Writer
William Briggs
Dr William Briggs is a political economist. His special areas of interest lie in political theory and international political economy. He has been, variously, a teacher, journalist and political activist.
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Learning to hate China – how well have we learned the lessons
Toward the end of 2019, an article titled Lessons in how to hate China was published in Pearls and Irritations. Those lessons have been learned and learned well. Three years is a short time but the collective memory is also short. China is now the accepted enemy and the likelihood of war is spoken of Continue reading »
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A cold war that just keeps on keeping on
It is now 30 years since the USSR ceased to be. The end of the Cold War was to herald an era of peace, harmony and the ‘end of history.’ Instead, we have wars, inequality, economic crisis, climate catastrophe and pandemic. Continue reading »
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Government chooses ‘jobs and growth’ over peace with defence spending
Militarisation has become a means of promoting economic welfare, and the ‘defence industry hub’ in Geelong is just the latest such project. Continue reading »
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Curing the climate: with ‘can-do’ capitalism, what possibly can go wrong?
Just 100 corporations account for 70 per cent of global carbon emissions. Time their contribution to the climate crisis was given greater prominence. Continue reading »
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Afghanistan, ‘anarchy’ and confecting a China threat
Readers of The Age and Sydney Morning Herald were recently treated to a lesson in international relations theory. Continue reading »
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Biden’s summit for democracy: China-bashing and the economics of human rights
The US President has announced that he will be issuing invitations to world leaders to talk about democracy, authoritarianism, and human rights, at a Summit to be held in early December. The Summit for Democracy, as the US State Department has titled the gathering, is aimed at shoring up fading support for the USA and Continue reading »
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The China push for a cleaner and cooler planet
Not a day passes without our media damning China for some imagined infamy or other. So many stories, so many column inches, and nothing positive to be found. At the same time, our television screens are full of other images; real images of a disaster that is enveloping us all. Continue reading »
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The Cuban protest and the sixty year illegal US blockade
The US and its allies talk loudly about maintaining a rules based order but in a recent UN General Assembly deliberation there was a vote of 184 to 2 (US and Israel) demanding an end to the illegal 60 year economic boycott of Cuba. The US will ignore the UN vote.The US cherry picks the Continue reading »
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The G7, NATO and the demonisation of China
The G7 and NATO summits have made it abundantly clear that the global economic and military focus will remain on China. The demonisation of China has taken a serious step forward as Biden’s mantra-like statement that ‘America is back’ begins to sound even more ominous. Continue reading »
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Militarism the winner in Biden’s budget
The Biden budget of $6 trillion dollars is being sold as a turn to liberal reform, but the media has largely neglected one significant fact. The budget allows for $1.52 trillion that is ‘discretionary’ spending. Half of that figure will be devoted to the military. It is a record figure. The US has an economy Continue reading »
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Taiwan: the trigger point for America’s next war
It is becoming a case of when, not if, there will be a war between the US and China. Nobody wants war and yet the public is being persuaded that it might happen, and if it does, it will be a necessary evil to counter a threat. Continue reading »
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Not sleepwalking but marching with eyes wide open to war with China
A lie told often enough can become accepted, but it can never be the truth. China has been declared a threat to all that we hold dear, but it is just not so. China, for all its faults, is not a threat and nor is it practising genocide! Continue reading »
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CIA, the USA and a poor night’s sleep for the world
Joe Biden’s appointment of William Burns as CIA director shows how the US, of whatever stripe, views the world. It sees things in absolute black and white. Peace and security can only be assured if ‘we’ remain dominant. Continue reading »
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China ‘bullies’; US engages in ‘robust diplomacy’
As 2020 becomes 2021, one thing remains certain. The Australia-US alliance will continue to threaten the peace of the region and Australia’s economic security. Australia seems prepared to gamble on the US maintaining its supremacy. Continue reading »
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Australia, China and the weaponising of trade
The conflict between Australia and China worsens with each passing day. The latest piece of news, China’s ‘indefinite’ pause in coal imports from Australia shows just how dangerous is the game that Australia is playing. Continue reading »
