Lockdowns & Tariffs = Controlled Demolition
Written on 7 April 2025.
Lockdowns & Tariffs = Controlled Demolition
The recent near-10% plunge in Taiwan’s stock market, the worst since at least 1990, is more than just a reaction to U.S. tariffs—it signals a deeper, global pattern of economic suppression. Like the COVID lockdowns that ground the global economy to a halt in 2020, these new coordinated trade restrictions represent a deliberate and destructive force on industrial productivity and economic freedom.
A Pattern of Suppression
In the 1980s, nations were proud to be industrialized. The future looked bright, with innovation, jobs, and production driving society forward. People believed in a better tomorrow. But beginning in the 1990s and accelerating in the 2000s, the rhetoric shifted: the new dogma became "sustainability"—a concept that increasingly favors high-tech control mechanisms, global surveillance, and post-industrial management over true progress.
The COVID-19 pandemic offered a template. Under the guise of a global health crisis, nations locked down their populations, shuttered small businesses, and massively expanded the power of big tech and pharmaceutical companies. All of this was centrally coordinated, largely under the guidance of international bodies like the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations (UN).
Today, we are seeing another phase in this pattern: economic lockdowns through trade war.
Taiwan and the Fallout of Tariffs
On April 7, 2025, Taiwan’s stock exchange suffered a record drop following U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement of sweeping new tariffs. Taiwan, despite not having its semiconductor industry targeted directly, faced immense market panic due to its position in the global supply chain. With chipmakers like TSMC and Foxconn hitting circuit breakers, the shockwaves reflected deeper fears—fear that the very mechanisms of global commerce are being intentionally sabotaged.
Trump’s tariffs extend beyond Taiwan. A 20% tariff on EU imports and a 25% tariff on cars and auto parts—industries core to Sweden’s economy—threaten to unravel global trade linkages built over decades. Sweden’s Ministry of Finance has already revised economic growth projections downward. The Riksbank and Swedish government recognize the severity but appear to be preparing more for management than recovery.
Sustainability or Strategic Collapse?
Under the banner of climate action and net zero, the public is increasingly being told to consume less, travel less, and even eat less—or switch to synthetic and insect-based food. In reality, the so-called "sustainability" movement disproportionately impacts regular people, while multinational corporations continue to operate at scale.
What used to be a hopeful path toward improvement is now being paved over by policies that limit rather than liberate. The industrial optimism of the 20th century has been replaced by a doctrine of constraint: digital rationing, AI-regulated commerce, and dependency on centralized systems.
The End of the Entrepreneurial Age?
It seems as if small businesses are no longer desired in the new global order. COVID lockdowns destroyed millions of independent shops, restaurants, and services. Now, with trade barriers and supply shocks, it is becoming harder for the entrepreneurial class to function. Governments speak of relief packages, but these are band-aids—not solutions.
What we are witnessing is not a breakdown but a controlled demolition. The world economy is not collapsing by accident; it is being reshaped to fit a new mold. One where work is optional, ownership is obsolete, and compliance is mandatory.
Conclusion
The shift from industrial empowerment to post-industrial control is happening before our eyes. While the world once celebrated progress, it now enforces passivity. Lockdowns and tariffs are tools—not of recovery—but of restructuring. Whether or not individuals speak out, these trends resemble large-scale forces, like industrialization or deindustrialization, that often unfold beyond the influence of public opinion. Understanding what is being built in place of what is being destroyed may be more about preparation and awareness than prevention—because growth, independence, and liberty are not guaranteed to survive in the new global framework.