4 ms·
The thing is that both China (during Mao's years) and Russia (during the shock therapy of the 1990s) have had to endure severe economic hardship, and even so, t
by paganel 4y ago
The thing is that both China (during Mao's years) and Russia (during the shock therapy of the 1990s) have had to endure severe economic hardship, and even so, they didn't break. They won't break if the West decides to up the ante even more and if it decides to set up a total naval blockade against China, let's say.
On the other hand the most that the West had to endure when it comes to economic hardship since WW2 were a couple of really grim years in the late '40s, followed immediately after that by about three decades of sustained economic growth. Ideologically they're not set up for economic penury, neither their leaders, nor the Western populations themselves.
As such, this insistence that the West has on "let's hurt them (Russia and China) economically!" is in a fact a manifestation of its own insecurities.
- cloverich 4y agoA weak economy is less able to fund a strong military. If the country signals a desire to use their military for conquest, it seems relatively sound to sanction the country as a means to constrain it first and foremost. I don't think the primary goal need be anything more than "make military conquest more expensive" and e.g., less likely to succeed. It's not hard to imagine what Russia would be doing right now if its economy were 10x as strong as it is.
- another2another 4y ago>both China (during Mao's years) and Russia (during the shock therapy of the 1990s) have had to endure severe economic hardship Actually I would argue the exact opposite is true. Russia and China have never had it so good, why should they throw away all the hard earned advantages they've gained just because some 3rd term teddy bear president tells them to?
- golergka 4y agoBecause they are police states and people are disunited and afraid.
- JamesSwift 4y agoGlobalization means that China of today and China under Mao are not necessarily the same, and can't be viewed through the same lens. The internet is a Big Deal in terms of providing an outside perspective to willing Chinese looking to see what life is like outside of the Great (Fire)Wall. That said, you can't apply a western perspective when understanding China and the Chinese viewpoint. I spent some time over there and was constantly surprised by how the Chinese viewed themselves and their government and the world, in contrast to how I viewed the same.