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Geopolitical Economy Report

Author: Ben Norton

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Geopolitical Economy Report is an independent news outlet that provides original journalism and analysis to understand the changing world.
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US President Donald Trump claimed he would "un-unite" Russia and China, but the divide-and-conquer strategy failed. Instead, Moscow and Beijing are closer than ever, and they are at the heart of a Global South-led movement to build a new multipolar world order, challenging Western hegemony and imperialism. Ben Norton explains. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-bq4347Z18 US attacks blow back, uniting China, India, Russia, Iran; encouraging dedollarization: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qsFGCUtzzQ8 Topics 0:00 China and Russia: close partners 0:59 USA fears "near-peer" competitors 1:51 (CLIP) Trump: divide Russia and China 2:06 US divide-and-conquer strategy 2:31 (CLIP) Marco Rubio: "partner with the Russians" 3:04 Marco Rubio, top US war hawk 3:33 (CLIP) Marco Rubio: China is top "threat" 4:16 China and Russia's political ties 5:33 China's trade with Russia 6:28 US and Russia: economic competitors 7:37 Trump doesn't have anything to offer 8:23 Global South leaders meet in China 9:41 USA failed to divide India and China 10:28 China's 80th anniversary WWII victory parade 12:09 Trump laments China-Russia-India ties 13:02 Xi-Putin meeting in Beijing 14:19 USSR and China in WWII 18:21 Dedollarization of China-Russia trade 19:44 Power of Siberia 2 pipeline 21:44 Russia integrates with Eurasia 22:19 Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) 22:44 BRICS 23:33 Neocolonial financial system 25:30 Russia deepens ties with Global South 27:34 New multipolar world order 28:37 Outro
The US government has long tried to divide China, India, and Russia, but Washington's aggressive actions have only brought them together. Donald Trump's tariffs, in particular, angered Indian PM Modi, who visited the Chinese city Tianjin for the 2025 Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit, where the Eurasian countries deepened their relations. Ben Norton analyzes the important results of this historic meeting, and how the US empire's aggression has blown back. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qsFGCUtzzQ8 Topics 0:00 US imperial overstretch 1:25 China, Russia, India unite 3:38 Shanghai Cooperation Org (SCO) summit 4:48 Global Governance Initiative 6:50 New multipolar order 8:08 Members of SCO 9:29 Population of SCO 10:07 Economy of SCO 11:01 US empire seeks to divide Eurasia 12:49 Trump attacks India 13:37 Donald Trump's tariffs 14:52 India moves closer to China 16:23 Views India and China share 18:59 Modi meets with Xi Jinping 21:33 US war hawks are furious 22:02 (CLIP) John Bolton on India-China ties 23:20 US war hawks are furious 24:05 (CLIP) Jake Sullivan on India-China ties 25:17 USA alienates its "allies" 25:53 Trump makes China great again (川建国 Chuan Jianguo) 26:50 Trump accelerates US imperial decline 29:09 Dedollarization 30:48 CBDCs 32:42 Dedollarization 33:30 China proposes SCO development bank 33:48 SCO Tianjin Declaration 35:51 Need for UN reform 40:20 Multipolarity 41:07 International financial system 42:53 Xi Jinping's speech 46:43 Open-source artificial intelligence (AI) tech 47:38 Oppose the new cold war 48:15 Global South vision of multipolar world 50:45 Outro
The US government has a long history of supporting corrupt, drug-dealing, right-wing oligarchs in Latin America. The Donald Trump administration is threatening to attack Venezuela, accusing leftist President Nicolás Maduro, without any evidence, of leading a cartel, while Marco Rubio defends Colombia's drug-trafficking former leader Álvaro Uribe. Ben Norton documents Washington's imperial hypocrisy. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwCducQ8HHw Topics 0:00 Hypocritical US meddling in Latin America 1:41 Colombia's ex President Álvaro Uribe 4:52 (CLIP) CIA director: "We lie, cheat, steal" 5:09 Drug cartels linked to Colombian leader 6:49 Paramilitaries linked to Colombian leader 9:16 False positives scandal 11:36 Plan Colombia 12:37 Left-wing President Gustavo Petro 14:55 US interventions in Latin America 15:39 Honduran dictator Juan Orlando Hernández (JOH) 16:48 US-backed coup in Honduras in 2009 18:27 US support for dictators 19:41 Drug trafficking in Honduras 22:36 US foreign policy in Latin America 22:59 CIA-backed Nicaraguan Contras 24:09 Trump admin attacks Venezuela (again) 25:50 Outro
