6 ms·

Post war was a pretty good time for Americans. Bring it on.

mercy_dude 5y ago
Except US has also hollowed out manufacturing becoming increasingly dependent on rival China (even for defence equipments), has been increasingly losing its sphere of influence (both soft and hard - ask anyone in Africa who wields its soft power there China or US; or look at the Afghanistan fallout), and there is very little bipartisanship left while everyone is busy fighting cultural war. One can hope at least de globalization is a partial outcome of this post covid realignment if ever one.
- xwdv 5y ago
  What if China and US teamed up in a war against some common super enemy?
- ethbr0 5y ago
  We'll see how friendly Africa is to China, when infrastructure debt payments start getting tight.
  - trcarney 5y ago
    China doesn't care about the debt payments. It is about maintaining the relationships in Africa so the countries there will favor China over the US in trade deals for resources.
    - ethbr0 5y ago
      China's just going to write off some of the unserviceable infrastructure loans they've made to Africa?
      - trcarney 5y ago
        In exchange for favorable resource deals, yes I think so.
- greedo 5y ago
  The US is dependent on China for defense equipment? Can you provide any examples?
  - mercy_dude 5y ago
    https://www.defensenews.com/opinion/commentary/2021/06/28/nothing-left-in-the-tank-the-state-of-the-pentagons-supply-chain/ https://www.defensenews.com/opinion/commentary/2021/06/28/no...
    - greedo 5y ago
      That article has zero mentions of China being a supplier, of either systems or components.
  - Supermancho 5y ago
    Chip fabrication.
    - greedo 5y ago
      Can you back this up with any links? If we banish Huawei from US infrastructure, I can't imagine the DoD signing off on any chips built in the PRC.
      - Supermancho 5y ago
        > Can you back this up with any links? Before I became a developer, I worked QA in chip fabs (both in northern and southern california) in the 90s to the 00s, the writing was on the wall, so to speak. Do a casual google search. https://www.marketplace.org/2021/04/21/shortage-of-semiconductors-is-a-security-risk-and-what-the-u-s-can-do-about-it/ https://www.marketplace.org/2021/04/21/shortage-of-semicondu... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_semiconductor_fabrication_plants https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_semiconductor_fabricat... https://www.businessinsider.com/why-us-doesnt-make-chips-semiconductor-shortage-2021-4 https://www.businessinsider.com/why-us-doesnt-make-chips-sem... https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2021-chip-production-why-hard-to-make-semiconductors/ https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2021-chip-production-why-... et al.

Except US has also hollowed out manufacturing becoming increasingly dependent on rival China (even for defence equipments), has been increasingly losing its sphere of influence (both soft and hard - ask anyone in Africa who wields its soft power there China or US; or look at the Afghanistan fallout), and there is very little bipartisanship left while everyone is busy fighting cultural war. One can hope at least de globalization is a partial outcome of this post covid realignment if ever one.

xwdv 5y ago
What if China and US teamed up in a war against some common super enemy?
ethbr0 5y ago
We'll see how friendly Africa is to China, when infrastructure debt payments start getting tight.
- trcarney 5y ago
  China doesn't care about the debt payments. It is about maintaining the relationships in Africa so the countries there will favor China over the US in trade deals for resources.
  - ethbr0 5y ago
    China's just going to write off some of the unserviceable infrastructure loans they've made to Africa?
    - trcarney 5y ago
      In exchange for favorable resource deals, yes I think so.
greedo 5y ago
The US is dependent on China for defense equipment? Can you provide any examples?
- mercy_dude 5y ago
  https://www.defensenews.com/opinion/commentary/2021/06/28/nothing-left-in-the-tank-the-state-of-the-pentagons-supply-chain/ https://www.defensenews.com/opinion/commentary/2021/06/28/no...
  - greedo 5y ago
    That article has zero mentions of China being a supplier, of either systems or components.
- Supermancho 5y ago
  Chip fabrication.
  - greedo 5y ago
    Can you back this up with any links? If we banish Huawei from US infrastructure, I can't imagine the DoD signing off on any chips built in the PRC.
    - Supermancho 5y ago
      > Can you back this up with any links? Before I became a developer, I worked QA in chip fabs (both in northern and southern california) in the 90s to the 00s, the writing was on the wall, so to speak. Do a casual google search. https://www.marketplace.org/2021/04/21/shortage-of-semiconductors-is-a-security-risk-and-what-the-u-s-can-do-about-it/ https://www.marketplace.org/2021/04/21/shortage-of-semicondu... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_semiconductor_fabrication_plants https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_semiconductor_fabricat... https://www.businessinsider.com/why-us-doesnt-make-chips-semiconductor-shortage-2021-4 https://www.businessinsider.com/why-us-doesnt-make-chips-sem... https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2021-chip-production-why-hard-to-make-semiconductors/ https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2021-chip-production-why-... et al.