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In the Section on Political Conservatism we stated that Right-Wing nationalism normally contains an aggressive and belligerent foreign policy. Normally, this means the use of threats or actual force against any other countries (including friendly ones) in order to protect whatever they see as being in their own best interest. It contains no concern for anyone else's 'best interest', nor for the needs or wants of other countries. Three Examples of this Kind of Nationalism (1) Europe's Gallileo GPS System Europe's proposed new GPS satellite system was designed to be state of the art; it would be better and much more accurate than the existing American sytem. Europe saw the GPS system as a civilian technology that should be available to everyone, and refused the US demand for the right to control and jam its signals in times of conflict. So the Americans told the Europeans that if they launched these new satellites, the US would shoot them all down. The US saw its 'national interest' as being totally in control of all GPS signals and, since right-wing ideology is based on conflict rather than negotiation, the US simply issued the military threats against Europe. (2) Canada's Avro Arrow As another example, Canada once had a thriving high-tech aircraft industry that, in the late 1960s prioduced a supersonic jet fighter that was the fastest plane in the world, and superior to anything the US had at the time. But without warning, the Canadian Prime Minister cancelled the entire project and the government ordered that all existing Arrow aircraft be cut up for scrap metal, and that all plans, drawings, jigs, everything, be destroyed. In return, the US government gave Canada, free of charge, a large number of their own Voodoo aircraft. We will never know the full story of the Arrow, but it is certain that the cancellation was the result of enormous US political and (probably) military pressure. So the Arrow died, 40,000 people became unemployed, and Canada's aircraft industry died as well. We will never know what tactics the US government used, but clearly they must have frightened the hell out of Canada, for the government to destroy every trace of the best military plane on earth at the time. (3) The Japanese Yen and The Plaza Accord Something similar happened to Japan in the 1980s with the signing of the Plaza Accord. At the time, Japan was as China is today, quickly growing and developing, and outperforming the US in most areas. And running high trade surpluses with the US as well. US nationalism was so envious that President Reagan threatened to levy a 100% import tax on all Japanese products. But they found a better solution; they forced a revaluation of the Japanese Yen, from 240 to 120. As a result of huge and sustained intervention in the foreign exchange markets, the Japanese Yen doubled in three years, and crippled Japan's economy - a state from which it still has not recovered. |