The new world order

At this time of year, early spring, there isn’t much to show or tell on the allotment apart from a few seedlings and buds which aren’t very exciting.  So instead, I’m going to give you my perspective on recent international news events, which are rather more exciting and seem to indicate that a new world order is unfolding, the like of which we have not seen since the end of World War 2.

The central character in most of these events is the new President of the United States, Donald Trump.  I live on the Isle of Man, which is part of the British Isles, and I have never voted for an American political party or president, nor am I ever likely to.  This is therefore a British / European perspective, and I hope a fairly non-partisan one. 

The horror show in the Oval Office, 28 February 2025

This has received such widespread media coverage in the last few days that I’m not going to repeat the details of what happened.  If you need to see it again, just look it up on YouTube.  I’m going to be diplomatic and say that Zelensky and Trump could both have been a lot more civilised to each other.  Zelensky could have expressed more gratitude for all the military support he has received from the United States during three years of war.  Trump could have kept his cool and refrained from making things worse with fiery rhetoric like “You’re gambling with World War 3”.  If I had been the teacher in that classroom, I would have given both boys a five minute time out then told them to shake hands and play nicely with each other.  

Tariffs

At the time of writing, Trump has just announced tariffs of 10% on goods from China, 25% on goods from Canada and 25% on goods from Mexico, to predicable outrage and retaliatory measures from the countries affected.  

I think tariffs can be a good thing if used wisely.  The ideology of globalisation says that you should import goods if another country can make them more cheaply than you can.  That way, you get cheaper goods, but the downside is that you become reliant on the other country to continue supplying them.  This became a problem, for example, at the start of the Russia - Ukraine war when Europe suddenly found that we were very dependent on Russian oil and gas.  I also worry that so many of our manufactured goods are imported from China, and what would happen if China decided to restrict exports.

Imposing tariffs on imported goods discourages consumers from buying imported goods and encourages them to buy local, creating more local jobs and promoting more self reliance.  In my view this is a good thing but a probable side effect is that the goods will become more expensive.  American consumers should be aware of this balance between costs and benefits, but I’m not sure whether this has been fully explained to them.

Defence

Trump has said that Europe should arrange and pay for its own defence, and on that I agree with him.  Since the end of World War 2 we have relied too much on proxy protection by America, but it’s not fair to expect America to continue paying for our defence, and we need to start doing more and spending more for ourselves.  We should have started doing this decades ago.  However, I would ask that if America is going to reduce or stop its contribution to European defence (including Ukraine’s defence) then this should be done gradually rather than suddenly to give us time to adjust.  It’s difficult to reverse an 80 year old policy overnight. 

Immigration

Again, I’m with Trump when he says he wants to deport undocumented or illegal immigrants.  We have a major problem with that in the UK, with thousands of illegal immigrants crossing the English Channel in small boats every year.  However, there should be some flexibility for the children of illegal immigrants.  Imagine you’re a 10 year old child, for example.  It’s not your fault that your parents are illegal immigrants - you were never given any choice in the matter.  The only life you’ve ever known is in the host country.  You may not even speak the language of your parents’ country of origin, or know its customs.  Being deported there would be a disaster for you.    On humanitarian grounds, therefore, I think that deportation of illegal immigrants should be stayed until their youngest child is aged 18, and that children born in the host country should be allowed to remain if they wish to do so.     

Russia

I’m confused.  Did Russia or Ukraine start the war by invading the other’s country?  Is Russia our friend or our enemy?  Is Russia a democracy and Ukraine a dictatorship or is it the other way round?  Why is Ukraine expected to make major concessions to end the war but Russia, apparently, is not?  Is Russia or Ukraine gambling with World War 3?  (Tip: Ukraine has no nuclear weapons).  And who murders its political opponents at home and overseas?  I suppose that’s Ukraine again. 

Given all of the above, I find it difficult to understand why Trump appears to be leaning hard on Zelensky and cosying up to Putin.  Maybe it’s easier to do that than to lean on Putin.  

Department Of Government Efficiency (DOGE)

On 22 February Elon Musk asked his department to send an email to all US Federal workers asking them to list their accomplishments from the past week or resign.  This caused a furious backlash, but I actually think it was one of Mr Musk’s better ideas and I’m all in favour of it.  If I received an email like that I’d be happy to list my accomplishments: hundreds of patients seen in my family doctor’s office, lab tests ordered and reviewed, prescriptions signed, hospital discharge letters actioned.

I wonder if Mr Musk received one of these emails, and if so, what his reply was?  Here are some suggestions:

Mr Musk, did you invent a new type of space rocket or satellite last week?  Well, no, my employees do all that.  A new type of car or battery then?  No, they do that as well.  Did you improve Twitter’s share price?  No, haven’t you heard, it’s no longer listed on the stock exchange so it doesn’t have a share price any more.  So what did you do last week then?  Well, I sent lots of emails and posted lots of messages on X.  Also received lots of dividends and bonuses from the companies I own, and attended lots of important meetings with other important people like me.

I’m sorry Mr Musk, but your accomplishments last week were inadequate.  You’re fired.  

Slaynt vie, bea veayn, beeal fliugh as baase ayns Mannin

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