The "much too long thread with the misspelled title" brought this to mind.

Conservatives tend to use negative consequences and punishments more than progressives to shape behavior, while progressives are more likely to use rewards and redirection. I see this trend in many areas from foreign policy to raising children.

Using negative consequences is fairly traditional, but also lazy and easy. OTOH, it takes real work to come up with appropriate rewards (and timing of rewards) and redirection. As has been pointed out, punishments tends to push people/countries away, while rewards tend to pull them closer.

The consequences of the current policy positions are clear. We are pushing our allies away, allowing others to pull them closer. It is likely those that have been threatened with tariffs(A threat is clearly a negative consequence) will likely start moving toward increasing trade with others at the expense of trade with the US.

Part of this is the inability to recognize the importance of healthy relationships, and the harm that implementing negative consequences does to a relationship.
Alan

US Policy FAQ

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