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To: Disestablishmentarian
So I have always wondered...and you are the first person I know to ask...what is the specific protection of trade offered by the Navy? Is it against piracy? Against local blockades and attempts to extract fees? My knowledge falls short of understanding what would be the alternative if the U.S. were to cede this dominant position and role.

I need to start with a bit of a history lesson before I answer your question.

Prior to WW2, the Imperial System prevailed. The only thing that really stopped piracy or other countries from meddling with a nation's shipping was the threat of their Navy to sink yours. A nation's trade was mostly carried in ships under their own Merchant Marine. A big thing that saved Britain in the early part of WW2 was that when the Germans invaded Norway, King Haakon VII and his family were evacuated to Britain. He then attached all remaining naval and merchant marine forces to Britain for the duration of the war. This was over 1,000 merchant ships.

During WW2, thinking started early on for what the Allies thought the post-war world should look like. Many thought that the US would essentially take over the existing Imperial system and become the global hegemon. The US quickly figured out that it would take more soldiers and sailors to keep the peace than it would take to win the war and started looking for something better that would let them keep most of their troops at home.

The result was the Bretton Woods System. In exchange for our Navy (almost 6,800 ships in 1945) guaranteeing freedom of navigation and trade world wide, you, Mr and Mrs. Nation, let us (US) write your defense policy to contain the Soviets & Warsaw Pact.

Ironically, the largest single beneficiary of this policy, after the US, was the PRC. Without this the PRC would NEVER have been able to industrialize to even a third of its current output. The past 75 years have been arguably been among the very best in all of Chinese history. It is all coming to an end for them. The world is changing, again, and they aren't up to the change necessary to survive.

I hope this has answered your question. I can't take credit for all the ideas I post in my updates. I do try to reword them to make them more understandable to people without my background. I am likewise thankful for the explanations others here provide for things that I don't understand that well, if at all.

WWG1WGA

Garde la Foi, mes amis! Nous nous sommes les sauveurs de la République! Maintenant et Toujours!
(Keep the Faith, my friends! We are the saviors of the Republic! Now and Forever!)

LonePalm, le Républicain du verre cassé (The Broken Glass Republican)

2,980 posted on 09/29/2023 12:27:26 PM PDT by LonePalm (Commander and Chef)
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To: LonePalm
I am thoroughly enjoying the Broken China pings. Lots of good information that I actually understand, thanks to your explanations.
2,982 posted on 09/29/2023 12:45:55 PM PDT by defconw
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