[ExI] Gilded Rage: Elon Musk and the Radicalization of Silicon Valley

[spike at rainier66.com]

-----Original Message-----
From: Keith Henson <hkeithhenson at gmail.com> 
...

>...We deny China AI chips, and are surprised when they shut off rare
earth elements.

Keith



Ja that one I kinda get.  Everyone can see we are preparing for a war with China.  They have been making aggressive moves toward Taiwan.  Sooner or later they are going to take it.  At that time, the USA and the rest of the world must be prepared to do without that country as a trading partner.

I have another take on it however.  We have long grown accustomed to the advantages of super huge production runs for any manufactured item.  But over time, manufacturing becomes more automated.  This means the advantages of mass production runs are decreased relative to smaller production runs.  

At some point, there is insufficient advantage to shipping designs and materials to China, having them build it and ship it back.  Energy and time is saved by having the factory here, and in each country of origin.  

The trade wars are pressuring the USA and other nations to have their own production capability and resource refinement capacity.  Some consumer items go up in price, but we get stability and security in return.  So in that sense, trade wars can be a good thing.  

spike