"In a world of free trade and global economy, Americans are suffering severely. We have turned a blind eye and a deaf ear to our own people as we struggle to compete in the New World." This battle cry for US self-help comes from an unexpected source - a dispute between US bondholders and the Chinese government over unpaid debt.
The statement continues: "The ABF has a vision for Americans. One that will educate our youth, feed our hungry, shelter our homeless, provide affordable safe energy, build our homeland security and protect and care for our elderly including our veterans ... The ABF can and will be a blanket of security for its country and its people through its vision. A vision that is not a dream, it is a reality. A plan that really benefits ALL Americans."
A noble cause
It's stirring rhetoric. We all know how much Americans have been made to sacrifice for the globalized economy, ruthlessly exploited by heartless multinationals, bullied by unaccountable institutions inflexibly enforcing the austere Buenos Aires consensus, driven off their traditional lands and into destitution. But what is this ABF? And how does it plan to usher in this new golden age of wealth and security, of renewable energy and care for the elderly? A revolutionary new approach to life and society, perhaps?
Not quite.