Moving on, it may seem a contradiction to say that pursuit of new gun laws gives you lots more new guns, but it’s true. And there’s an even bigger contradiction that’s true: the more guns, the less crime. That, at any rate, is how it has mostly worked out since 1993, not necessarily as cause and effect but as a fact to make you wonder why guns dominate so much of our thinking after a dramatic shooting, although even I am not opposed to more background checks.
Obviously, firearms facilitate killing, but we have any number of experts who have argued that cultural issues are mainly at play, such as the late social scientist James Q. Wilson. He observed that people in the United States do not just kill others with guns at a higher rate than in England, but also a much higher rate using other means.
Something more than guns is clearly at play.
As regards China, we shouldn’t make too much of Trump holding back on high tariffs on some China goods until mid-December. These are toys and the like and low Christmas prices just could be at play, some say. Other tough tariffs are going into effect Sept. 1, and sour consequences could be waiting for American consumers.
Is there another approach to facing this dangerous, authoritarian competitor? Yes.
Another approach
What Trump really should do, a number of informed observers say, is join with Europe and other parts of Asia to form a coalition that could work together not just on trade, but digital spying, Chinese aggression against its neighbors, its disregard of international norms and agreements, its theft of intellectual property, its Cold War antics. Alliances count; Trump should get that and he should act on it.
