The Battle Royale

Like people born with different temperaments and talents, countries—shaped by geography, climate, history, and culture—excel at different things.

Canadians are great at hockey, curling, and being apologetic.

Norwegians excel at cross-country skiing and polar exploration.

Russians dominate chess, figure skating, ballet—and submitting to autocracy.

Americans are great at many things, but in one domain they are the undisputed world champions: consumption.

One estimate suggests the average U.S. household consumes over 15% more than the next closest country, and nearly four times more than what the Earth can sustainably provide.

China, meanwhile, holds a commanding lead in production. It accounts for nearly 32% of the world’s manufacturing output—double that of the second-place United States.

But Trump, who is incapable of imagining any relationship beyond a transaction, seems to believe the world’s greatest consumers can force the world’s greatest producers to submit to their will. That’s essentially the Battle Royale he’s been staging. What he fails to grasp is that we are all both consumers and producers—and that it's in everyone’s interest to have access to the widest array of goods at the lowest cost.

In his mind, Americans can produce anything—just like he’s sold anything and everything for a buck: Bibles, sneakers, guitars, steaks, board games, bottled water, clothing. The list is too long—and too ridiculous—to recite. The irony, of course, is that nearly all of it was made in China. And most of it failed. Maybe that’s where the resentment really comes from.

But what makes this moment so revealing isn’t just the clash of consumption vs. production. It’s that, like all real conflicts, it tests deeper human qualities: discipline, values, and character.

Trump lacks these traits entirely. And because he does, he cannot understand how other nations—who possess them—might endure and even outlast his economic attacks. His obsession with the so-called “trade deficit” masks a deeper truth: being a great producer takes discipline, ingenuity, and industriousness; being a great consumer requires nothing more than a big appetite and access to lots of credit - sort of a perfect description of trump himself.

This is no contest.