A certain kind of capitalism is dead, long live "Trumpist" capitalism! Free trade is in retreat, but mercantilism, with its mix of horse trading, tariff wars and military threats, is on the rise. Monopolies are flourishing, seas closing and imperial thrusts multiplying. Is the American president responsible for this? In any case, Donald Trump's return to the White House marks the rebirth of the original form of capitalism, as analyzed by historian and economist Arnaud Orain in Le monde confisqué ("The confiscated world").
Dominant in the 16th to 18th centuries, then between 1880 and 1945, it reappeared some 15 years ago. (Neo)liberalism states that an abundance of goods and competition would ensure peace and well-being for the greatest number. This new illiberal capitalism, which accommodates authoritarian regimes so well, starts from the false premise that there won't be enough resources for everyone, and that in this economy of scarcity, a fight to the death is necessary to monopolize them.
The self-proclaimed "tariff man" is keeping his campaign promise: On Saturday, February 1, he decreed heavy tariffs on imports from China (10%), Canada, and Mexico (25%), which sounds like a declaration of war. Peace is certainly a guarantee of prosperity, but it is primarily intended for his country ("America first"), in a win-lose economic game for others. And there are imperial ambitions, asserted in his inaugural speech: "The United States will once again consider itself a growing nation – one that increases our wealth, expands our territory."
'We are the dominant predator'
His appetite for Greenland, rich in hydrocarbons and minerals, is further evidence of that. It is fueled by nothing but an endless quest for wealth, with security from Russia and China being potentially ensured by a greater NATO – and therefore US – presence. A Republican congressman from Tennessee, Andy Ogles, used words reminiscent of past centuries' colonizers to justify the new approach: "We are the dominant predator." The same goes for the Gulf of Mexico, which Trump wants to rename the "Gulf of America," or the Panama Canal, returned by Washington in 1999, described as a "vital" isthmus "operated" by Beijing.
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