Another friend of mine sent us this article in Canada's National Post:
So the debate continues: Just how powerful will China become?
Hehehe. Someone else who doesn't believe China is gonna rule the world.
What Solomon forgets to mention is the role of Chinese nationalism plays. Sure, the poor Chinese may be unhappy with their lot in life and think the rich and middle classes became wealthier because of corruption. But, even so, the poor will also see that China's place in the world has become markedly stronger in recent years, and that will greatly mollify their anger at the upper classes by giving them something to be proud of. Marx may have had his economics wrong, but his assertion that the empires of the 1800s were able to stave off social reforms through foreign military expansionism was spot on then and will be for China as well.
And, the U.S. no longer really has much of an advantage over China regarding how people are promoted and the cream rises to the top. As the government continues to grow and expand its role in American society, its method of promotion (kissing a$$ and longevity of service) will also proportionally grow to the ultimate detriment of America's economic competitiveness.
This assumes China's "foreign adventures" redound to their advantage--the 1979 attempt to punish Vietnam didn't work out so well.
Can’t help wondering if the vast majority of the Chinese even give a rat’s ass about their ‘standing in the world’ – as long as they are left alone and can get enough to eat. The only ones who care might be those involved with international trade.
I think you could say that about a lot of countries. Does the "average" American really give a shit about our standing in the world? I doubt it, the fact is this is still a very isolationist country at heart. I know most Australians are extremely isolationist, it is their elites who have dreams of internationalism and that has been true for most of history in most societies - foreign policy has traditionally been the domain of elites (people who start wars) as opposed to the commoners (people who fight wars).
One thing I would caution and that is comparing China to the Soviet Union. China has more than its share of problems (demographics being the chief among them) but China is an integrated member of the global economy in a way the Soviet Union never was. This will impact the ebb and flow of China's economy and it will also mean that if China's economy ever does suffer a serious downturn, it will be felt throughout the rest of the world.
Well, no matter what the future holds for both the PRC and the US, I doubt we'll be the bestest of allies.
As the Chinese themselves might say: We live in interesting times. (To say the least).
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