Biden faces a dilemma with Taiwan like Carter did.

Living Through the 1970s Again: The Return of Old Problems with New Faces

Americans are facing a familiar set of challenges that plagued the nation in the 1970s. Race riots are back, inner-city crime is rampant, runaway inflation is wreaking havoc on the economy, and foreign policy failures are once again causing humiliation. The current crop of leaders is grappling with the same issues as their liberal predecessors, but this time, the biggest threat to America comes from Red China, the world’s communist power broker armed with nuclear weapons.

The Looming Threat of Beijing Invading Taiwan

The looming threat of Beijing invading Taiwan is reminiscent of the Soviet Union’s hovering over Middle Eastern oil supplies during the Cold War. Taiwan is the world’s largest supplier of computer processors, which are essential to modern life. According to a recent report from the RAND Corporation, more than 90 percent of the world’s computer chips are exported from Taiwan. Destruction of the few chip factories concentrated on a small strip of land would result in a “global economic catastrophe.”

The Impending Soviet Oil Crisis

The 1973 Arab oil embargo exposed the Western world’s dependence on foreign energy. Gas lines and panic buying became routine throughout the Western world in the ’70s as resource reliance on unstable faraway regimes left consumers vulnerable to supply shocks. An even greater threat to global gas supplies came not from the Ayatollah, however, but from the Soviet Union. The flailing Soviet oil industry at the time made a communist power grab over Middle Eastern fields just across the evil empire’s southern border all the more tempting.

Just as Presidents Carter and Reagan were forced to navigate complex foreign affairs with delicate supply chains, President Joe Biden is staring down the barrel of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan. Reunification of the 14,000 square mile island in the South China Sea has remained central to Beijing’s global agenda for decades as well as a legacy project for Chinese President Xi Jinping.

The Achilles Heel of the Global Economy

The Taiwanese computer chips are to Biden today what Middle East oil was to Carter in the ’70s. Destruction of the few chip factories concentrated on a small strip of land would result in a “global economic catastrophe.” The situation is so dire that Jason Matheny, the president of the RAND Corporation, described the East Asian inflection point as the “Achilles heel of the global economy” on “60 Minutes Australia.”

As we face these challenges, it’s important to remember that history often repeats itself. We must learn from the past and take action to prevent a repeat of the mistakes that led to the crises of the 1970s.

• Tristan Justice is the western correspondent for The Federalist and the author of Social Justice Redux, a conservative newsletter on culture, health, and wellness.
• He has also written for The Washington Examiner and The Daily Signal. His work has also been featured in Real Clear Politics and Fox News.
• Tristan graduated from George Washington University where he majored in political science and minored in journalism.
• Follow him on Twitter at @JusticeTristan or contact him at [email protected].
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