The conflict between Trump and Harvard is due to the hidden logic of U.S. hegemony

Looking at Trump's actions now, it seems like he's acting recklessly with no clear allies or enemies. However, if we think carefully, there are several internal elements that Trump believes need to change as part of his scenario for restoring dollar hegemony. One of these elements is the 'universities' in the United States, and more specifically, the 'Ivy League universities,' which are at the core of the deep state in the U.S. To delve deeper into this topic, we should consider the concept of the deep state.

The so-called 'deep state' in the U.S. is generally understood as an unelected power structure consisting of Wall Street financial institutions, mainstream media, and elite networks within universities. This power structure is deeply intertwined with Jewish capital, through which these groups have exerted influence over global U.S. policies, the economy, and even cultural discourse. Prominent institutions such as AIPAC, BlackRock, Goldman Sachs, and universities like Harvard have all been central to this deep state. The issue is that the values of these institutions are now in conflict with Trump's values. To understand how their values conflict with Trump's policy direction, we need to think about Trump's core scenario of dollar hegemony.

The most important aspect of Trump's dollar hegemony scenario is a return to industrial capitalism. For the past few decades, the U.S. has grown under the logic of financial capitalism. The core values of financial capitalists include globalization, equality, and the respect for diversity, with an emphasis on free trade and open markets where countries compete and grow together. This framework greatly benefited the financial sector and other existing elites, as their capital needed to flow freely around the world for their companies to grow significantly. As a result, U.S. debt has increased substantially over the years, and through this debt, the dollar spread globally. Those who invested in the dollar during this period, including capitalists and companies, have seen significant growth. This has been the basis of the U.S.'s growth narrative, with China at the center of the countries that grew alongside the spread of the dollar. This, however, became the decisive reason for the challenge to dollar hegemony.

Under financial capitalism, while the U.S. could grow through financial means, it could not prevent deindustrialization and economic inequality. Instead, the empty space left in U.S. industry was filled by China and other countries, and these nations have rapidly caught up with U.S. growth. China, in particular, has shown remarkable growth that does not align with its size, and now it is asserting itself as a major global player. With this, the importance of the yuan is increasing, while the U.S. and the dollar are increasingly facing risks. To reverse this, it made sense for Trump to shift back from financial capitalism to industrial capitalism, but this has intensified friction with existing elites, which is a major threat to the U.S.

The industry where the most significant conflict between Trump and the existing elites is likely to occur is finance. Returning to industrial capitalism could mean that a new intellectual elite may rise to power, creating another new power structure. Furthermore, the return to industrial capitalism represents a shift from globalization to blocism, which negatively impacts the financial growth logic that has prevailed and inevitably affects profits. Therefore, while Trump engages in trade wars with other countries, he is also in a situation where he must deal with internal conflicts with these elites. The result of this is his clash with the universities.

@K3 Lab

Ivy League Universities

→ Formation of the Elite Structure

→ Establishment of Financial Capitalism

→ Global Expansion and Capital Internationalization

→ Rise of China

→ Trump’s Counterattack (Return to Industrial Capitalism and Internal Reform)

U.S. prestigious universities, especially the Ivy League, can be seen as breeding grounds for financial capitalism and the reproduction of the knowledge elite structure. Many of the financial sector's talents have grown within these institutions, and after graduation, they have occupied key positions in Wall Street, Silicon Valley, the major media, and government, forming the core of the U.S. elite class. The values promoted by these elites, including ESG and DEI, became the foundation of financial capitalism. However, Trump believes that these intellectual elite structures and core values have weakened U.S. hegemony, which is why he has demanded changes in these universities that teach diversity, inclusion, and multiculturalism. In other words, for Trump, universities represent the starting point for dismantling knowledge-based power structures and are at the center of his internal system reform to protect U.S. hegemony.

For Trump, Wall Street, multinational capital, and university elites have become obstacles to reform and the agents of maintaining the old order. That is why Trump has called for the dismantling of DEI and the abolition of universalist discourses. In response, one of the universities, Harvard, openly opposed Trump's demands, declaring its commitment to preserving the existing order.

Today, with financial deficits, inflation, high interest rates, supply chain disruptions, challenges from BRICS, and fractures in alliances, the U.S. dollar hegemony is threatened from the outside, and this poses a risk to U.S. hegemony itself.

Therefore, the U.S. appears to have little choice. Internally, it must establish a new order, while externally, it must find allies to confront China and create new supply chains. The starting point for this is education, with Trump exerting pressure on universities that oppose him. Along with this, he is using tariffs to find new allies to pressure China and ultimately regain control of global hegemony.