这篇文章把「平台劣化循环」套用到美国霸权：盟友把金融、通讯与防务建在美国提供的基础设施上（美元清算体系、F-35 供应/通讯/软体支援链、以及与美国关系密切的 Starlink）。这个词由 Cory Doctorow 在 2022 年提出；而在川普于 2025 年 1 月回任后，盟友对「规则秩序」的信念加速崩解，因为出现吞并加拿大、索取格陵兰等威胁与更赤裸的施压，被形容为「把霸权变现」。
文章用一连串具体时间点与比例展示「武器化」：2020 年美国制裁香港特首林郑月娥，使她被美元清算网路隔离；2025 年 2 月又制裁国际刑事法院检察官（帐户遭冻结、电邮服务被停）。3 月网路流传 F-35 有「一键关停」，虽非字面存在，但其「杀伤链」依赖持续维修、软体更新与美方即时情资；例如 2024 年 11 月英国拟让乌克兰使用英制飞弹时需美方提供/核准测绘资料，且 2025 年 2 月下旬美方曾暂停对乌情资与加密 GPS 馈送，足以让平台「变砖」。
通讯侧更集中：Starlink 卫星约占在轨有效卫星的 65%，因此对加拿大乡村宽频、义大利安全通讯、乌克兰作战都成关键；2025 年 2 月据报以矿产权为条件威胁撤网，3 月马斯克声称关掉 Starlink 会让前线「崩溃」，并嘲讽波兰「只付很小一部分」。因应上，欧洲推 EuroStack 与非美采购/自建卫星与支付基础设施；同时一些政府改云服务、丹麦转向开源替代、安大略省 3 月取消 Starlink 合约。多位领袖在 2–4 月密集喊「独立」或「西方不复存在」，但脱钩将耗时多年、成本高昂；作者也警告，美国国内同样可能遭支付系统与资料整合（如 Palantir）带来的强制与监控。
The article applies “enshittification” to US power: allies built finance, communications, and defense on US-run infrastructure (the dollar clearing system, the F-35’s supply/comms/software ecosystem, and Starlink). Cory Doctorow coined the term in 2022; after Trump returned in January 2025, allies’ belief in a rules-based order erodes fast amid threats toward Canada and Greenland and new coercive policies, described as the US “monetizing” its hegemony.
It illustrates weaponization with dated examples and a key ratio. In 2020, sanctions on Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam showed how losing dollar-clearing access can be existential. In February 2025, sanctions on an ICC prosecutor reportedly led to frozen accounts and cut email access. In March, rumors of an F-35 “kill switch” spread; even without one, the US can control the “kill chain” via updates and intelligence. The UK reportedly needed US mapping sign-off in November 2024, and the US briefly cut Ukraine’s intelligence and encrypted GPS feeds in late February 2025.
Communications look even more lock-in: Starlink now accounts for about 65% of active satellites in orbit, making it hard to replace. In February 2025 it was reportedly used as leverage over Ukraine’s minerals; in March, Musk claimed Ukraine’s front line would collapse without it and dismissed Poland’s funding. Europe responds with EuroStack and plans for non-US cloud, defense, satellites, and payments; Denmark shifts from Microsoft Office to open source, and Ontario canceled Starlink in March. Leaders in February–April called for “independence,” but decoupling could take years and make everyone poorer, while the same coercive logic may increasingly target Americans too.