5 ms·

That assumes the competition is inevitable. Hopefully, China can become a democracy, set free its people, and then the competition will be no more ferocious tha

That assumes the competition is inevitable. Hopefully, China can become a democracy, set free its people, and then the competition will be no more ferocious than the U.S.'s with Europe, Japan, India, Brazil, or any other democracy. The 'competition' is a massive waste of money and possibly of blood that benefits very few people at the expense of billions of others. Compare the competition to the relationships among democracies; what is gained by it?

User23 8y ago
China is 6000 years old and it had never been anything even remotely resembling a democracy. It’s going to remain a bureaucratic autocracy just as it always has been. And that’s fine, it’s worked very well for the Han.
- bdamm 8y ago
  I can't help but wonder if it's worked out very well for the non-Han.
  - toomanybeersies 8y ago
    It definitely hasn't worked well for the Uyghurs and the Tibetans.
- my_first_acct 8y ago
  Just a reminder that Taiwan, a country deeply steeped in traditional Chinese culture, is a functioning multi-party democracy. Perhaps Mainland China is too big, or too poor, to become a stable democracy at this time, but Chinese culture should not by itself be a reason for China to remain a "bureaucratic autocracy".
  - YorkshireSeason 8y ago
    And that's why the PRC (= Mainland) is trying everything it can to take over Taiwan, and subvert / destroy this democracy. After all the Chinese Communist Party's convenient narrative that justifies it's 'eternal' rule is just this, that the Chinese people neither want, nor need multi-party democracy. (See also: Iran vs Saudi-Arabia. The former -- despite all the imperfections of its current mode of government -- is a living proof that Muslims don't need the iron fist of a hereditory ruling family.)
- WillPostForFood 8y ago
  China has an amazing history, but has been rife with war and tumult. It has not been a continuous well run autocratic state for 6000 years. Take the Han dynasty: After 92 AD, the palace eunuchs increasingly involved themselves in court politics, engaging in violent power struggles between the various consort clans of the empresses and empresses dowager, causing the Han's ultimate downfall. Imperial authority was also seriously challenged by large Daoist religious societies which instigated the Yellow Turban Rebellion and the Five Pecks of Rice Rebellion. Following the death of Emperor Ling (r. 168–189 AD), the palace eunuchs suffered wholesale massacre by military officers, allowing members of the aristocracy and military governors to become warlords and divide the empire. When Cao Pi, King of Wei, usurped the throne from Emperor Xian, the Han dynasty would eventually collapse and ceased to exist.
- cryptonector 8y ago
  Perhaps China never dominated on the world stage because autocracy makes for a low-dynamism society/economy/tech sector. Perhaps China will come to appreciate and adopt enlightenment values, then roar past the U.S. on every mark.
  - adrianN 8y ago
    China is currently busily roaring past the US on every mark mostly without adopting western values.
    - User23 8y ago
      Made possible only by massive US assistance, both intentional and unintentional. China’s trajectory is probably self sustaining at this point, but who knows for how long.

User23 8y ago

China is 6000 years old and it had never been anything even remotely resembling a democracy. It’s going to remain a bureaucratic autocracy just as it always has been. And that’s fine, it’s worked very well for the Han.

bdamm 8y ago
I can't help but wonder if it's worked out very well for the non-Han.
- toomanybeersies 8y ago
  It definitely hasn't worked well for the Uyghurs and the Tibetans.
my_first_acct 8y ago
Just a reminder that Taiwan, a country deeply steeped in traditional Chinese culture, is a functioning multi-party democracy. Perhaps Mainland China is too big, or too poor, to become a stable democracy at this time, but Chinese culture should not by itself be a reason for China to remain a "bureaucratic autocracy".
- YorkshireSeason 8y ago
  And that's why the PRC (= Mainland) is trying everything it can to take over Taiwan, and subvert / destroy this democracy. After all the Chinese Communist Party's convenient narrative that justifies it's 'eternal' rule is just this, that the Chinese people neither want, nor need multi-party democracy. (See also: Iran vs Saudi-Arabia. The former -- despite all the imperfections of its current mode of government -- is a living proof that Muslims don't need the iron fist of a hereditory ruling family.)
WillPostForFood 8y ago
China has an amazing history, but has been rife with war and tumult. It has not been a continuous well run autocratic state for 6000 years. Take the Han dynasty: After 92 AD, the palace eunuchs increasingly involved themselves in court politics, engaging in violent power struggles between the various consort clans of the empresses and empresses dowager, causing the Han's ultimate downfall. Imperial authority was also seriously challenged by large Daoist religious societies which instigated the Yellow Turban Rebellion and the Five Pecks of Rice Rebellion. Following the death of Emperor Ling (r. 168–189 AD), the palace eunuchs suffered wholesale massacre by military officers, allowing members of the aristocracy and military governors to become warlords and divide the empire. When Cao Pi, King of Wei, usurped the throne from Emperor Xian, the Han dynasty would eventually collapse and ceased to exist.
cryptonector 8y ago
Perhaps China never dominated on the world stage because autocracy makes for a low-dynamism society/economy/tech sector. Perhaps China will come to appreciate and adopt enlightenment values, then roar past the U.S. on every mark.
- adrianN 8y ago
  China is currently busily roaring past the US on every mark mostly without adopting western values.
  - User23 8y ago
    Made possible only by massive US assistance, both intentional and unintentional. China’s trajectory is probably self sustaining at this point, but who knows for how long.