Thread by @matthewstoller

Progressive trade thinkers do not see U.S. trade relationships as a mechanism to benefit Americans, they see it as a mechanism to benefit the global poor. This is a serious conceptual flaw and a hangover of the 'affluence' philosophy that no longer aligns with reality.

In 1945, American strategists recognized that a nation with half the capital stock of humanity had to rebuild the world. But we are not in that era anymore. It is not our job to fix the world.

Export-oriented growth means displacing the remaining Americans who produce things. It cannot work anymore. There's no other country with a giant trade deficit, by design. No one else will serve as the importer of last resort.

The progressive internationalist left, like @toddntucker, @rodrikdani, and so forth, are too focused on giving away what's left of American productive capacity. We have a domestic crisis. We have to transition into trade balance and self-sufficiency.

@toddntucker @rodrikdani There's a widespread global belief that the U.S. has profited from our global posture. Though some segments of our elite have, we have not. It's largely a transnational elite class that did well, and a lot of the global poor. America is a desperate nation. The party's over.

@toddntucker @rodrikdani The American era of hegemony from World War II onward was a remarkable success, an era that for the vast majority was an era of peace and prosperity. But it is over. It's not that Americans cannot pay, it's that we have said we will not pay.