The Liberal International Order Is A Lie

[mystery-ak]

The Liberal International Order Is A Lie

By denying human nature and the basic tribalism of ancient societies, it created powerful geopolitical opponents. Thankfully, Trump is changing things.

Colin C. Cortbus | March 26, 2026

Critics accuse Donald Trump of destroying a rules-based world order with his no-nonsense approach to those threatening the security of the Western world. There is just one problem: it is a liberal fantasy that never existed.

The late 1990s were the high-water mark of liberal globalism. Academics like Francis Fukuyama rambled on about the “end of history.” In the Balkans, multilateral intervention seemingly redefined war as a legalistic humanitarian effort. In the quest for a borderless world, the West opened its doors to cheap Chinese imports.

In 1996, columnist Thomas Friedman reassured his readers that conflict would become a thing of the past in the world of liberal, free-trade globalism: No two countries with McDonald’s fast-food outlets could want to wage war against each other, Friedman opined.

All of this rested on the assumption that human beings are driven by material considerations rather than by ancestral identities, cultural behavioral patterns, or internalized historical grievances. Give people a McDonald’s burger and some cheap gadgets from China, and they’ll conform to whatever globalist norms come with this offer, so the logic went.

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https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2026/03/the_liberal_international_order_is_a_lie.html

[DefiantMassRINO]

How can there be "free" trade with a Communist China?

Their economy is State controlled.

Every corporation belongs to the Government.

They intentionally flood markets with goods below cost to put their international comeptitors out of business.

They are using the false prospect of access to 1.2 billion consumers to lure in foreign companies to steal their intellectual property.

In 1996, Communist China was not in the WTO.  Now it is.

The Chinese Communist Party uses unfair trade practices to subjugate their trading partners.

How can a nation with employment, environmental, and labor laws freely compete with a nation that uses slave labor and has no employment, environmental, or labor laws?

Alleged "free trade" did not raise the standard of living in developing nations; it lowered the standard of living in developed nations.

I believe in reciprocal trade because not every nation or market operates with the same standards, regulations, and laws.  Each counterparty needs to be able to renegotiate trade relationships to maintain a balance that provides economic, political, social stability and upward mobility.

Some see capitalism as "winner take all".

I see capitalism as a moral crusade to use Adam Smith's free (not laissez faire) market principles to lift up humanity.

Today's markets are far from free.

An economy that does not lift all boats is doomed to failure.