The dominance of the US dollar as the global reserve currency has been gradually declining for years, but Donald Trump's policies could rapidly accelerate de-dollarization and the transition to a more multipolar international financial order, warn even mainstream American economists like Barry Eichengreen and Kenneth Rogoff. Political economist Ben Norton reviews the evidence. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utvD1JiIgCM Our related article - "Trump advisor reveals tariff strategy: Force countries to pay tribute to maintain US empire": https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2025/04/10/trump-advisor-miran-tariff-pay-us-empire/ Topics 0:00 Dedollarization 0:43 Trump's policies accelerate dedollarization 3:50 Economist Barry Eichengreen 5:25 (CLIP) Barry Eichengreen on dedollarization 6:54 Gradually, and then suddenly 7:49 Erosion of dollar dominance 9:18 Decline of US economy 11:36 Rise of China 12:50 Gold: why central banks keep buying it 15:42 Western sanctions 17:57 List of reasons driving dedollarization 18:42 Trump's tariffs & US trade deficit 20:10 Trump pressures Federal Reserve 22:58 Why Trump wants low interest rates 24:56 US Treasury market volatility 26:03 Fewer foreigners want US government debt 29:32 US economy: a financial house of cards 30:34 High corporate bond yields 32:26 Reasons driving dedollarization 32:56 Inflation 36:31 Trump fires BLS chief 37:40 Mar-a-Lago Accord plans 38:54 (CLIP) Trump economic advisor Stephen Miran 38:59 Plaza Accord redux 40:30 Century bonds: de facto US debt default 44:46 Private investors de-dollarize too 45:25 Post-US dollar world 47:14 Economist Kenneth Rogoff 48:09 Trump's own Nixon shock 48:51 Multipolar financial world 50:46 Outro
How do China's government, political system, and socialist market economy actually work? How does China see democracy, the USA, and Donald Trump's trade war? Renowned Chinese scholar Zhang Weiwei explains the China model in this interview with Ben Norton. VIDEO with subtitles here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkVyYvWezI0 Topics 0:00 Highlights 1:30 Introduction to Zhang Weiwei 1:51 The China model 3:23 Civilization-state 4:13 Meritocracy 5:01 Socialist market economy 7:52 US capitalism vs Chinese socialism 9:36 Foreign investment in China 11:15 How China sees democracy 13:46 How laws are made in China 15:59 Economic planning 16:59 Debate with Francis Fukuyama 20:11 US trade war on China 23:36 Dedollarization of financial system 28:17 The multipolar future 29:36 Outro
One of the main goals of the US political and economic system is to protect corporate monopolies. Silicon Valley Big Tech corporations fear Chinese competitors, so the US government is trying to ban them. Political economist Ben Norton explains how imperialism works, and what drives Washington's Cold War Two against China. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9EVwFJ7sM6c Topics 0:00 US government seeks political monopoly 0:51 Billionaire Peter Thiel defends monopolies 2:53 (CLIP) Peter Thiel: "competition is for losers" 3:18 Cold War Two against China 4:49 Uber's monopolistic business model 9:18 Corporate lobbyists & donors 10:02 Trump admin opposes antitrust cases 12:12 Money buys US politics 13:42 Trump backs billionaire Big Tech oligarchs 15:45 Trump green-lights white collar crime 17:35 Trump promotes bribery & corruption 19:30 USA wants to control global infrastructure 20:03 (CLIP) Trump threatens Panama Canal 20:14 BlackRock buys Panama Canal ports 20:36 (CLIP) Trump boasts of BlackRock deal 21:00 Trump helps BlackRock buy up ports 21:58 Second Cold War on China 22:23 US Big Tech targets TikTok 24:14 DeepSeek & Chinese AI competitors 25:00 OpenAI CEO Sam Altman 26:14 US states ban DeepSeek 26:57 Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei 27:29 