10 ms·

The US can continue to bully everyone around them, but one day there will be no friends left and while the US is starting a trade war (or even an actual war) wi

The US can continue to bully everyone around them, but one day there will be no friends left and while the US is starting a trade war (or even an actual war) with friends and enemies other nations will strengthen their relations and the power balance will shift eventually. China has been on track to overtake the US as the largest economy for many years now. The US obviously feels threatened by the shift of economic powers and currently tries every thing they can to prevent this from happening, but it's going to happen regardless. China has a stable country, a hard working population, people feel content and the government is looking after its people despite what Western media is reporting. The Western world is increasingly becoming divided, fueled by capitalist greed, social media which is anything but "social", huge wealth disparities, racism and many other deep ingrained problems. The US might complain about other nations spying, etc., but it is the US and the NSA who has been the only nation which has been proven black on white that they have been grossly spying on everyone else in this world, it is the US which is the only nation which is constantly starting wars with other nations and destabilising economies. It's not China, nor France, nor the EU. I can only recommend anyone in the US to go and visit other nations and explore the world and it becomes very quickly apparent that the Western world has some deep issues which other countries seem to be much better in control of. If entire freedom of everything means that people live divided, in poverty, exploited, plagued by suicide, mental health issues, obesity and mass shootings, then maybe the way the West has shaped in the last 50 years is not all that great which everyone wants us to believe. Other countries have other issues, but honestly, after being to many many other places and far East I can only say that these problems look minor in comparison to what I observe in the West.

nolok 7y ago
I don't stricly disagree (nor agree) with your comment, but there are several thing that you include as "a global grave issue of the western world" in general but is actually very US-centric. When I look at the list you give, "people live divided, in poverty, exploited, plagued by suicide, mental health issues, obesity and mass shootings", it's not that those issues don't exists in other countries, but in the western world the US has that strange habit of always exhibiting the most extreme form, and frankly to not look like it's working and making any advance at fixing them.
- kodz4 7y ago
  The US is a much more diverse population and a much larger population. It's going to be more chaotic than anything the Europeans have to deal with. But dealing with that chaos, at that scale, produces lessons and learning that won't happen anywhere else, other than probably India.
  - maxheadroom 7y ago
    >The US is a much more diverse population... Why is this always a fallback reference point? It is demonstrably false[0,1,2,3] and is continually regurgitated - as if the continued repetition would make it consequently true. There are countries in Europe that are far more diverse than the United States. Full stop. >But dealing with that chaos, at that scale, produces lessons and learning that won't happen anywhere else, other than probably India. You could start with your immediate neighbours, yeah? Canada and Mexico are both far more diverse than the United States and would - by your own argument - be far more chaotic than anything the United States or Europe has to deal with, yeah? [0] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_ranked_by_ethnic_and_cultural_diversity_level https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_ranked_by_et... [1] - https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2013/07/18/the-most-and-least-culturally-diverse-countries-in-the-world/ https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2013/07/18/the-most-an... [2] - https://www.atlasandboots.com/worlds-most-diverse-country/ https://www.atlasandboots.com/worlds-most-diverse-country/ [3] - https://archive.fo/9AV1K https://archive.fo/9AV1K
    - kodz4 7y ago
      Just point at the data. The extra layer of attitude doesn't sell your argument, but just distracts from it. Sort the first table by rank US - 87 UK -109 France - 117 Germany - 148. When we talk about the West who else is anyone referring to? Denmark - 144. Norway - 146. My comment is in response to someone separating the US from the west, not US compared to the rest of the world. So don't be in such a hurry to react. The data shows the US is more diverse than other western countries. Population is another important factor. What happens in a city of 10 million people and what happens in a country of 10 million people is very different. I come from India and have lived in both the US and Europe. My city has a population somewhere between Ireland and Norway but it's impossible to handle social issues the way those countries do or use them as models precisely because of the population density and diversity.
buboard 7y ago
> It's not China, nor France, nor the EU Dont disagree, but this comes part and parcel with being a global superpower. When USSR was alive, we had 2 of them.
eeZah7Ux 7y ago
You posts paints a false dichotomy between US and China. The "West" never existed. There are hundreds of languages, cultures and paths in history. Your criticism of "poverty, exploited, plagued by suicide, mental health issues, obesity and mass shootings" is grounded in reality but you framed it in a completely one-sided way.

nolok 7y ago

I don't stricly disagree (nor agree) with your comment, but there are several thing that you include as "a global grave issue of the western world" in general but is actually very US-centric. When I look at the list you give, "people live divided, in poverty, exploited, plagued by suicide, mental health issues, obesity and mass shootings", it's not that those issues don't exists in other countries, but in the western world the US has that strange habit of always exhibiting the most extreme form, and frankly to not look like it's working and making any advance at fixing them.

kodz4 7y ago
The US is a much more diverse population and a much larger population. It's going to be more chaotic than anything the Europeans have to deal with. But dealing with that chaos, at that scale, produces lessons and learning that won't happen anywhere else, other than probably India.
- maxheadroom 7y ago
  >The US is a much more diverse population... Why is this always a fallback reference point? It is demonstrably false[0,1,2,3] and is continually regurgitated - as if the continued repetition would make it consequently true. There are countries in Europe that are far more diverse than the United States. Full stop. >But dealing with that chaos, at that scale, produces lessons and learning that won't happen anywhere else, other than probably India. You could start with your immediate neighbours, yeah? Canada and Mexico are both far more diverse than the United States and would - by your own argument - be far more chaotic than anything the United States or Europe has to deal with, yeah? [0] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_ranked_by_ethnic_and_cultural_diversity_level https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_ranked_by_et... [1] - https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2013/07/18/the-most-and-least-culturally-diverse-countries-in-the-world/ https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2013/07/18/the-most-an... [2] - https://www.atlasandboots.com/worlds-most-diverse-country/ https://www.atlasandboots.com/worlds-most-diverse-country/ [3] - https://archive.fo/9AV1K https://archive.fo/9AV1K
  - kodz4 7y ago
    Just point at the data. The extra layer of attitude doesn't sell your argument, but just distracts from it. Sort the first table by rank US - 87 UK -109 France - 117 Germany - 148. When we talk about the West who else is anyone referring to? Denmark - 144. Norway - 146. My comment is in response to someone separating the US from the west, not US compared to the rest of the world. So don't be in such a hurry to react. The data shows the US is more diverse than other western countries. Population is another important factor. What happens in a city of 10 million people and what happens in a country of 10 million people is very different. I come from India and have lived in both the US and Europe. My city has a population somewhere between Ireland and Norway but it's impossible to handle social issues the way those countries do or use them as models precisely because of the population density and diversity.

buboard 7y ago

> It's not China, nor France, nor the EU Dont disagree, but this comes part and parcel with being a global superpower. When USSR was alive, we had 2 of them.

eeZah7Ux 7y ago

You posts paints a false dichotomy between US and China. The "West" never existed. There are hundreds of languages, cultures and paths in history. Your criticism of "poverty, exploited, plagued by suicide, mental health issues, obesity and mass shootings" is grounded in reality but you framed it in a completely one-sided way.