5 ms·

Well - how did China finance all these investments ?! (start rant) The simple answer is "China consumed less, and invested more". The US can tax fuel and SUV

by yazr 8y ago

Well - how did China finance all these investments ?! (start rant) The simple answer is "China consumed less, and invested more". The US can tax fuel and SUV, and invest in green energy. The EU can tax London's banks and offshore, it can slash its agriculture subsidies, and invest in tech and innovation. The Western world simply prefers bigger cars and exotic vacations. (end rant. Goes online to order Sushi for lunch)

yuy910616 8y ago
I think it's a little more than that. Let's not forget that democracy is a system design to move slow. Whereas China can move fast because it has a strong government that can disregard popular opinion to an extent. With this you create a government that is hyper-rich and very investment heavy. The incredible amount Chinese government spend on building infrastructure would simply not be passed in any democracy
- roenxi 8y ago
  Democracies don't move especially slowly, they can reorient themselves at politically breakneck speed, if the people agree on something. While they move like turtles on contested minor issues a democracy on, eg, wartime footing is capable of terrifying speed and precision. Lots of centralised systems have crumbled before the baffling hydra of democracy. The real issue in America is voters appear to have temporarily lost interest in infrastructure spending in favor of other uses of public money. One other development that is quite startling in historic terms is a lot of modern western democracies is their relation with energy. I wouldn't be surprised if Germany was one of the first industrial superpowers of all time to turn its nose up at using a cheap energy source to further its economic successes.
  - sgift 8y ago
    > eg, wartime footing is capable of terrifying speed and precision. Wartime footing usually disables many of the checks and balances used by democracies in favor of "we have to go faster now".
- konschubert 8y ago
  Democracy is a system that's maybe slow, yes, but it also leads to stability, peace and balance. Most dictatorships eventually fall behind because exploitation, the fight for power and the mistakes of an un-checked leader become a burden on the country.
  - tanilama 8y ago
    Cant say your first assessment about democracy really apllies to current US politics though. The western democracy is at great danger being eaten by populism. It is worthy reminding that Nazi Germany is also a result from, you know, democracy
  - gdhbcc 8y ago
    Stability? Peace? Balance? Can i get some sources on that? Whats the longest running democracy? And now does it matchup against the longest dynasty? People always make these claims but the data just doesn't back it up. How many republic is france on right? 5? How many years did they last on average?

by yazr 8y ago

yuy910616 8y ago

I think it's a little more than that. Let's not forget that democracy is a system design to move slow. Whereas China can move fast because it has a strong government that can disregard popular opinion to an extent. With this you create a government that is hyper-rich and very investment heavy. The incredible amount Chinese government spend on building infrastructure would simply not be passed in any democracy

roenxi 8y ago
Democracies don't move especially slowly, they can reorient themselves at politically breakneck speed, if the people agree on something. While they move like turtles on contested minor issues a democracy on, eg, wartime footing is capable of terrifying speed and precision. Lots of centralised systems have crumbled before the baffling hydra of democracy. The real issue in America is voters appear to have temporarily lost interest in infrastructure spending in favor of other uses of public money. One other development that is quite startling in historic terms is a lot of modern western democracies is their relation with energy. I wouldn't be surprised if Germany was one of the first industrial superpowers of all time to turn its nose up at using a cheap energy source to further its economic successes.
- sgift 8y ago
  > eg, wartime footing is capable of terrifying speed and precision. Wartime footing usually disables many of the checks and balances used by democracies in favor of "we have to go faster now".
konschubert 8y ago
Democracy is a system that's maybe slow, yes, but it also leads to stability, peace and balance. Most dictatorships eventually fall behind because exploitation, the fight for power and the mistakes of an un-checked leader become a burden on the country.
- tanilama 8y ago
  Cant say your first assessment about democracy really apllies to current US politics though. The western democracy is at great danger being eaten by populism. It is worthy reminding that Nazi Germany is also a result from, you know, democracy
- gdhbcc 8y ago
  Stability? Peace? Balance? Can i get some sources on that? Whats the longest running democracy? And now does it matchup against the longest dynasty? People always make these claims but the data just doesn't back it up. How many republic is france on right? 5? How many years did they last on average?