON—If China had been crazy enough to have student loans and leave its graduates impoverished instead of providing free universities, China’s central bank could simply write off the student loans. No investors would lose, because the banks are owned by the government. Its position is, “If you’re a factory, we don’t want you to have to close down and unemploy your labor. We’ll just write down the debt. And if your employees are having a really hard time, we’ll just write down their debts, so that they can spend their money on goods and services to help expand our internal market.”
America’s banks are owned by the stockholders and bondholders, who would never let Chase Manhattan or Citibank or Wells Fargo just forgive their various categories of loans. That’s why public banking is so much more efficient from an economy-wide level than private banks. It’s why banking should be a public utility, not privatized.
JEFF J. BROWN—This is Jeff’s most recent conversation with the well-known geopolitical analyst and (genuine) journalist Pepe Escobar. The focus is on the tug of war between the US epire and its vassals in the EU and elsewhere, and the emrging bloc of truly independent powers led by Russia, China and Iran. The world is watching the birth of a new order. American global hegemony, enforced by lies, hypocrisy, economic blackmail and military power is on the way out, largely victim of its own arrogance and excess. Meanwhile, Moscow and Beijing are busy constructing a multilateral order based on mutual benefit and respect.
MICHAEL HUDSON—So, Lula was sort of like a Bernie Sanders-type character. Okay, you have to go along with a really bad system in order to get something good done, because Brazil really needs something good done. Well, the fact is that even the little bit he did the finance couldn’t take because one of the characteristics of financial wealth is it’s addictive. It’s not like diminishing marginal utility. If you give more food to an employee or to a worker you know, at the end of the meal, you’re satiated, you don’t want much more. If you give enough money you know, OK, they buy a few luxuries and then, OK, they save it. But if you give more money to a billionaire they want even more and they grow even more desperate. It’s like a cocaine-addicted person and the Brazilian ruling class wanted it so desperately that they framed up and controlled the utterly corrupt judiciary. The judiciary in Brazil is almost as corrupt as it is in New York City.