3 ms·

There’s the magic phrase, “good faith”. Completely meaningless

• FooBarWidget 5y ago
  Maybe it is. But "bad faith" is definitely not meaningless. At the very least we can expect any party who can defend itself, to not respond well when they believe you are acting in bad faith.
  • morpheos137 5y ago
    facts matter more than intentions or narrative.
    • FooBarWidget 5y ago
      I would have no problems with adopting that standard. But this standard isn't universally applied. Many of the criticisms against China is based on what people believe China's intentions are, not on what China actually does. For example: China sends masks to Europe -> we should be wary, because they're engaging in "mask diplomacy" China funds infrastructure in Africa -> it's because they're intending to colonize those countries. China sends vaccines to the global south -> it's because China intends to spread influence. So which one is it? Do only facts matter, or do reading of intentions also matter? If we can judge China based on our reading of their intentions, they should be able to judge us based on their reading of our intentions as well. Or conversely, if only facts matter, then we should judge China only by what they do and not by what we think their intentions are. Naturally, they should do the same.