US AI companies lobby to ban competitors 28:37 Silicon Valley seeks "unipolar world" 30:23 Biden's chip export restrictions on China 31:09 USA seeks to stop China's innovation 31:57 Biden's tariffs on China 33:55 How imperialism works 34:45 Global value chain (division of labor) 36:20 USA wanted China to stay subordinate 37:50 VP JD Vance wants Global South on bottom 38:45 (CLIP) JD Vance on China & value chain 39:30 Industrial policy: Made in China 2025 plan 41:32 China enters commercial aircraft industry 42:14 US politicians lobby to ban China's Comac 43:58 How Boeing was destroyed by finance bros 45:47 How Jack Welch ran GE into the ground 46:39 Boeing attacked unions & skilled labor 47:56 Boeing CEO was Blackstone exec 48:51 Boeing prioritizes stock buybacks, not R&D 50:17 Private equity is "looting America" 51:22 Goal of Washington's new cold war 52:11 Outro
The US government has tried for years to recruit India for its new cold war on China, but Donald Trump's aggressive tariffs have backfired, encouraging New Delhi to improve its relations with Beijing, strengthening unity in BRICS. Political economist Ben Norton explains the complex history of the foreign relations of the US, India, China, and Russia. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BstijDvJT8Y Topics 0:00 Donald Trump's contradictory policies 0:39 (CLIP) Trump threatens BRICS 1:05 Brazil pushes back 1:40 USA tries to use India against China 3:58 Goal of Trump's tariffs on India 5:34 (CLIP) EU chief on US trade deal 5:52 India buys Russian oil 7:46 Europe buys Russian oil - from India 9:10 India's trade surplus with USA 9:48 (CLIP) Trump trade advisor Peter Navarro 9:57 US trade with China 11:18 China restricts rare earth exports 12:03 US trade with India 13:35 India improves relations with China 15:41 Vietnam moves closer to China 16:35 BRICS expands to global majority 17:28 History of US-China relations 19:40 Kissinger's triangular diplomacy 20:47 Kissinger: divide Russia & China 21:21 (CLIP) Trump: divide Russia & China 21:37 Closest Russia-China relations ever 22:30 India-US-China relations 24:07 India: 3rd-largest economy on Earth 25:41 India & Non-Aligned Movement 27:03 India-USSR/Russia relations 28:39 India moves toward USA 29:50 Rise of Narendra Modi, BJP, RSS 31:22 US-India relations grow closer 32:59 Modi allies India with Israel 33:40 Modi: from banned to loved in USA 34:49 Trump's India policy 35:50 India's role in BRICS 37:59 India's foreign policy 38:52 India opposes dedollarization 42:21 BRICS' internal contradictions 45:05 Outro
Private equity funds and other Wall Street investors are buying up homes across the US and the West, driving up rent and the cost of living. Economist Michael Hudson explains how these corporate landlords are a result of the system of financialized capitalism, dominated by an unproductive rentier class. He is interviewed by host Ben Norton. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJd0d7Uda2M Transcript: https://www.geopoliticaleconomy.report/p/corporate-landlords-rent-michael-hudson Part 1 of this interview: https://www.geopoliticaleconomy.report/p/world-us-financial-colonialism-economist-michael-hudson Read Michael's article "How the Global Majority can free itself from US financial colonialism": https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2025/07/17/michael-hudson-global-majority-us-financial-colonialism/ Michael's website: https://michael-hudson.com/ Topics 0:00 Cost of living crisis in West 0:30 Blackstone: largest US landlord 1:07 Blackstone CEO is Trump donor 1:49 Investors buy up US homes 2:36 Wall Street buys single-family homes 3:54 Wall Street buys up neighborhoods 5:31 Homelessness rises in USA 6:06 Blackstone buys up homes in Spain 7:34 Introduction to Michael Hudson 9:12 Highlights 10:43 Interview starts 11:58 Feudalism, capitalism, & rentier class 16:58 Adam Smith, David Ricardo, & Karl Marx 19:10 Difference between value, price, & rent 21:33 Bankers, industrialists, & landlords 27:34 Theory of comparative advantage 28:20 Problems with economics education 30:57 Profits vs rent 32:48 Financialization and GDP 37:21 Adam Smith in Beijing 38:47 Peter Thiel defends monopolies 40:20 China's reform and opening up 43:06 China's public ownership of finance 44:25 Need to tax land rent 50:45 China's industrialization 53:54 Passive income (ie, rent seeking) 56:01 Mainstream "junk economics" 59:07 Outro
