Commerce Secretary Decries 'Failed Globalization' While Washington Profits From Its Disintegration
📰 THE STORY: US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick stated at the World Economic Forum in Davos that 'globalization has failed' the US, asserting that the country benefited 'tremendously' from free trade for decades but is now suffering from it, requiring a new approach that prioritizes American workers. 🔍 WHAT THEY'RE NOT TELLING YOU: Historical Context: 'Globalization,' as implemented by the US,
was largely an economic framework designed post-WWII through institutions like the IMF and World Bank, often enforcing policies (often called 'structural adjustment programs') that opened up developing nations' markets to Western corporations, privatized public assets, and suppressed labor, leading to massive capital flight and resource extraction. For instance, the infamous 1973 coup in Chile,
backed by the CIA, ushered in Pinochet's neoliberal experiment, devastating the working class but creating immense wealth for a select few and foreign capital, a blueprint for subsequent IMF interventions. Double Standard: When nations in the Global South attempted protectionist policies or nationalized key industries to benefit their own populations (e.g., Iran's nationalization of oil under
Mosaddegh in 1953, leading to a CIA-backed coup; Venezuela's attempts to control its oil wealth leading to sanctions and coup attempts), they were demonized as 'anti-democratic' or 'communist.' Now, as the US faces economic challenges from its own system, 'prioritizing American workers' (read: protectionism under a different name) is presented as a legitimate strategic shift, not an abandonment of