The above is the first half of a famous cartoon quote from the early 1950’s which was reborn, so to speak, on Earth Day 1970. At the end of this short article I will give you the rest of the quote. I thought of this quote when a friend asked me to comment on widespread claims from his friends that Russia, China, and the rest of the BRICS+ nations are conspiring to destroy the dollar as part of a coordinated attack upon the West’s monetary system. He asked if I agreed with the sentiment. My quick answer was that I did not agree with either the sentiment—that these nations were attacking our monetary system—or that it was even possible for them to harm us in this manner. I will explain.
Here’s the key insight, which is denied by the conspiracy theorists—there is nothing, short of a shooting war or an illegal seizure of our property held in trust outside our borders, that any nation can do to harm us economically. By the term “harm” I do not mean nations conspiring to boycott our goods or refuse to sell us their goods. Neither are true “harms”, just as if you personally refused to buy or sell goods or services to someone or some entity that you did not like. The reason for your boycott is immaterial. And, of course, others may boycott you in the same manner, refusing to trade with you. Neither is justification for a lawsuit or, especially, violence.
It is true that Russia, China, and other members of the BRICS+ nations are patiently building a worldwide trade settlement system that bypasses the dollar and the SWIFT international messaging system that is at the core of international trade. These countries have seen the power possessed by the US to discipline sovereign nations by cutting them out of an efficient and heretofore reliably safe world trading system. The US even went further by stealing Russian assets safe kept in the West and handing them over to Ukraine. Therefore, it is no wonder that these nations are building a competitive system.
“But there’s more!” as Ron Papeil, the king of late night TV gizmo sales would say. Not only do other nations have a perfect right to build such a system, but, perhaps more importantly, the Western monetary system faces collapse from excessive spending and borrowing. Had the US refrained from debasing the dollar and, in the absence of its high handed other actions, there would have been no reason to go to the time and expense of building a competitive system. It is mere economic self interest for these nations to do so. They are not trying to destroy us, but they refuse to be taken down with us when the whole house of cards collapses.
So, to complete the quote that cartoonist Walt Kelly gave to his comic strip hero Pogo…”and he is us.”
© Patrick Barron 2026 Website
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