Michael Stanaitis
@profstanaitis.bsky.social
Senior Professorial Lecturer in the Department of Global Inquiry at American University's School of International Service.
Musings at the intersection of political economy, modern monetary theory, and global order. Opinions expressed are my own.
Musings at the intersection of political economy, modern monetary theory, and global order. Opinions expressed are my own.
Tariffs as industrial policy would require results.
Tariffs as economic statecraft would require negotiations.
Tariffs as political theater require nothing other than rhetorical victory.
And sanitizing, sane-washing, supplementing Liberation Day ensures it will be "victorious."
10/10
Tariffs as economic statecraft would require negotiations.
Tariffs as political theater require nothing other than rhetorical victory.
And sanitizing, sane-washing, supplementing Liberation Day ensures it will be "victorious."
10/10
April 8, 2025 at 2:19 PM
Tariffs as industrial policy would require results.
Tariffs as economic statecraft would require negotiations.
Tariffs as political theater require nothing other than rhetorical victory.
And sanitizing, sane-washing, supplementing Liberation Day ensures it will be "victorious."
10/10
Tariffs as economic statecraft would require negotiations.
Tariffs as political theater require nothing other than rhetorical victory.
And sanitizing, sane-washing, supplementing Liberation Day ensures it will be "victorious."
10/10
This is why I believe tariffs as political theater are the most dangerous form. Since there is no intersubjective metric by which to judge them or any clear policy goals to begin with, they may well stay in place regardless of how damaging they are.
9/10
9/10
April 8, 2025 at 2:19 PM
This is why I believe tariffs as political theater are the most dangerous form. Since there is no intersubjective metric by which to judge them or any clear policy goals to begin with, they may well stay in place regardless of how damaging they are.
9/10
9/10
The "Liberation Day" tariffs will be successful because Trump will declare them to be so regardless of the actual impacts. Fox News will sanitize, Navarro will sane-wash, and "outside experts" like Oren Cass will supplement the reality to their liking.
8/10
8/10
April 8, 2025 at 2:19 PM
The "Liberation Day" tariffs will be successful because Trump will declare them to be so regardless of the actual impacts. Fox News will sanitize, Navarro will sane-wash, and "outside experts" like Oren Cass will supplement the reality to their liking.
8/10
8/10
In this arena, the actual impacts of the tariffs hardly matter at all to their "success." If the information ecosystem can hide even the intersubjective overlapping consensus that is "market forces" from citizens that support Trump, there is no intersubjective metric by which to judge.
7/10
7/10
April 8, 2025 at 2:19 PM
In this arena, the actual impacts of the tariffs hardly matter at all to their "success." If the information ecosystem can hide even the intersubjective overlapping consensus that is "market forces" from citizens that support Trump, there is no intersubjective metric by which to judge.
7/10
7/10
This is reminiscent of Masha Gessen's notion of anti-politics, where the lack of a theory of truth prevents citizens from engaging in debates and discussions about the virtues and outcomes of policies because we cannot even agree on what is happening.
6/10
6/10
Masha Gessen on American politics after the death of “truth”
“We can’t do politics if we can’t talk to one another.”
www.vox.com
April 8, 2025 at 2:19 PM
This is reminiscent of Masha Gessen's notion of anti-politics, where the lack of a theory of truth prevents citizens from engaging in debates and discussions about the virtues and outcomes of policies because we cannot even agree on what is happening.
6/10
6/10
Sanitizing, sane-washing, and supplementing all serve in concert to rhetorically transform what is an incoherent, haphazard, self-damaging policy into a coherent, well-planed, beneficial one. What we are left with as citizens is a policy space devoid of any theory of truth.
5/10
5/10
April 8, 2025 at 2:19 PM
Sanitizing, sane-washing, and supplementing all serve in concert to rhetorically transform what is an incoherent, haphazard, self-damaging policy into a coherent, well-planed, beneficial one. What we are left with as citizens is a policy space devoid of any theory of truth.
5/10
5/10
Finally, "outside" experts come in to reframe the policy according to their policy interests, thereby supplementing the policy with things that are not actually part of it (clarity, gradualism, temporary status) and making the policy seem far more moderate and coherent than it is.
4/10
4/10
Opinion | ‘Liberation Day’ Was Messy, but Trump’s Tariffs Can Still Work (Gift Article)
It’s a matter of timing and communication.
www.nytimes.com
April 8, 2025 at 2:19 PM
Finally, "outside" experts come in to reframe the policy according to their policy interests, thereby supplementing the policy with things that are not actually part of it (clarity, gradualism, temporary status) and making the policy seem far more moderate and coherent than it is.
4/10
4/10
Second, administration officials provide a sane-washed justification of the policy based on faulty assumptions, untrue statements, and clever mischaracterizations of what the policy actually is, thereby allowing for an imprimatur of technocratic expertise underlying the policy.
3/10
3/10
Donald Trump’s tariffs will fix a broken system
Next we must tackle the barrage of non-tariff weapons used to strangle American exports
on.ft.com
April 8, 2025 at 2:19 PM
Second, administration officials provide a sane-washed justification of the policy based on faulty assumptions, untrue statements, and clever mischaracterizations of what the policy actually is, thereby allowing for an imprimatur of technocratic expertise underlying the policy.
3/10
3/10