N.B Views and opinions expressed in the article below are solely the owner’s and do not represent any organisation
By Dr Aribino Nicholas (Writing in own capacity)
It is often argued that the same fire that hardens an egg also melts butter. This thinking has a proclivity towards the domain of psychology that puts a premium on individual differences. By extension, the argument is that given the same stimulus, human beings respond differently. What motivates human beings is different. To that end, this writer was titillated when Trump won the just ended elections in the USA. Trump, for this writer stood out like a diamond in a coalfield for his love of his country, just as Zimbabweans would say ‘Nyika inovakwa nevene vayo”, Trump’s loud and clear message through out his campaign was ‘’USA inovakwa nevene vayo.” It is the purpose of this opinion piece to intimate the motivation behind the writer’s titillation of Trump’s victory in the just ended USA elections.
Trump is a candid talker, who calls a spade by its real name. Trump would never refer to a spade as a tool of production. Trump’s personality has therefore generated more heat than light in the light of geoeconomics and geopolitics. In terms of international economic relations, Trump is seen as a spoiler because of his intention to levy 60% tariffs on imports from China and 20% tariffs on other imports. This writer would not blame Trump for this geoeconomic positionality because the rationale behind it is to protect domestic industries and to cut down on the trade deficit. This geoeconomic stance by the incoming President of the USA is protective of infant industries. Any country that does not protect its baby or local industries will end up sacrificing its own social and economic growth. For example, our own country’s openness to doing business has killed BATA, David Whitehead, G and D shoes and Dunlop, among others. We have had cheap imports from China like footwear, clothing and tyres flooding our local markets to the extent that they have suffocated our up-and-coming industries. Protectionism in some areas of trade and investment should be as necessary as water is to fish. It is true that charity begins at home. In international relations speak, globalisation is a myth. It is a myth because countries can only enter into bilateral or multilateral deals after weighting advantages that come with such deals. At the level of international relations, it is about self-preservation, thence Trump’s attitude of protecting domestic players. Trump is only rallying behind the American flag, who, for instance in his or her right frame of mind would focus more on assisting his or her neighbour before he or she has put his own house in order. When countries enter into international relations, comparative advantages count more than anything else. Even in any emotional relationships people size up the dividends of such involvements.
In terms of immigration, Trump is again on point because he argues that immigration should be considered based on meritocracy. For example, if you want to go to America, Trump’s concern would be- what value addition can be realised out of your intention to be in America? Arguably, opening the borders to every day people would create a situation whereby menial jobs for native born Americans that are low on education and skills being taken away by foreigners. No to opening everything, so argues Trump as that would come with social and political upheavals for the citizens of America. While it is important to think global, it is also important to act local. The localist argument is ecological, it is an argument that is associated with lived realities on the ground. To Trump, it is as wrong as wrong can be to present a peacock image, beautiful outside and ugly inside.
On the geopolitics side, Trump does not side with the idea of America importing wars or conflicts to other countries. Trump has openly condemned the Iraq and Libya wars that took out Saddam Hussein and Gaddafi. He has always asked, “Are Iraq people better off today? Are the Libyans better off today than they were before?’’. Trump has been unpopular for looking at issues with an open mind and an open mouth. This world can be a better place with Trump in power in the USA, because Trump believes that nation-states should act responsibly. For example, African countries can act responsibly by ensuring that they use their own mineral resources to benefit their own citizens by cutting down on economies that are commodity reliant.
On the social front, Trump has stoutly spoken against abortion, gay marriages and has insisted that God created two genders-male and female. The understanding of gender as being binary and not a spectrum has also attracted a lot of inveighing against Trump. Trump has stood firmly with what he believes to be causing moral morass in America, and to that effect, this writer is persuaded to believe that America will be great again with Trump in power.
