Chapter 723: Abundance Agenda

Chapter 723: Chapter 337: Abundance Agenda

Leo slowed his pace.

“The Abundance Agenda?”

“Yes. Its core slogan is: Scarcity is a choice, but abundance is a policy.”

Roosevelt explained, “In the future, whether you become Secretary of State or actually manage to become President, you must understand this core consensus of interests that transcends party lines.”

“For a long time, US policy has leaned toward demand-side management. For example, handing out money to subsidize rent, which only ends up driving up housing prices. Or imposing strict regulations for the sake of environmental protection and community participation, leading to ten-year delays for building a bridge or a power line.”

“This ‘vetocracy’ has turned the United States into a bureaucracy that can only debate, but not build.”

“The Abundance Agenda, however, shifts the focus entirely to the physical supply side. Through supply-side reforms, it aims to make necessities so plentiful that their prices naturally fall. It seeks to transform the government’s role from a distributor of funds to a remover of obstacles.”

“Look at the politicians.” Roosevelt directed Leo’s attention to the actions of both parties.

“The Republican Party emphasizes energy abundance. They advocate for a massive increase in oil and gas extraction, the repeal of environmental restrictions, and expedited approvals for nuclear power. Their goal is to achieve extremely low energy prices.”

“And the Progressives, while their slogans may differ, have the same fundamental demand. They emphasize the large-scale construction of a green energy grid and call for rapid approval of wind and solar farms. Everyone is chasing a massive increase in quantity.”

“In the housing sector, they’re pushing the ‘Build, Baby, Build’ initiative, trying to repeal restrictive zoning laws and simplify building permits.”

“On infrastructure, they’re focused on streamlining the cumbersome approval process of the National Environmental Policy Act.”

“In healthcare, they’re emulating Operation Warp Speed from the pandemic, using government pre-purchases to accelerate approvals and massively increase the supply of new drugs.”

Leo sat down on a bench by the roadside.

“What kind of changes will this shift bring?”

“A restructuring of the logic of domestic society,” Roosevelt stated pointedly.

“In an era of scarcity, if you take more, I get less. But under the Abundance Agenda, when the prices of energy, computing power, and basic raw materials approach zero due to massive construction—like the nuclear power and industrial revitalization you’re pushing—the cost of living for the lower classes will plummet.”

“This structural deflation will do more to alleviate the social anxiety caused by the wealth gap than any welfare policy that just hands out money. Using growth to dissolve conflict is the most effective way to mend societal fractures.”

“But this also comes with immense controversy,” Leo countered. “The pursuit of abundance will inevitably sacrifice labor rights, environmental standards, and public oversight. That’s why Progressives like Sanders are so vehemently opposed to nuclear power.”

“Of course there’s controversy. Some believe it’s just neoliberalism in a new guise, designed to benefit large capitalists.”

“Moreover, many of the rules hindering construction exist at the state government level; the Federal Government can’t just change them all with a single executive order,” Roosevelt analyzed. “That’s why the strong-arm tactics you used in Pennsylvania were so important. You’ve already put the core of the Abundance Agenda into practice at the local level—breaking old rules to force construction forward.”

Roosevelt broadened the perspective to a global scale.

“Leo, you need to see the profound impact this agenda will have on the international community. It will completely change the underlying logic of globalization.”

“Once the United States achieves absolute abundance in domestic energy and raw materials, the incentive to rely on the global division of labor will plummet.”

“When electricity and land costs in the United States drop to the lowest levels in the world, manufacturing will flow back to America on its own, without any executive orders. The advantage developing countries have of attracting US capital with their low costs will vanish, and the global industrial division of labor will rupture violently.”

“Geopolitical bargaining chips will be reshuffled. If the United States achieves complete energy independence and becomes a massive exporter, oil from the Middle East and Russia will lose its power as a geopolitical weapon.”

“As for allies like Europe, Japan, and South Korea, which lack energy resources, the United States will use its advantage in cheap energy and raw materials to create an ‘abundance black hole,’ siphoning away their industrial foundations.”

“The United States will no longer wage trade wars just with tariffs, but will crush competitors through efficiency gaps. Extremely low-priced agricultural and industrial goods will put immense survival pressure on industries worldwide.”

Leo’s brow furrowed.

“This sounds like a form of extreme isolationism.”

“Not entirely,” Roosevelt corrected him. “This is self-centered abundance. Historically, the United States has intervened in world affairs to protect key resources or markets.”

“Once the United States achieves comprehensive abundance in food, energy, minerals, and microchips, its interest in maintaining the global order will decline significantly.”

“The United States could become an island of abundance. This isn’t closing its borders; it’s just that it no longer needs the world to provide necessities. Instead, the world becomes a dumping ground for its surplus capacity and a place to extract excess profits.”

Roosevelt concluded.

“The Abundance Agenda is, in essence, America’s strategy for self-preservation and expansion in the post-globalization era.”

“Domestically, it’s an attempt to stitch a fractured society back together with construction and to buy off the electorate with a low cost of living. Internationally, it will transform the United States from a superpower dependent on global trade into a self-sustaining super-fortress.”

“For countries that rely on the old order and the global division of labor, this means a new era of greater turmoil and more brutal competition.”

Leo looked at the row of stately federal buildings across from the bench as the shadow of that vast nation on the other side of the ocean loomed in his mind.