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Comment by nextparadigms | Hacker News Reader

US seems a little too trigger-happy about putting trade sanctions on countries these days. They are basically coercing everyone to do what they want or else. And they wonder why the world likes USA less and less.

I don't think this will end well if this keeps up. Free trade is a prerequisite for a wealthy society. Trade isolationism can only lead to less wealth and more wars. Trade is probably the biggest factor in reducing frequency of wars in the world throughout history. Without trade countries had to invade each other to get the resources they needed.

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What happens when the US is no longer trading with anyone, AND continues passing SOPA-style laws that hinder the internet?

Sounds more and more like a novel I read, once (name forgotten) where everyone in America believes that China has perfected a firewall, where in reality it's America that's trapped behind the firewall and cut off from the rest of the world.

That would be Signal to Noise by Eric Nylund. Yeah, I've been thinking the same thing recently.

Damn! I even googled Signal to Noise, but didn't search hard enough. I need to pick up a copy of the book, I only own the sequel.

Was that a smaller plot point of the book or have I looked up the wrong one?

http://www.amazon.com/Signal-Noise-Eric-S-Nylund/dp/03807929...

The Great Firewall was definitely a fairly minor plot point compared to everything else.

What happens when the US is no longer trading with anyone, AND continues passing SOPA-style laws that hinder the internet?

They'll be like North Korea? Shut off from the world and ignored (unless they try to nuke someone, in which case their'd be regime change)?

Depends, does the us stop trading with everybody before or after theyve exported sopa to everybody? If they can convince enough countries to enforce American IP law, they can just sell IP to foreigners instead of real stuff.

It seems to me that America is setting itself up to be the country equivalent of a patent troll.

I don't know where I read it but that seems to be exactly the goal. So much of American labour has been offshored now. A vast majority of it is outsourced and the US provides less and less manufacturing each year.

The result is quickly becoming that US's chief export is entertainment or IP product. But when the rest of the world is simply stealing that export it isn't very financially lucrative is it?

All these laws are simply the US trying to protect its export that is obviously in a failing state.

«They are basically coercing everyone to do what they want or else.»

To be more precise, they are coercing everyone with a fragile economy like Spain is suffering right now.

China has much less respect for intellectual property than Spain does, yet USA doesn't dare to threaten and pressure them in such an arrogant way.

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