Economist Michael Hudson describes how the Western powers designed the international financial, legal, and political system in a way that benefits North American corporations at the expense of the countries of the Global South. He also proposes ways for the Global Majority to resist US neocolonialism, in this interview with host Ben Norton. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgBUbbTF5Sg Transcript: https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2025/08/06/world-us-financial-colonialism-economist-michael-hudson/ Read Michael's article "How the Global Majority can free itself from US financial colonialism": https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2025/07/17/michael-hudson-global-majority-us-financial-colonialism/ Michael's website: https://michael-hudson.com/
The White House imposed 50% tariffs on Brazil and declared it a threat to US "national security". Donald Trump is blatantly meddling in internal Brazilian affairs, trying to undermine left-wing President Lula da Silva and help far-right former leader Jair Bolsonaro. The USA's attacks also aim to divide BRICS and discourage more countries from joining. Political economist Ben Norton explains how the US empire is attacking the Global South's multipolar project. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=niPNwB-0nQI Topics 0:00 (CLIP) Lula condemns US meddling 1:06 Trump sanctions & tariffs Brazil 2:04 BRICS & Brazil 3:20 Lula resists US hegemony 4:39 (CLIP) Lula on US interference 8:41 Trump fears BRICS & dedollarization 9:56 (CLIP) Trump threatens tariffs on BRICS 10:24 Poll: Brazilians prefer BRICS over USA 11:42 Lula is leading 2026 election polls 12:33 Jair Bolsonaro, close US ally 13:25 Bolsonaro's failed coup attempt 14:35 Role of China 16:19 Bolsonaro fled to USA 18:02 Latin American right: US proxies 19:35 Trump declares Brazil a "threat" 20:50 Elon Musk & US Big Tech corporations 22:41 Trump imposes 50% tariff on Brazil 23:08 Lula defends Brazil's sovereignty 24:29 US coups in Latin America 26:33 Coups against Brazil's Lula & Dilma 29:06 USA has trade surplus with Brazil 29:55 Lula: Trade in other currencies, not dollar 31:00 China: Brazil's top trading partner 32:04 China: Latin America's top trading partner 33:07 China builds infrastructure in Latin America 33:50 China & Brazil plan transcontinental railroad 34:50 Brazil embraces multipolarity 36:46 Brazil boosts ties with Russia 37:14 Brazil & China peace proposal in Ukraine 37:50 Multipolarity & Latin America 39:40 Outro
The one-sided trade agreement that Donald Trump imposed on the EU illustrates how the US empire exploits its "allies" in Europe as vassals to benefit the American oil/gas industry, Big Tech corporations, and the military-industrial complex. This did not start with Trump, but he has accelerated the vassalization of the European Union. Political economist Ben Norton explains. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lpf6ZeABP1I Topics 0:00 Intro 1:04 US empire doesn't have allies, only vassals 2:14 US-EU trade deal & tariffs 5:19 China defended itself in trade war 6:19 Ursula von der Leyen on US energy 7:28 (CLIP) Trump on US-EU trade deal 7:54 USA benefits 8:15 (CLIP) Trump: "the biggest of all the deals" 8:28 Europe gets nothing 9:11 (CLIP) US makes no concessions to EU 9:57 (CLIP) Trump on US fossil fuel exports 10:20 US gets everything, EU gets nothing 11:02 Vassalization of Europe 12:27 BRICS expansion 13:22 NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte 14:03 (CLIP) NATO chief calls Trump "daddy" 14:17 Trump addresses "daddy" comment 14:42 (CLIP) Trump: I'm NATO's "daddy" 15:03 Trump leaks humiliating text messages 16:26 Failure of EU "strategic autonomy" 17:18 NATO demands military spending at 5% of GDP 18:42 US military-industrial complex benefits 20:14 Paying imperial tribute 20:48 Replacing welfare state with warfare state 21:44 EU spending on education 22:08 EU spending on healthcare 22:33 Trump & MAGA take off the mask 23:26 VP JD Vance attacks Europe 23:40 Kissinger: "to be America's friend is fatal" 24:20 Trump boasts of ending Nord Stream 25:39 (CLIP) Trump: "I ended Nord Stream 2" 25:59 US targets European infrastructure 26:26 (CLIP) Trump: US wants to sell oil/gas 26:53 US attacks European "allies" 27:27 Sabotage of Nord Stream pipelines 28:05 Who blew up Nord Stream? 