Mugged by Reality: Post's Samuelson

The Post's Robert J. Samuelson has been a purblind corproate trade ideologue, preaching its virtues even as the US sank into debt, corporations sent jobs abroad, and global imbalances helped drive the economy off the cliff.

But in today's Post -- http://is.gd/8qu3b -- it's clear even Samuelson has been mugged by reality. China, he writes, is playing by a different set of rules. Yes, the sun rises in the East.

Samuelson writes:

"China's worldview threatens America's geopolitical and economic interests. Just recently, 19 U.S. trade associations wrote the Obama administration warning that new Chinese rules for "indigenous innovation" could "exclude a wide array of U.S. firms" from the Chinese market -- or force them to turn over advanced technology. (British firms are so incensed by "overwhelming protectionism" that some may quit China, reports the Telegraph newspaper.)"

So Samuelson utters what for him is a breathtaking heresy:

"No longer should we sit passively while China's trade and currency policies jeopardize jobs here and elsewhere."

He worries about tension and trade wars, and doesn't say what should be done about China's policies. But at least reality is beginnign to dawn on him.

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