Independence, first of all, is that the economy is not controlled by others

#记录今日感悟#

Before talking about individual independence, we must first talk about the sovereignty of the state. Sometimes a matter is not easy to understand from a micro perspective, so start from a macro perspective. If you understand it as a whole, you will understand the answer to each question.

When it comes to the independence of a country, it seems that the simpler explanation is that it is a country recognized by the United Nations. A country has its own sovereignty, its own borders, its own laws, and can issue legal currency. But if national sovereignty were that simple, there might not be so many wars in the world. After the two hot wars of World War I and World War II, the borders of the country did not change much, and then in the later stage of the Cold War, there were no longer so many battlefields of gunpowder, but does this mean that the world is peaceful?

Many countries seem to be a country, but the fate of this country does not seem to be in their own hands. A large part of the reason is that the country's economic lifeline is not in its own hands. Controlling a country's economy, even if it doesn't send troops to occupy the country, is still a kind of colonization of the country in a way. If there is anyone in this world who is strong in doing this, I am afraid it must be the United States.

The reason is actually very simple, after World War II, the United States restructured the dollar system, making the dollar the pricing currency of the world's commodities. Since then, it has been determined that the dollar has become the only unipolar hegemon in this world. As long as the United States implements quantitative easing and issues a large amount of money, the result will be global commodities, including oil, natural gas and other energy; The price of barley, millet, soybeans and other grains has skyrocketed. Some small countries, including those who need to import a large number of these goods, can only trade these goods through US dollars, and their own export restrictions lead to insufficient foreign exchange reserves, and without foreign exchange, they can only exchange their own national currency for US dollars for transactions. It is equivalent to eating a large amount of inflation caused by the United States, and the currency of one's own country is seriously insufficient, and it is followed by printing money, and the inflation of one's own country is correct, and it is not enough if it does not print money, and it is falling into a vicious circle.

The point is that this is not the end of the matter, and the quantitative easing in the United States also has an impact on the economy of its own country, so it is necessary to tighten the currency to a certain extent. As a result, global capital flows to the United States, global financial capital shrank at the same time, the real economy was severely damaged, and unemployment rose sharply, similar to what we are doing now. At this time, commodity prices have stabilized, but imported deflation has returned. It means that all countries, especially post-developing countries, can only be washed by the dollar over and over again. As a result, there are more and more countries like Argentina, and they have no choice but to join if they can't beat it. The newly appointed Argentine president simply did not want his country's currency, and later used the dollar along with him, becoming a loyal little brother of the United States. It seems that this country is sovereign, but I want to ask if they are still independent?

There are many such countries, and the whole world is full of Americans' younger brothers. The Europeans tried to resist, so they created the euro, and for a time the dollar went against it. Immediately afterwards, the Americans used their habitual operation to realize the disintegration of the former Yugoslavia, then the Iraq war in the Middle East, the Afghanistan war, and now the Russian-Ukrainian war. Various proxy wars directly knocked the euro down and maintained its hegemony. Therefore, French President Emmanuel Macron always hopes that Europe is the Europe of Europeans, which is actually a kind of maintenance of the independence and sovereignty of his own country. It can only be said that the Europeans are still on the way to maintenance, because many of the forces among them are willing to give up their independence, and giving up independence seems to be exploited, but it seems that there are a lot less troubles.

At the beginning of this century, the Americans shouted the slogan of China and the United States, believing that if China is willing to be the little brother of the Americans, then China and the United States can solve all the problems in the world. Twenty years have passed, and we have to be ourselves, so the United States began to impose sanctions on us, economic suppression. With the creation of a strong Russia by Putin the Great, combined with this time the connection between China and Russia, Russia and North Korea. Perhaps a structure similar to the US-Canada-Mexico economic zone could also be established between China, Russia and North Korea. China's vast financial capital is similar to that of the United States, while Russia's abundant energy and military capabilities crush Canada's power, and North Korea's superior labor force can definitely match Mexico's. More crucially, the relationship between China, Russia and the DPRK over the past few decades is much stronger than that between the United States, Canada and Mexico. Perhaps in a few years, the world will really return to a three-legged state, with the United States, Canada and Mexico leading the Americas, France and Germany leading Europe, and the economic zones created by China and Russia running through Asia, the Middle East, and Africa.

If a country wants to be sovereign and independent, it is not simply a territory, but more importantly, economic independence. Our currency must be anchored to our own capital in order to ensure the stability of the exchange rate. We do not need the globalization of the renminbi, but in a fixed economic circle, we must completely get rid of the control of the US dollar, which is the foundation for us to become stronger and truly independent, and it is also an effective means to get rid of the colonial blockade of the West.

This is true for a country, but what about each of us? If a person wants to be independent, whether he should draw the boundaries of his house more clearly, or truly achieve economic independence without being controlled by others, this answer is clear at a glance. Whether it is a house or a car, in addition to their own living and transportation attributes, they are not free purely from the perspective of assets. Not to mention the question of whether it will depreciate, simple cash is much more difficult to operate than direct cash. Not to mention that with our current household balance sheet so bursting, when a person has a huge debt. Work, getting married, having children, spending and traveling, and a series of other things have been greatly restricted. I don't dare to do what I want to do, I don't dare to buy what I want to buy, and I don't even dare to say a word out loud. Theoretically, he is still a natural person with human rights, but can such a state of life be said to be independent and free?

Whether it's a young person who has just graduated, or a player like us who has struggled for several years, or a middle-aged person in his forties and fifties, even a retiree who has retired and has a stable cash flow (pension). You don't have any debts, you have a stable cash flow, and if you are better, you can master some basic financial skills. There isn't so much money to spend, but it's not too much to worry about in one place. There is no need to live in a mansion, drive a luxury car, and eat a gluttonous feast. As long as I can be a free and independent person who doesn't have to worry about it every day, I think it will be a very happy thing.