29:20 West opposed UN investigation 30:06 Polish official said US blew up Nord Stream 30:47 Historical amnesia 31:17 Why Germany wanted Nord Stream 32:34 (CLIP) Trump: Europe must buy US oil/gas 32:48 Trump pressured Angela Merkel on Russia 33:15 (CLIP) Trump: Europe must cut Russia ties 34:12 Trump sanctioned Nord Stream 34:55 USA seeks to divide Europe & Russia 35:39 Biden threatened Nord Stream 36:02 (CLIP) Biden: We will end Nord Stream 36:36 Bipartisan vassalage 37:30 US energy exports to Europe 38:08 EU imports of oil 39:25 EU imports of natural gas 39:56 EU imports of LNG 40:45 Climate change catastrophe 41:20 Germany re-opens coal plants 42:00 Germany's pro-war "Greens" 43:19 US imperial strategy: divide Europe 44:56 Imperialist Mackinder's heartland theory 45:28 US fears of Europe-Russia alliance 46:23 NATO's goal: keep US on top 47:24 Deindustrialization of Europe 47:59 EU attacks top trading partner China 48:40 Why are EU leaders Atlanticists? 49:01 EU leaders are literally crying 49:26 EU elites invest in US financial assets 51:57 US Big Tech corporations 52:35 Comprador bourgeoisie 53:48 Western oligarchies 55:00 US empire fears Eurasian integration 56:15 Trump tries to divide Russia & China 56:33 Europe is at a geopolitical crossroads 58:36 Outro
As US president, Donald Trump's policies have served the interests of wealthy elites, while hurting average working people and splitting his own MAGA base. Geopolitical economist Radhika Desai discusses with economist Michael Hudson. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0cUksS_aN_8 This is part of the program Geopolitical Economy Hour. You can watch other episodes of the show here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDAi0NdlN8hMl9DkPLikDDGccibhYHnDP Radhika's website: https://RadhikaDesai.com Michael's website: https://Michael-Hudson.com
China and Russia help formerly colonized countries in the Global South defend their sovereignty amid constant US meddling and aggression, argues Daniel Ortega, President of Nicaragua, a Latin American country that has been invaded and militarily occupied by the USA multiple times. Ben Norton reports on the history of the Sandinista Revolution, and the struggle against Western imperialism. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-xjUmwZxQY Topics 0:00 Global South is Global Majority 0:54 US interventions in Latin America 1:59 US imperialism in Nicaragua 3:12 CIA-backed Contras 5:18 Coup attempts in Nicaragua 6:03 China builds infrastructure 7:58 Nicaragua praises China & Russia 9:22 (CLIP) Daniel Ortega on China & Russia 10:11 46th anniversary of Sandinista Revolution 11:04 (CLIP) Ortega on European colonialism 11:33 US colonialist William Walker 13:19 (CLIP) Daniel Ortega on US imperialism 13:47 US military occupation & Sandino 14:32 Somoza dictatorship 15:22 US Contra war 16:29 (CLIP) Ortega on the Contras 17:54 ICJ case Nicaragua v USA 19:20 Inspirations for Sandinistas 20:17 (CLIP) Ortega on Haitian Revolution 21:43 Simón Bolívar on US imperialism 22:34 Algerian Revolution 23:00 Russian & Chinese Revolutions 23:13 (CLIP) Revolutions in Russia & China 23:46 USSR & China defeated fascism in WWII 25:13 Remilitarization of Europe 25:54 (CLIP) Ortega: West prepares for war 26:34 Fascism has roots in European colonialism 27:36 (CLIP) Ortega on fascism & colonialism 29:57 Palestine 31:07 (CLIP) Daniel Ortega on Palestine 32:01 Iran 32:23 UN is dominated by Western powers 32:59 United Nations & Miguel d'Escoto 34:19 UN can't stop illegal US wars 34:56 (CLIP) Ortega: We need a new UN 36:03 Global South perspectives 37:21 Outro
