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> Europeans were quick to scorn Trump’s policies yes > China has been unfair in its trade practices yes but these doesn't have much to do with each other.
by pas 5y ago
> Europeans were quick to scorn Trump’s policies
yes
> China has been unfair in its trade practices
yes
but these doesn't have much to do with each other.
It was already known before Trump that the lack of trade/investment reciprocity with China is big fucking problem. (2016 Brookings report, and Brookings is not a conservative think tank. Quite the opposite - according to conservative pundits.)
Of course this concern was mostly completely ignored, because the money was good. (The economy was booming, who cares if the CCP is a narcissist control freak. Human rights violations are nothing new, it's just Tibet again.)
https://scholar.princeton.edu/sites/default/files/hvmilner/files/reciprocity_and_public_opposition_to_foreign_direct_investment.pdf https://scholar.princeton.edu/sites/default/files/hvmilner/f...
- Maursault 5y ago> who cares if the CCP is a narcissist control freak. My first impression is that CCP and Taiwan remind me of the archetype of the unwanted suitor that never gets the message and keeps on pursuing a disinterested woman. But I think your framing CCP in psychological terms is just as if not more apt. I'm just pasting a list of symptoms of narcissism. Not all apply, but strikingly, enough symptoms do apply to CCP for a positive diagnosis: Grandiosity Exaggerated sense of self-importance Feeling superior to others and that one deserves special treatment Feelings are often accompanied by fantasies of unlimited success, brilliance, power, beauty, or love which more often than not cover for hidden anxiety Excessive need for admiration Must be the center of attention Often monopolize conversations Easily offended, slighted, mistreated, depleted, and enraged when ignored Engages in blaming Long-held grudges Superficial and exploitative relationships Relationships are based on surface attributes and not the unique qualities of others Others are only valued only to the extent they are viewed as beneficial Lack of empathy Severely limited or totally lacking ability to care about the emotional needs or experiences of others, even loved ones Engages in cruelty Identity disturbance Sense of self is highly superficial, extremely rigid, and often fragile Self-stability depends on maintaining the view that one is exceptional Grandiose sense of self is easily threatened Patients retreat from or deny realities that challenge grandiosity Difficulty with attachment and dependency Relies on feedback from the environment Relationships only exist to shore up positive self-image Interactions are superficial Intimacy is avoided Chronic feelings of emptiness and boredom When attention and praise are not available, patients feel empty, bored, depressed, or restless Vulnerability to life transitions Difficulty maintaining reality-based personal and professional goals over time Compromises required by school, jobs, and relationships may feel unbearable Young adults may have a “failure to launch”
- pas 5y agoSuccessful dictators tend to be similar. They have an enormous capacity for management, exercising control (maintaining their status and position through manipulation and every means necessary), enduring unfavorable circumstances, achieving (real or fake) results. All of it usually driven by ideology and amplified to the extremes by anxiety/paranoia. Oh, and just a dash of pride, just a tiny bit more than needed to kill/destroy people who could hurt them or their dreams.