Lars Christensen, a Danish economist, wrote today (Beijing time January 22): "The problem is not Trump, but the United States."

When the outside world sees Trump's crazy behavior and his threats to allies, while we simultaneously see that the American public, Congress, the US Supreme Court or the US media have taken no practical actions against this crazy behavior, we all must come to the conclusion that the United States has accepted this behavior.

The American public believes that the United States has the right to occupy a certain position in the world, where decent behavior has no place, and there are no norms and rules.

This means that we all must come to the conclusion: the United States is not only Trump who has betrayed the international order established by the US and its Western partners after World War II.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau clearly articulated this conclusion in his speech at the Davos Forum yesterday: we can no longer trust the United States to abide by the rules. Therefore, we must also ask ourselves whether we should trust the financial and economic system, which is an essential component of the global rule-based order?

Americans live in an illusion that the US can do everything on its own, despite the fact that the US has been running deficits for nearly 20 years.

The funds used for private and government consumption in the US come from the European Central Bank and pension funds, etc. But now we must ask ourselves why we conduct transactions in dollars? Why do we invest our savings in US Treasury bonds?

If the US is not a society based on rules, we cannot believe that the dollar will be a stable currency, and holding dollars would be foolish. With the collapse of the US domestic system and the breakdown of its governance structure, the US will become an emerging market economy, or more accurately, an economy in the process of disintegration.

If the US threatens the territory of its allies, then the US plays the role of a dictatorial hegemon. Anyone with common sense would not lend money to the US government. If the US does not fulfill its international obligations and does not respect the sovereignty of other countries, how can we expect the US government to repay its debts?

If Trump can impose tariffs on countries that are unwilling to give up their territories, then certainly there is no reason to believe that the US will not implement capital controls. If this risk really exists, why take the risk to invest in the US?

This is not a matter of Europe opposing the US, but a question of how we carefully invest and reduce risks.

The longer Trump stays in power, the greater the sense of distrust among the American people toward the US, and the higher the cost the US pays. Moreover, this impact is irreversible. Building trust takes years, but your actions can destroy it in minutes.

Europe has completely lost its trust in the US. Canada has as well. The American people have the responsibility to prove that Trump is an 'outlier' and have the responsibility to stop him.

If you don't do this, we will have to assume that this is the essence of the US, regardless of the president's name being Trump or something else, regardless of whether the president is a Republican or a Democrat."

[Witty] Comment: The views of Danish economist Lars Christensen are sharp and hit the mark, and his analysis of the collapse of the US system and the weakening foundation of the dollar's credit has exposed the false image of the so-called rule-based order that the US claims. This clear awareness will quickly spread across Europe and the globe, becoming a consensus for countries to examine the dollar system. Trump is certainly not an isolated individual, but a symbolic figure representing the arbitrary nature of US hegemony. His radical policies and brutal pressure on allies have already become the core catalyst for the de-dollarization process, forcing countries to re-evaluate the risks and values of dollar assets. However, it cannot be denied that de-dollarization is a long-term gradual transformation. The inertia of the dollar's hegemony still exists, and the restructuring of the monetary system cannot be achieved overnight. Yet, it has already entered an irreversible fast lane under Trump's push, and the era of dollar dominance is being torn open by an irreparable crack.

Original: toutiao.com/article/1854967895538951/

Statement: The article represents the personal views of the author.