Western governments claim to be models of democracy, and demonize their geopolitical adversaries as "authoritarian", but empirical evidence shows that the USA and European countries are oligarchies dominated by economic elites and large corporations. Billionaire Donald Trump is the perfect symbol of this, but he's by no means the only one. Ben Norton explains. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BONnmHRmp_M Topics 0:00 Narrative of Western "democracies" 0:26 (CLIP) Joe Biden on "democracy vs autocracy" 0:37 Western governments are oligarchies 1:54 Summary of oligarchic Western leaders 2:54 Scientific research shows USA is an oligarchy 4:29 US public opinion on healthcare 5:20 Money buys 80-90% of seats in US Congress 6:27 Citizens United ruling 7:21 Donald Trump: perfect symbol of US oligarchy 7:57 Robber barons 8:44 One Big Beautiful Bill: class war by the rich 9:49 Billionaires pay lower tax rate than most Americans 10:42 US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent 11:35 Ex US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin 12:16 Steve Bannon worked for Goldman Sachs 12:58 US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick 13:07 Crypto was taken over by Wall Street 14:08 Trump is the symptom, not the cause 15:07 Biden promised nothing would change 16:07 Barack Obama: funded by Wall Street 17:53 Mitt Romney: servant of Wall Street 18:48 Super PACs 19:32 Bloomberg funded Biden's 2020 race 19:56 Billionaires funded Trump's 2024 race 20:35 Elon Musk donated $288 million for Trump 20:57 (CLIP) Elon Musk bought 2024 US election 21:11 World's richest man buys US politics 21:34 Wall Street wages war on Zohran Mamdani 22:46 Democratic Party sabotaged Bernie Sanders 24:34 UK Labour Party sabotaged Jeremy Corbyn 26:18 British spy agencies sabotaged Jeremy Corbyn 28:15 Symbol of UK oligarchy: Rishi Sunak 31:37 Neoliberal Keir Starmer: Tony Blair reincarnated 32:35 France's President of the rich: Emmanuel Macron 36:04 BlackRock's man in Germany: Friedrich Merz 37:40 Goldman Sachs' man in Italy: Mario Draghi 39:10 Goldman Sachs' man in Canada: Mark Carney 40:22 Summary of oligarchic Western leaders 41:35 Western governments are not democracies 42:45 Outro
The New York Times finally admitted Israel is carrying out a genocide against the Palestinian people in Gaza, in an article by an Israeli scholar who studies the Holocaust. A United Nations report detailed how US corporations are profiting from these crimes, although the Trump administration responded by imposing sanctions on the UN expert who exposed it, Francesca Albanese. Ben Norton explains. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lb082pTy-Nw Topics 0:00 US media whitewashes Israel's crimes 0:43 NY Times admits: Israel is committing genocide 3:43 Evidence of genocidal intent 5:24 NYT's pro-Israel propaganda 6:26 NY Times spread Iraq "WMDs" lies 7:17 No longer possible to deny reality 8:01 Ex EU foreign policy chief admits truth 9:42 (CLIP) Josep Borrell "garden" & "jungle" rant 9:55 Fears of justice 10:39 Nakba: History of colonialism in Palestine 11:37 Ex Israeli PM warns of concentration camps 12:28 Israeli genocide impossible without US support 13:01 Trump & Biden give Israel billions in weapons 13:42 US military-industrial complex benefits 14:24 UN report: US corporations profit from Gaza genocide 15:06 Big Tech monopolies in "Magnificent 7" 15:33 Palantir profits 16:29 IBM profits from Holocaust 17:18 Trump admin sanctions UN expert 18:13 (CLIP) UN special rapporteur Francesca Albanese 18:53 USA attacks UN human rights experts 20:22 Bush family & US corporations profited from Holocaust 21:09 Andrew Feinstein's powerful words 22:04 Fascism is colonialism turned inward 24:40 Imperialism: true face of Western "democracies" 25:43 Israel's genocidal intent was always clear 27:08 Don't erase history 28:01 Outro
Close Donald Trump allies like Steve Bannon say "the president is pissed every time he looks at the BRICS de-dollarization effort". The US government fears the Global South's challenge to the exorbitant privilege of the dollar. Trump is trying to make an example out of Brazil, threatening high tariffs to punish Lula da Silva, who promotes a multipolar world and a new global reserve currency. Ben Norton explains. