Welcome to Bizarro World
Trump embraces degrowth and anti-globalization; Messing with Maps; More.
🤯 Trump Ticker 😱
In November 1999, as the World Trade Organization convened in Seattle, some 50,000 protesters flooded the city’s streets to push back against globalization and free trade, unfettered capitalism, corporate hegemony, and, well, Starbucks. It was dubbed the Battle of Seattle and is now considered the apex of the anti-globalization movement.
The protesters were a motley mix, from labor organizers to farmers to environmentalists, anarchists, and church leaders. They were opposed to the rising tide of free trade because, on the one hand, it encouraged U.S. corporations to offshore manufacturing, thereby harming U.S. workers, and it also was a form of economic imperialism that allowed the U.S. and other wealthy countries to exploit the workers and environment of developing countries. Outsourcing made things cheaper, feeding the beast of American consumerism, while allowing the U.S. to evade accountability by offshoring its pollution and collective carbon footprint. (Although they may not have been in Seattle, there was also a sort of mirror right-wing movement that also opposed globalism, but for different reasons and in different ways.)
The Battle for Seattle was followed by similar protests around the world. But globalization and all its benefits and ills continued, with the global economy becoming almost seamlessly integrated. The protests waned, Starbucks proliferated, and the movement faded and morphed into other forms. One of the offshoots, if you could call it that, was the degrowth movement — based on the idea that capitalism’s need for expansion is wrecking the world, and only by squelching the constant craving for more can we save the planet and ourselves.
Both the anti-globalization and degrowth movements have seemed fairly hopeless, given that they are pushing against the established world order. But in the last few weeks, President Donald Trump has — it seems — handed both movements victories of sorts: He managed to short-circuit globalization and the U.S. economy in one fell swoop. I mean, he probably didn’t intend to do that, though I’m not sure anyone really knows what he’s really trying to achieve, even him.
His chaotic tariffs have upended global trade and his administration’s hostility towards non-citizens has hampered international travel. These policies, if you can call them that, have also injected uncertainty and fear into the markets, causing stocks around the globe to plummet. That, combined with mass federal employee firings, threats to detain and deport millions of workers, and freezing Inflation Reduction and Infrastructure Act funding for clean energy development, manufacturing, and research, will likely “de-grow” the U.S. economy in ways that only pandemics and global financial crises have done in the past. The turmoil has already brought oil prices below $60 per barrel for the first time since the days of COVID, which will almost certainly dampen the oil and gas drilling frenzy (in fact, the U.S. rig count is already dropping). That is, unless Trump goes to war with Iran, which will certainly shoot oil prices right back up again.
It’s difficult to know what to think about all of this, except that it feels as if we are in Bizarro world. I mean, a Manhattan real estate developer with gold-plated toilets has seemingly adopted the anarchists’ anti-globalization agenda and become the Degrowth president; Democrats and leftists are reflexively railing against old-school protectionism; Republicans are bashing free markets and free trade and driving the economy into the ditch while looking to push the federal budget deficit higher; the Chinese embassy is posting videos of Ronald Reagan condemning tariffs and praising free trade; and the president of the U.S. Oil & Gas Association is planning to buy an electric vehicle to protest against protesters. What’s next? Is Exxon’s CEO gonna start burning down gas stations?
A wise friend put it this way: “Spinoza’s wheel is out of true and the arrow is going backwards.” Okay, I admit I don’t know Spinoza well enough to totally get that, but I know wheels, and this sounds right to me.
What will become of this chaos is anyone’s guess. But I’m going to bet that it doesn’t “make America wealthy again” or restore manufacturing to the U.S. anytime soon or stop the flow of Fentanyl across borders or anything else that Trump thinks it might do. It’s more likely that the wobbly wheel will steer us all right off a cliff. There will be plenty of pain as people lose their jobs and their pensions lose their value. Nations that have rejiggered their economies to sate Americans’ hunger for fast-fashion, electronic devices, and cheap plastic items will descend into a financial slump. Coffee, bananas, avocados, chocolate, imported wine, and tequila will become more expensive.
The best we can hope for is that the economic slowdown and higher prices will stifle American consumerism and slow the environmental destruction it wreaks.
🗺️ Messing with Maps 🧭
It’s tough to keep up with the Trump chaos. But a new initiative is making it somewhat easier to track the mayhem.
The Impact Project launched to provide “objective, transparent, and open-source data to help explain how federal policies, funding, and workforce changes affect our communities.” Their first tool is the Impact Map, which uses publicly available data, media reports, and first-person testimonials to better understand the impacts of federal layoffs or spending cuts. It also shows how many federal employees are in each county and how many of them are probationary, meaning they were targeted by DOGE’s first round of firings and are more vulnerable to future reductions in force.
You can explore interactive map here.
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Last month, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum announced his plan to build housing on federal lands, and officials said they were targeting 400,000 acres within 10 miles of towns of 5,000 people or more. Now the Center for Biological Diversity has created a map showing all of the land fitting that description, as well as which parcels are in conservation areas, critical habitat, or sage grouse management areas.
While it can be a bit alarming to see where they might want houses, keep in mind that this is still only a vague proposal and the lands on the map are simply the ones that would be eligible for development if the plan were to come to fruition.
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📸 Parting Shot 🎞️
Re what's behind the tariff chaos, everyone should be giving more credence to a dark hypothesis that's been going around. He doesn't actually believe they will benefit the US economy or the global economy. All he cares about is aggrandizing his own dictatorship and wealth, using this weapon that he can turn off and on at will. In Senator Murphy's words, to "force every major company and industry in America to pledge loyalty to Trump in return for tariff relief." And also many nations, obviously. The Art of the Deal is everything.
I'm so tired of this administration and its managerie of misfits, third-raters, head cases, buffoons and dregs! Would that we could put them all on a cruise ship sailing endlessly where they could all enjoy each other's company. And, oh yes, no life boats, rafts, life vests or preservers