Geopolitical Economy Report

Ben Norton

Geopolitical Economy Report is an independent new…

  • 46 minutes 48 seconds
    Trump's Ukraine talks aim to divide Russia from China. Can he do it?
    The US government's talks with Russia are more about China than Ukraine. Donald Trump admitted he wants to "un-unite" Russia and China, in a reverse of the divide-and-conquer strategy used by Nixon and Kissinger in the 1970s. Can Trump do it? Ben Norton explains why the United States sees China as the main threat to its global imperial dominance. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRJIymzuRGU Topics 0:00 (CLIP) Trump: divide Russia & China 0:18 US-Russia talks 1:01 USA says China is 'greatest threat' 2:11 (CLIP) Trump on Russia & China 3:31 US dollar dominance 4:14 Divide & conquer 5:23 Nixon in China 6:06 Kissinger strategy 6:59 Trump's neocons 7:57 (CLIP) Marco Rubio: partner with Russia 8:20 Ally with Russia against China? 9:37 (CLIP) Tucker Carlson on Russia 11:01 (CLIP) Marco Rubio on Russia 11:42 Marco Rubio on Ukraine & China 12:34 Rubio: China challenges US-led order 13:05 Rubio: China wants to displace USA 13:40 Rubio: China is "greatest challenge" 14:20 China more powerful than Russia 14:40 Population 14:54 Economy 15:31 Manufacturing 15:58 Technology 16:56 Research 17:19 China's alternative 18:08 Competition to Silicon Valley 18:55 Russia's strengths 20:02 Brzezinski's warnings 20:49 BRICS & SCO 22:21 (CLIP) CIA director John Ratcliffe 23:21 CIA on China "threat" 25:07 (CLIP) Blinken on China "challenge" 25:31 Mike Pompeo on China 26:14 US imperialism & Panama Canal 27:15 Monroe Doctrine 27:46 Europe 29:03 JD Vance 30:04 US colonialism in Ukraine 32:41 (CLIP) Trump wants to expand USA 33:10 Imperial expansion 33:44 European right wing 34:45 Can Trump divide Russia & China? 35:09 Putin's rise to power 35:55 (CLIP) Bush on Putin 36:30 Russia tried to join the West 37:31 Russia's fall out with the West 38:07 Ukraine war context 38:39 Russia-China relations 39:41 Sanctions relief? 40:28 Security guarantees? 41:56 Can USA be trusted? 43:25 Is there a possibility? 46:36 Outro
    22 February 2025, 12:00 am
  • 58 minutes 38 seconds
    Javier Milei is destroying Argentina's economy, making it a resource colony for foreign oligarchs
    Argentina's President Javier Milei, a self-declared libertarian and "anarcho-capitalist", is promoting crypto scams and overseeing rapid deindustrialization. Manufacturing and construction are collapsing, while the financial sector, mining, and agriculture grow. Donald Trump and Elon Musk praise Milei, as the majority of Argentines live in poverty. The real economy is in crisis, but rich foreign investors rejoice as the stock market booms. Ben Norton explains how Argentina is being turned into a resource colony. VIDEO with charts here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3qgYZMYkj0 Topics 0:00 Who is Javier Milei? 0:40 Elon Musk & Donald Trump 1:08 Crypto pump & dump scheme 2:34 Trump & Melania meme coins 3:18 Economic destruction 5:06 BRICS 5:47 Israel 6:27 CIA 6:48 Spanish colonialism 7:11 Ukraine 7:48 Stock market 10:06 Poverty 11:27 12-hour work day 12:46 72% are worse off 13:39 Income distribution 14:38 Extreme austerity 15:28 Government spending 16:47 Colonialism 17:11 Brain drain 18:39 No toilet paper 19:22 Social spending cuts 20:43 Bicicleta financiera scheme 23:04 Cost of living 23:55 Job loss 24:50 Construction collapses 25:17 Housing costs 26:05 Taunting the poor & hungry 28:45 Luis Caputo 31:36 Billionaire sponsors 32:04 Bondholders 32:30 Inflation & debt 39:48 Manufacturing collapses 47:07 Deindustrialization 49:18 Neoliberalism 50:39 Stock index composition 52:09 Privatization 54:13 Plantation economy 56:39 Gold in London 57:56 Financial colonialism 58:19 Outro
    19 February 2025, 12:00 am
  • 23 minutes 32 seconds
    What is a 'multipolar' world? China says equality; Trump & Marco Rubio say imperial rivalry
    It's now widely acknowledged we are in a multipolar world, but the definition of "multipolarity" is not clear. Donald Trump and Marco Rubio think it means a return to great power competition with imperial spheres of influence, whereas China and much of the Global South say "equality among all countries regardless of size". Ben Norton explains the geopolitical divide. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mg0Vur0SI-8 Topics 0:00 US unipolar moment 0:35 Multipolarity is here 1:24 Definition of multipolarity 2:39 (CLIP) Marco Rubio on unipolarity 3:14 US imperial sphere of influence 4:32 China's anti-imperialist view 7:37 Marco Rubio interview 8:52 (CLIP) Rubio on multipolar world 9:14 Rubio fearmongers about China 9:42 Greenland 10:55 (CLIP) Rubio on China 11:02 Neoconservativism rebranded 12:11 Trump's imperialism 12:30 (CLIP) Trump calls to "expand" USA 13:01 Chinese socialism vs US capitalism 14:46 Marco Rubio targets China 17:35 Rubio's fake "populism" 20:22 Nicaragua's anti-imperialist view 22:33 Outro