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MguxV2HZWVk As Trump threatens BRICS, it grows stronger, resisting US dollar and Western imperialism: https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2025/07/10/trump-threat-brics-us-dollar-western-imperialism/ Topics 0:00 (CLIP) Trump: "The dollar is king" 0:17 Western imperialists fear BRICS 1:20 Trump threatens tariffs on BRICS 1:37 Dedollarization enrages Trump 3:21 (CLIP) Trump's angry rant against BRICS 4:43 Schrödinger's BRICS 5:24 US officials demonize BRICS 6:00 Non-Aligned Movement 7:18 US divide-and-conquer strategy 7:58 (CLIP) Trump: divide Russia and China 8:16 US empire is failing 9:00 Trump attacks Brazil 10:07 Brazilian President Lula da Silva 10:52 Jair Bolsonaro, Trump ally 11:26 Bolsonaro's failed coup attempt 12:07 Elon Musk meddles in Brazil 13:00 US-sponsored coups in Latin America 14:29 Elon Musk: "We will coup whoever we want" 15:27 US-backed coups in Brazil 18:01 Brazil pushes back against US meddling 19:52 Multipolarity 20:35 Dedollarization 21:08 Gold 22:30 US empire's main weapon: the dollar 24:06 Sanctions: economic warfare 24:53 BRICS develops alternatives 25:30 End of US dollar's exorbitant privilege 27:29 Why Trump is afraid 28:46 Outro
US President Donald Trump has threatened heavy tariffs on BRICS, claiming the organization is "dead", but it is actually growing in size and influence. 10 members and 10 partners participated in the 2025 BRICS summit in Brazil, where they discussed plans for dedollarization, trade and investment in national currencies, and how to create a more multipolar global order. Ben Norton explains. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmR03QFdhfs Topics 0:00 Trump attacks BRICS 0:25 (CLIP) Trump claims "BRICS is dead" 1:16 BRICS is growing 1:49 BRICS: 10 members & 10 partners 2:26 BRICS: 44% of global GDP (PPP) 2:41 BRICS: 56% of world population 2:55 Vietnam joins BRICS 3:27 Cuba joins BRICS 4:11 Mexico attends BRICS summit 4:58 Trump threatens tariffs on BRICS 6:07 Trump doesn't understand BRICS 6:21 (CLIP) Trump claims Spain is in BRICS 6:58 Lula: World doesn't want an "emperor" 8:03 Dedollarization 8:31 (CLIP) Trump threats to save US dollar 8:48 BRICS promotes dedollarization 9:54 Brazil challenges US dollar dominance 10:44 New Development Bank (NDB) 11:03 US meddling in Colombia 11:50 US-backed coup in Bolivia 13:01 US-backed judicial coup in Brazil 13:40 BRICS trade in local currencies 14:38 Dedollarization: slow and steady 15:29 Dedollarization in BRICS declaration 17:32 IMF alternative: Contingent Reserve Arrangement (CRA) 20:29 New international financial system 21:27 Vladimir Putin's speech 21:48 Why the absence of Xi Jinping and Putin? 23:31 Why Iran's president did not attend 24:22 China's view of BRICS 26:15 Goals of BRICS 27:03 Financial imperialism: the "reverse Marshall Plan" 30:28 Billionaire oligarchs 31:58 Malaysia PM Anwar Ibrahim 32:22 Non-Aligned Movement 33:37 (CLIP) BRICS inspired by Non-Aligned Movement 35:02 (CLIP) Malaysia PM on de-dollarization 35:44 Bandung Conference 36:46 (CLIP) Malaysia PM: BRICS follows Bandung 37:27 Decolonization and multipolarity 39:57 NATO militarization and warmongering 40:32 Climate change 41:17 Palestine and Iran 41:57 Multilateralism under attack by USA 42:50 Imperialism vs democracy 43:27 Capitalist oligarchy 43:43 Trump: symbol of US imperialism 44:28 Meaning of BRICS 45:14 Outro
BRICS has expanded to 20 countries - 10 members and 10 partners - after adding Vietnam. BRICS+ now makes up 43.93% of world GDP (PPP) and 55.61% of the global population. Ben Norton explains how the US failed to divide China and Vietnam in the Second Cold War. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZUeShGMarI Sources, links, and downloadable charts here: https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2025/07/04/brics-expansion-population-gdp-vietnam Asia is uniting, creating a new post-West global order: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRGkCw-Sqk0 Topics 0:00 Vietnam joins BRICS 0:42 History of BRICS expansion 1:01 BRICS membership 1:21 Map of BRICS+ 1:30 BRICS: 44% of global GDP (PPP) 1:50 BRICS: 56% of world population 2:26 Cold War and Non-Aligned Movement 3:33 USA tries to divide Vietnam & China 5:07 Vietnam's foreign policy is non-aligned 5:53 Timing of Vietnam's decision 6:47 Trump's tariffs 7:39 China improves relations with Vietnam 8:32 Complex history of China-Vietnam relations 10:47 Vietnam's "Four Nos" 11:48 China's non-alignment 12:17 Similarities of Chinese & Vietnamese socialist system 13:36 Vietnam's economic development 15:32 Incomes in Vietnam & China 16:40 Socialist market economy 17:22 Life expectancy in Vietnam & China 18:38 Popularity of Vietnamese & Chinese governments 19:34 Western capitalist oligarchy 21:11 Global South alternatives 21:57 The ASEAN Way 22:37 ASEAN-GCC-China Summit 23:16 Outro
