One might argue that international conflict has always served primarily as a pretext to impose domestic social controls, at least since the cold war started. Wh

One might argue that international conflict has always served primarily as a pretext to impose domestic social controls, at least since the cold war started. What I'm saying is that the ruling classes in China and the US arguably have more in common with each other than they do with their common citizens and the appearance of conflict is useful for both sets of elites.