    16 February 2025, 12:00 am
  • 1 hour 8 minutes
    The politics of gold: Economist Michael Hudson explains why gold's price is rising so much
    Why has the price of gold been increasing so fast, breaking records? Economist Michael Hudson explains the politics of the precious metal, and the dynamics of the US dollar system. He is interviewed by Ben Norton. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Bvr2SZm-NM Transcript: https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2025/02/13/politics-gold-price-economist-michael-hudson/ Topics 0:00 Intro 1:49 Highlights 4:14 Interview starts 4:49 US dollar system & Super Imperialism 8:23 Dollar alternatives? 10:56 Why price of gold is rising 15:31 Gold market is political 21:10 Is gold an inflation hedge? 25:19 US military spending 27:33 Budget deficits & MMT 29:41 Gold standard critique 33:29 Politics of money creation 35:39 Commodity markets 38:01 Options trading 39:33 Central banks short selling gold 43:43 Gold leasing 48:01 How much gold is in Fort Knox? 51:03 Is there a run on gold? 1:02:50 Western central bank strategy 1:07:11 Outro
    13 February 2025, 12:00 am
  • 1 hour 5 minutes
    How Trump's tariffs will accelerate US decline
    Donald Trump's tariffs will likely backfire and hurt the United States, accelerating the decline of US dominance. To discuss, host Radhika Desai is joined by economist Michael Hudson and China-based scholar Mick Dunford. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wpJZh-gDA8 This is part of the program Geopolitical Economy Hour. You can watch other episodes of the show here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDAi0NdlN8hMl9DkPLikDDGccibhYHnDP
    9 February 2025, 12:00 am
  • 22 minutes 41 seconds
    Trump plans to 'take over' Gaza, expel Palestinians & build real estate his family could profit from
    Donald Trump plans to ethnically cleanse Palestinians, saying, "The US will take over the Gaza Strip... We'll own it". His son-in-law Jared Kushner has invested in Israeli companies that profit from expanding illegal settlements. Trump and Kushner floated building luxury real estate in Gaza. Ben Norton reports. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMBwV8kL5NY Topics 0:00 Trump is Israel's "best friend" 1:04 US plans to "take over" Gaza 2:19 Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner 3:04 Rebuilding Gaza 3:45 Gaza's "phenomenal location on the sea" 4:24 Kushner eyes "Gaza's waterfront property" 5:05 Ethnic cleansing 5:52 Kushner's investments in Israel 6:51 Saudi Arabia invests in Kushner's firm 8:29 Israel proposes Saudi land for Palestinians 10:00 Trump pressures Jordan & Egypt 11:07 Plans to expel "all" Gazans 11:38 Gaza death toll 13:08 US-Israel made Gaza "Hell" 14:11 Biden vs Trump 15:01 Palestinians don't want to leave home 15:49 Netanyahu is an American 16:49 Netanyahu: Trump is Israel's "great friend" 18:11 Deportations of pro-Palestine students 19:06 IDF prepares to expel Palestinians 19:44 Gaza is an open-air prison 20:55 Bipartisan US imperialism 22:18 Outro
    7 February 2025, 12:00 am
  • 49 minutes 58 seconds
    Trump's tariffs could cause huge global crisis, warns economist Michael Hudson
    Donald Trump’s tariffs could destabilize the global economy, warns economist Michael Hudson. US protectionist policies could cause financial crises, as many currencies depreciate and countries can't earn the dollars needed to pay their foreign debts. Ben Norton hosts the interview. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFyWatftnIM Transcript: https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2025/02/04/trump-tariffs-global-crisis-economist-michael-hudson/ Here you can read Michael Hudson's article on how Trump’s tariffs threaten the global economy: https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2025/01/25/michael-hudson-trump-tariffs-global-economy/ Topics 0:00 Trump's tariff threats 3:10 Highlights of Michael Hudson 5:47 How to pay foreign debt 10:55 Austerity 14:48 Protectionism 17:19 US threats 21:11 Mexico 22:47 Defaulting on debt 25:46 Economic colonialism 28:18 Colombia 29:50 Greenland 30:23 Economic war 31:02 China's win-win approach 32:24 Trump's contradictions 35:20 US dollar & re-industrialization 37:06 Finance capitalism 41:00 Dollar exchange rate & inflation 44:34 Trump proposal at WEF/Davos 45:20 Investing in USA 47:18 US imperialism 49:17 Outro
