The US Forced to Grapple with Waning Influence (Video)

A couple weeks ago, in a surprising policy shift, the United States government announced its willingness to work with the Chinese-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB). Lew Rockwell explained to RT that after many allies applied for membership to the AIIB, the US had no choice but to cooperate. While there is already an Asian Development Bank in place, it functions as just another subsidiary of the US government. This new bank will reduce American economic influence in Asia and reduce the power of the dollar. Yet Rockwell argues that decentralizing power over international trade makes way for more freedom and prosperity.

I think we’re not going to have a world government anymore. We’re not going to have a power able to exert its influence all over the world, like the US [and] its military influence. Chinese influence tends to be economic influence. That’s all to the good… Let all the world trade together.”

Highlights from the interview:

Host: The US is now apparently willing to work with this China-led institution through the IMF and World Bank. Why does it seem they’ve made this turnaround?

Lew Rockwell: Because they were forced to, because so many US allies were not going along with their demand that everybody boycott the bank. So it’s just another indication of the increasing de-dollarization of the world economy, which of course makes the US very unhappy… the US doesn’t like anybody doing anything outside of the dollar hegemony, but dollar hegemony isn’t lasting. I think this Chinese bank, even though I’m not a big fan of these sorts of institutions in general, because it’s competition for the World Bank and for the IMF, which are Washington DC-based institutions controlled by the US, I think it’s a very good thing… This is a small step but it’s a very good step that this bank is coming to an existence against the US’ explicit wishes, and all kinds of private blackmailing I’m told as well, to try to keep other countries going along with it. It didn’t work… [The AIIB is] good for Americans too, by the way, because it’s not good for the American people to have the US government be the world government. It treats us like all the colonists and peons just like it does the rest of the world.

Host: [What do you think are Beijing’s goals in the region?]

LR: Well, I think China, after the horrendous period of Maoist communism, all the starvation, all the unbelievable poverty, oppression, concentration camps, and so forth, is coming into the sun with a capitalist economy and much more freedom. They’re becoming much more powerful economically. That’s a good thing. I know in America we love getting Chinese goods… Why not celebrate this unbelievable, magnificent step in human freedom..? This is typical in history. When you have a declining power like the US, it gets very upset about a rising power like China… I think it’s unfortunate that Japan is going along with the US. Of course the US militarily occupies Japan… Chinese influence tends to be economic influence. That’s all to the good. Let us have more Chinese-made goods, more great prices. Let all the world trade together.

Host: [There’s already an Asian Development Bank.] Why is there a need for another one?

LR: Well the current Asian Development Bank is just a subsidiary of the US government. That’s why there’s need for another one. Although again, I don’t think government so-called investment of this sort is actually a good thing for the world. But given that these things exist, it’s better that they be decentralized… The Asian Development Bank, that’s just the Obama bank. It’s the John Kerry bank. It’s the Goldman Sachs bank and so forth… It’s a very strange idea, I know, to have an Asian Development Bank actually controlled by Asians. That’s a crazy idea, but for some reason the Chinese would like to have that happen.

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