3 ms·

Economic war, if it were to become full-blown, could result in locally constrained availability of microchips while civilizations still go on, no? Pandemic x5

• jacquesm 3y ago
  It's a possibility. But in that case an all out effort to recreate a competition free fab in the west would be able to put something usable together in a few years. I don't see that as a scenario where you'd need to go for scavenged hardware, any old cellphone has enough power to deal with factory automation at that level and well beyond it. We know exactly what to build and how to tie it all together, the reason we currently do not is economics, not because we could not. Personally I think the degree to which the Western world is making itself dependent on supply chains like that is irresponsible, but I also think that to some degree it is the same kind of thinking that went on in Germany to make itself dependent on Russian gas. It goes something like 'let's tie ourselves together at the hip in an economic way so that a shooting war is no longer an option'. This presumes rational actors on both sides. Which was a giant mistake in the case of Russia and which may well be a giant mistake in the case of China and Taiwan. But then there is still Korea and possibly Japan.
  • PrimeMcFly 3y ago
    > But then there is still Korea and possibly Japan. If china becomes that aggressive that they are in open war with Taiwan, Korea and Japan won't be an option either.