    4 February 2025, 12:00 am
  • 29 minutes 52 seconds
    Tech CEOs admit they want AI monopoly: US plans to block China's competition & 'steal' engineers
    Big Tech oligarchs in Silicon Valley fear competition from Chinese AI companies like DeepSeek, so they're working with the US government to cut off competitors. Billionaire Donald Trump backer Peter Thiel admits they want monopolies, arguing "competition is for losers". Ben Norton explains. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jniPAD2uoo Topics 0:00 (CLIP) "Competition is for losers" 0:17 China's DeepSeek AI breakthrough 1:46 US tech billionaire Peter Thiel 2:06 (CLIP) Peter Thiel praises monopolies 2:31 Peter Thiel backs Donald Trump 3:12 US government targets DeepSeek 4:23 US goal: stop Chinese innovation 5:40 China is developing 10 AI models 6:00 Senate hearing on China 7:15 (CLIP) "Let's steal [China's] engineers" 7:30 CIA testimony 8:24 (CLIP) Ban Chinese apps in USA 8:43 Is DeepSeek stealing from OpenAI? 10:40 OpenAI CEO Sam Altman 11:05 (CLIP) Sam Altman & Peter Thiel 11:24 Silicon Valley wants to cut off China 11:49 Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei 12:42 Chip restrictions on China 14:34 Big Tech wants US "unipolar world" 16:41 Who's authoritarian, USA or China? 19:03 US oligarchy 20:20 Capitalism vs competition 21:24 Peter Thiel employed JD Vance 21:54 PayPal Mafia 22:30 Robber barons 23:19 Capitalism creates monopolies 24:56 Chinese socialism vs US capitalism 29:38 Outro
    1 February 2025, 12:00 am
  • 27 minutes 31 seconds
    China's shocking DeepSeek AI pops US Big Tech monopoly bubble
    The Chinese company DeepSeek shocked the West with a groundbreaking open-source artificial intelligence model that beats huge Silicon Valley Big Tech monopolies. The US government is already trying to ban it, using "national security" as an excuse. Ben Norton explains. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hRmK84_K7Q Topics 0:00 China's Sputnik moment 1:05 DeepSeek beats US Big Tech 2:20 Open source R1 model 3:18 US tech stocks crash 5:27 US stock market bubble 6:55 Magnificent 7 8:26 Billionaire oligarchs 10:48 USA bans Chinese competitors 13:34 Data privacy and spying? 15:35 Cyber attacks 16:33 US tech war on China 19:36 China "can't innovate" 22:02 China's rapid tech progress 24:49 Dancing robots in China 25:36 Tech race in new cold war 27:20 Outro
    29 January 2025, 12:00 am
  • 34 minutes 39 seconds
    Trump attacks Colombia, and it pushes back: 'We are not a colony'!
    Donald Trump threatened Colombia with sanctions and tariffs after it rejected his abuse of immigrants. Colombian President Gustavo Petro hit back against the US attacks, declaring, "We are not a colony!" Ben Norton analyzes Latin America's resistance to meddling by Trump and his neoconservative Secretary of State Marco Rubio. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZ8YZEecJgE Topics 0:00 Trump admin's hawkish foreign policy 0:30 Neocon Marco Rubio 1:30 Colombia: from US puppet to target 2:24 Marco Rubio's attacks on Gustavo Petro 3:51 Israel-Palestine 5:21 US attacks on Latin America 5:58 Trump sanctions & tariffs Colombia 7:31 Humiliation of immigrants 9:10 Colombia responds with tariffs on US 10:25 US meddling fuels immigration 12:42 (CLIP) Trump on 'taking over' Venezuela 12:54 Latin America fights back 14:02 Honduras threatens to close US military base 14:40 Illegal US immigration in Colombia 15:22 China's relations with Latin America 16:49 Latin American right bows down to USA 19:30 Ecuador's US puppet president 20:40 Petro's open letter to Trump 32:23 Global South stands up 33:12 (CLIP) Trump wants to 'expand' US empire 33:43 US imperialism 34:24 Outro
    27 January 2025, 12:00 am
  • 1 hour 6 minutes
    Canada's PM Trudeau: disaster in office, disaster on departure
    Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that he is resigning. Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump is talking about annexing Canada and making it the 51st state. To discuss the disaster, political economist Radhika Desai is joined by Dimitri Lascaris, host of the independent media outlet Reason2Resist. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7KySFlP4-0 Check out Radhika Desai's article on Trudeau’s fall: https://newleftreview.org/sidecar/posts/trudeaus-fall You can follow Dimitri Lascaris' channel here: https://www.youtube.com/@reason2resist This is part of the show Geopolitical Economy Hour. You can watch other episodes of the program here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDAi0NdlN8hMl9DkPLikDDGccibhYHnDP
    24 January 2025, 12:00 am
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