Contributed by Joe Montero
Donlad Trump has just been inaugurated as the new President of the United States. Some people are warning of all sorts of calamities to be launched from the white House. True, some things are likely to get worse. But the reality is that this is far more about what section of the Wall Street elite want. They are calling the shots.
Whatever Trump and his team unleash, it can’t be much worse than what was delivered by the Biden/Harris administration. They are the ones who put into effect a new level of reaction at home aggression internationally. Despite some minor concessions, overall, this administration heaped the burden of a declining economy in real terms, on the backs of working class and non-white Americans. The Biden/Harris administration oversaw the attack on the right to free speech to a level not seen for a long time. They paved the way for the new Trump led Republican administration.
There is no denying that the Trump campaign captured a fair whack of rising dissatisfaction across the American population. The claim that the political system is captured by a fabulously wealthy and powerful elite is justified. Recognition of this reality is important. Its denial by the Democrat camp was a key factor in its defeat last year.
Not that this change of the guard is likely to make a huge difference. The second reality is that these camps represent the two wings of the political apparatus that represents finance capital. This is, that section of corporate America that represents those who own the monopoly financial system, which owns much of the rest of corporate America.

They share the objectives of imposing more the cost of a wounded economic system on the working people of the nation, and internationally, the targeting of China as the main enemy. The differences are about which strategy to use to ensure that the interests of finance capital dominate in domestic and international affairs.
Biden/Harris represented the view that business as usual is the way to go. The Trump faction recognises that the situation has changed, and that there must be some accommodation to this. American economic, political, and military power is declining, and arresting this requires some measure of flexibility.
Both see the core objective internally is to boost the pockets of the elite at home and to target China abroad. The Biden/Harris faction saw the best way was to deal with the home situation through measure of sleight of hand, and the China question through proxy wars, a steady advance through NATO in the north and across the oceans, and advance in West Asia through unconditional support Israel and war across the region.

Photo from Noah Berger/AP: demonstration outside the Library of Congress during a NATO dinner for foreign affairs ministers in Washington.
The Trump faction recognised that in the face of the limitations on American power, it is best to move away from these conflicts that have proved unsuccessful and a waste of resources. They want to go further in ensuring the more of the costs are paid by their western allies. Faithful to this line of reasoning, Trump has already played a role in the Gaza ceasefire and looks like ending the war in Ukraine soon. He may even soften the stance on the Korean Peninsula.
Trump’s penchant for tariffs war reflects the partial shifting away from direct military confrontation towards economic war. These tariffs have 2 parts. One is to punish and damage perceived enemies. The other is pressure allies to pay a higher part of the cost of re-asserting American power and to fortify their obedience to Washington’s dictates.
While this brings some positive relief from war in the short-term, it won’t work. The United States no longer has the capability to enforce its will that it once enjoyed. Tariff war breeds resistance. This has already led to the rise of BRICS and a momentum to escape the trade and financial system under the control of the United States. More tariffs will accelerate this.
Back home, massive cuts to government programs to facilitate transferring funds to the financial oligarchy will put a heavy burden on ordinary Americans, damage the economy and lose jobs.
Another difference is over the handling of Tic Toc. One of Biden’s last moves was to ban it. This saw a quick exodus of millions of young Americans to a Chinese alternative called RedNote. Seeing the danger, Trump quickly reversed the ban.

There is talk about the rise of fascism. But what is this? It’s not a tendency confined to Trump. The threat of fascism comes from the efforts of the dominant forces of Wall Street to maintain their dominance at times when it is more difficult to do this through deception and promoting the illusion of democracy where there is really little of it.
Predictions of greater flexibility under a Trump administration have already been proved right. But what comes next is uncertain. This is because the pace of change is getting faster under a multi-faceted crisis. A crisis that the political system is proving to be incapable of managing. This raises instability, and a tendency to short-term responses, rather than longer-term planning.
The risk of a descent into increasingly repressive government, stemming from the United States, and spreading across its sphere of influence is real. On the other hand, repression breeds resistance. That which dominates depends on whether millions act to make the difference.
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