> they can plan a global strategy 50 years in advance. Our western countries are weak because of political whims and are unable to trace a clear strategy becaus

> they can plan a global strategy 50 years in advance. Our western countries are weak because of political whims and are unable to trace a clear strategy because we have been all about short term profit for 40 years now. This sort of alarmism about "our enemies are outmaneuvering us with long-term planning while we only pay attention to the immediate future" is common, but historically these predictions have never panned out. Go back and read Michael Crichton's Rising Sun sometime, he goes on and on for pages with arguments totally isomorphic to yours: Japan is going to take over the world because of their crafty long-term planning and investment, etc. It was published in 1992, at which point the Japanese bubble had already burst and Japan entered a period of stagnation that continues to this day. People said the same thing about Germany in the 70's, the Soviet Union in the 60's, and on and on. Der mentsh trakht un got lakht.