These pieces are in danger of being dragged into the realm of politics by current events. We know that we are in trouble when the term “post-truth” is chosen as the word of the year by the Oxford English Dictionary in homage to the efforts of Donald Trump and the Brexit boys. However, in an age where some politicians will say anything to get power and then abandon the baggage even before the “ticker-tape” has stopped falling on their victory processions, it makes it difficult for the rest of us to discern fact from “post-truth”.
The latest example of this is the decision (or possibly soundbite) of the President-elect to withdraw US participation in the Trans-Pacific Pact (TPP) on “day one” of his presidency and before the trade deal has even been ratified by its participating states. His reversal on stances as diverse as pursuing criminal charges against his opponent, Hillary Clinton; the downgrading of the Mexican wall to a fence; the softening of his objections to claims of anthropogenic climate change; his distancing from Alt-Right and other matters make it very hard to know if he is serious about this or not. Actions will speak louder than words next January.
TPP was hailed as a major agreement which would create jobs, boost trade and reduce red tape that involved 12 nations (US, NZ, Australia, Japan, Malaysia, Vietnam, Singapore, Brunei, Chile, Peru and Mexico) representing 800 million people. The aim was to create something similar the EU’s single market, based on closer economic policies and regulations (governing trade and service). The bloc, as planned, would have accounted for roughly 40% of global trade.
Critics, including Mr Trump, one assumes, claim that the deal was too secretive and favoured big business. Within the US it has been claimed that TPP put jobs and “national sovereignty” at risk.
If the USA does withdraw support then TPP can’t go ahead as it requires the accord of a minimum of six nations accounting for 85% of the group’s economic output – impossible without US participation. Ratification was to be concluded by February 2018, but will have gone into suspended animation whilst US partners try to discern post-truth from reality.