Whose side are we on, anyway?

Ezra Klein foresees conservatives trying to preserve their faltering movement by starting a new Cold War - this time with China.

[T]he case against a hostile stance towards China and other emergent powers, which was core to the neoconservative identity in the late-90s...will doubtlessly be resuscitated over the next few years.

The political divisions over those arguments will not map neatly onto the current Iraq argument, but the Right's strategies will be much the same: More moral blackmail ("do liberals really support the Chinese government torturing so-and-so?"), appeals for solidarity with Taiwan (remember the Kurds?), and lots of fearmongering (the Chinese are building a military! They have lots of people!) meant to pressure Democrats into accepting an aggressive posture. The response is something the Left should be thinking about now.

So our mission is to prevent conservatives from turning America against China?

Though I'm no big fan of Cold Wars, I see a problem with this strategy - namely, that it directly conflicts with the emerging economic focus of the progressive movement. The narrative of the contemporary labor movement runs something like this: American companies have picked up and moved to China, because China's government doesn't bother with little things like labor rights, safe working conditions, and environmental protections; hence, good jobs have fled our shores, and wages have stagnated while the owners and executives of the multinationals make fat profits. If progressives are going to hang our hat on the idea that China is our buddy, we're going to have to forget all about the economic situation.

On the other hand, goading the Right into China-bashing might be a savvy move. It would divide conservatives between hawkish neocons and big businessmen who want Cheap Wages Uber Alles. In other words, the immigration issue all over again. Hmm...

In any case, though, my thoughts on China's virtues are pretty well-known. I'm no fan of their dehumanizing ways. While I'm not ready to haul out the old multiple-warhead ICBMs, I'd be pretty ambivalent about any progressive movement centered on buddying up with the most powerful fascist government on Earth.