Subscribe
Donate
Subscribe
Facebook X-twitter Instagram Youtube

Global “Free Trade”: The Ultimate Institutional Position

Commonplace
February 9, 2025
Read The Full Story

In Commonplace, Nicholas Phillips takes on the new trope that import tariffs serve the interests of the “deep state” that populists want to dismantle. It’s the opposite, Phillips argues: the current regime of “free” trade (in fact, heavily rules-bound and highly unequal) has been concocted main by unelected officials and little-known bureaucratic agencies – the deep state’s very pillars. They are now terrified by a democratically elected, pro-tariff President and are grasping for ways to avoid losing control.

Love C2C Journal? Here's how you can help us grow.

More for you

Bad Mom? Bad Wife?

The Massachusetts trial of Lindsay Clancy for killing her three young children (recently declared a mistrial) became a litmus test for couples – with some publicly breaking off engagements due to disagreements over her culpability. Writing in The American Mind, Evie Solheim ponders the malign influence of social media on the marriage decision for younger generations. “When men and women treat existence as a zero-sum game, everyone loses,” she writes, pleading for greater understanding between the sexes. For more on marriage, see this C2C article.

We’d Rather Not Discuss It

Writing in The European Conservative, Íris Erlingsdóttir explains why Iceland recently rejected an invitation to discuss joining the European Union. “Why not look? Why not listen?” she asks. “Icelanders’ answer was a resounding Nei.” With an 82 percent turnout, the frosty island nation of 400,000 people voted 52.8 percent against even talking about hooking up with the EU’s 450 million. Among the reasons was protecting the country’s hard-won 200-nautical-mile fishing limit for its vital cod fishery. For more on the sanctity of borders, see this C2C article.

Keep an Eye Out for Car Thieves

John Shjarback, writing in the conservative-minded City Journal, offers a contrarian’s take on Automated License Plate Readers (ALPR). While admitting many legitimate fears about the rise of the surveillance state, he argues that fighting a troublesome rise in car thefts is a valid reason for allowing police access to this technology. “Singling out ALPR as Big Brother makes little sense,” he reports, arguing privacy can be better protected through greater regulation rather than an outright ban. For more on road surveillance, see this C2C article.

Not Your Grandparents’ Kennedy

The makers of Trix and Lucky Charms recently promised to remove synthetic dyes from their products, notes Kevin Roberts in The American Mind. “Nobody forced them,” he observes. “They read the room.” And the elephant in that room is Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., a Trump cabinet member and ringmaster of the “Make America Healthy Again” crusade. Kennedy’s Herculean tasks include battling entrenched interests while redirecting a nation that is disproportionately fat, out of shape, chronically ill and drug-dependent.

Bad Mom? Bad Wife?

The Massachusetts trial of Lindsay Clancy for killing her three young children (recently declared a mistrial) became a litmus test for couples – with some publicly breaking off engagements due to disagreements over her culpability. Writing in The American Mind, Evie Solheim ponders the malign influence of social media on the marriage decision for younger generations. “When men and women treat existence as a zero-sum game, everyone loses,” she writes, pleading for greater understanding between the sexes. For more on marriage, see this C2C article.

We’d Rather Not Discuss It

Writing in The European Conservative, Íris Erlingsdóttir explains why Iceland recently rejected an invitation to discuss joining the European Union. “Why not look? Why not listen?” she asks. “Icelanders’ answer was a resounding Nei.” With an 82 percent turnout, the frosty island nation of 400,000 people voted 52.8 percent against even talking about hooking up with the EU’s 450 million. Among the reasons was protecting the country’s hard-won 200-nautical-mile fishing limit for its vital cod fishery. For more on the sanctity of borders, see this C2C article.

Keep an Eye Out for Car Thieves

John Shjarback, writing in the conservative-minded City Journal, offers a contrarian’s take on Automated License Plate Readers (ALPR). While admitting many legitimate fears about the rise of the surveillance state, he argues that fighting a troublesome rise in car thefts is a valid reason for allowing police access to this technology. “Singling out ALPR as Big Brother makes little sense,” he reports, arguing privacy can be better protected through greater regulation rather than an outright ban. For more on road surveillance, see this C2C article.

Not Your Grandparents’ Kennedy

The makers of Trix and Lucky Charms recently promised to remove synthetic dyes from their products, notes Kevin Roberts in The American Mind. “Nobody forced them,” he observes. “They read the room.” And the elephant in that room is Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., a Trump cabinet member and ringmaster of the “Make America Healthy Again” crusade. Kennedy’s Herculean tasks include battling entrenched interests while redirecting a nation that is disproportionately fat, out of shape, chronically ill and drug-dependent.

Share This Story

Donate

Donate

Subscribe to the C2C Weekly
It's Free!

* indicates required
Interests
By providing your email you consent to receive news and updates from C2C Journal. You may unsubscribe at any time.