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The Biden Presidency and China: past, present, and future danger
The global sigh of relief that marked the end of the Trump era is hardly surprising. But Biden’s ascendancy warrants scrutiny, especially when we look at US-Sino relations and the potential for regional and global conflict. Continue reading »
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The China threat: turning myth into reality
We have been told that China poses a real and present danger to Australia and, regardless of the truth, it has become a ‘truth.’ Continue reading »
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China: a manufactured threat
Is China a threat? Presidents, Prime Ministers, governments and opposition parties all tell us that it is. There is barely a day passes without the media finding new and more expansive ways to ‘prove’ the existence of this threat. And while all this goes on, the voices of dissent become marginalised. Continue reading »
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The witch-hunting of Moslemane and Zhang
Australia’s ‘foreign interference’ laws were criticised by many as a step towards domestic authoritarian politics with a pronounced anti-China flavour. NSW politician Shaoqett Moselmane and staffer John Zhang have since been attacked by the Attorney-General, the PM, and vilified by the media; all in the cause of witch-hunting China. Now both Moselmane and Zhang are Continue reading »
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The United States moving a step closer to the brink
Kevin Rudd’s most recent article in Foreign Affairs, warns us to ‘beware the guns of August.’ His allusion to the early days of WWI is apt, but the world is by no means ‘sleepwalking’ to war but rather rushing, with eyes wide open, toward the precipice. Continue reading »
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America’s drive to war with Australia as a willing participant.
The world has moved a step closer to war. US secretary of state Mike Pompeo’s latest outrageous speech has signalled a change of policy and Australia has once again willingly agreed to aid and abet the USA in its provocative and dangerous actions. Continue reading »
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Lincoln’s second assassination
And so, the statues topple. History is revised and historical figures, deserving of homage are lumped together with those who deserve condemnation. There is a madness upon the earth. Somehow, symbols of slave-owning society, and those who fought against slavery have been mixed, amalgamated, and history has been turned upon its head. Continue reading »
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Morrison beating the drums of war
Scott Morrison’s most recent statements regarding defence and security are chilling reminders that a war with China is no longer merely a possibility, but that real plans are being made in real time. Continue reading »
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US-Chinese relations: why things just keep getting sharper
President Trump’s press conference on the 29th May has set the scene for even more dangerous US-Sino relations. He claimed that China was effectively responsible for the 100,000 American COVID-19 deaths, has ‘ripped off’ the US economy and ‘stolen jobs.’ Continue reading »
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WILLIAM BRIGGS. Tear gas – only fit for civilians
Television cameras show streets filled with angry men and women. The air is thick with tear gas. There are batons, armoured police, and pepper spray. For some a symbol of resistance. For others fearful scenes of anarchy. For many more a sign that something is terribly wrong. Continue reading »
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WILLIAM BRIGGS. A Trade War is Announced
A new ‘cold war’ has been announced. While some will have it that COVID 19 is at the root of the deteriorating relations between the US and China, the pandemic is but a symptom of a deeper and potentially far more deadly problem; how the US responds to its perceived China threat. Continue reading »
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WILLIAM BRIGGS. What Drives Peter Hartcher
Peter Hartcher, the Sydney Morning Herald’s international editor, maintains an indefatigable but entirely unedifying assault on China. He is by no means alone in vitriolic attacks. Continue reading »
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WILLIAM BRIGGS. ANZAC Day 2020: why they died and for what?
It is now 105 years since Gallipoli. We have had more than a century to reflect and possibly learn the odd lesson or two. But it seems that nothing has been learned. Continue reading »
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WILLIAM BRIGGS. Assange – when telling the truth becomes a crime
The campaign by Julian Assanges’s lawyers to stop his extradition and the support that his campaign has won and is winning across the globe shows just how torn the fabric of our democracies has become. Continue reading »
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WILLIAM BRIGGS Lessons in how to hate China
In an often-confused world, some things have a ring of certainty. The steady rise in anti-Chinese rhetoric is an example. It is disturbing, and largely baseless, but is becoming one of life’s truisms. This is not to suggest that China is beyond criticism or that its internal politics are in any way defensible. A country Continue reading »