Iran has used its status as a leading oil and gas producer to promote dedollarization, rejecting the US dollar and trading with China, Russia, India, and other BRICS members in their national currencies. Ben Norton explains the Western economic war on Iran, and Tehran's response. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ziGNmvOh6k US pressures Saudi Arabia to sell oil in dollars, not Chinese yuan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NmYybJZo3fo The real reasons for the US-Israeli war on Iran, explained: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwH780cEcEQ Topics 0:00 US dollar's "exorbitant privilege" 0:50 Sanctions: weaponization of US dollar 1:33 De-dollarization 3:54 Economic warfare 5:15 History of US meddling in Iran 6:41 Geopolitics of oil 7:22 Iranian leaders promote de-dollarization 8:42 BRICS trade in national currencies 10:33 Iran's oil and gas production 10:51 Gulf flirts with petroyuan 11:34 History of petrodollar system 12:31 OPEC oil embargo 13:55 Saudi King Faisal 14:30 OPEC oil embargo 14:55 Nixon-Kissinger deal with Saudis 16:50 Super Imperialism 17:39 Oil backs US seigniorage 19:31 Saudi Arabia and petrodollar 20:20 US pressure on Saudi Arabia 21:44 War on Iran 22:27 Why USA wants regime change 23:47 Outro
War on Iran is part of the US empire's larger attempt to re-impose its unipolar dominance on the global political and financial system, argues economist Michael Hudson. Washington wants to preserve dollar hegemony and the petrodollar, while disrupting BRICS and Eurasian integration with China and Russia. He is interviewed by host Ben Norton. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DEXReFGb24 Transcript here: https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2025/06/27/war-iran-us-unipolarity-michael-hudson/ Michael Hudson's article - War on Iran is fight for US unipolar control of world: https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2025/06/22/michael-hudson-war-iran-us-unipolar-control Michael Hudson's website: https://michael-hudson.com Topics 0:00 Intro: US war on Iran 3:45 Summary of US imperial strategy 8:15 Interview starts 9:00 History of US meddling in Iran 11:06 US divide-and-conquer plan 14:02 Israel: US empire's aircraft carrier 17:07 Geopolitics of Iran 18:56 China's Belt and Road Initiative 21:02 Attempt to encircle Russia & China 23:34 US aggression backfires on dollar 27:29 Oil and petrodollar 36:43 Super Imperialism 40:06 Sanctions & economic warfare 44:35 Military-Industrial Complex 51:33 Outro || Geopolitical Economy Report || Please consider supporting us at https://GeopoliticalEconomy.com/Support Subscribe to our newsletter: https://GeopoliticalEconomy.Report Join us at Patreon: https://Patreon.com/GeopoliticalEconomy
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Comments (8)

Mohsen Arya

I mean the title speaks for itself! lol

Jan 20th
Reply

iced

Another banger episode from my favorite podcast series. Thank you.

Dec 18th
Reply

iced

Modi being too out of control even for the US is hilarious

Dec 8th
Reply

Wumaoism

Ben is one of the finest independent journalists in the world. Thank you for your amazing work.

Aug 17th
Reply

Mr.Alikhan

the critical point of the history of is coming... USA will be down listen to this episode for understanding i talk about what

Nov 11th
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Mr.Alikhan

any body think Putin is a f** dictator or in this particular subject Moscow beginning the war should listen this episode!

Nov 10th
Reply

chaosinmotion

Terrible guest, should look up the dictionary to understand meaning of propaganda. Also, calling Dems the left is a scandal for a 'socialist' podcast... Couldn't finish the episode.

Nov 10th
Reply

Tondar Mb

good luck Ben!you are honest,wise ,brave and real left icon.take care bro!from iran

Aug 15th
Reply