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It's "easy" to go from nothing to 'the latest'. It's not easy to go from 'established' to 'the latest'. Ignoring the way China tramples over its peoples' righ

It's "easy" to go from nothing to 'the latest'. It's not easy to go from 'established' to 'the latest'. Ignoring the way China tramples over its peoples' rights, it was largely agrarian society. It could put factories, train lines, and roads anywhere it wants, build bridges and dams anywhere too. Now? London spent over 40 years planning The Elizabeth Line before the first shovel was put in the ground. HS2 our second true high speed line look 20 years in planning, and they're still squabbling. Upgrading the country from an existing phone network of copper cables around since the 1900s will have taken 30 years to go fully fibre. It might be interesting to imagine if China modernized in the 70s, how it might be now.

bakuninsbart 3y ago
There's some truth to this, but in my opinion especially the line about not respecting their citizens rights is a cop out. In China there are plenty of silly situations like building a highway around a house, because the person didn't want to sell. The difference is that they then just build around it, instead of incessantly discussing back and forth for decades on different approaches. Many western countries have in effect neutered their ability to move through a) lack of long-term accountability in public administration and b) a motivated minority having greater influence than the silent majority. For politicians it is usually prudent to just kick controversial stuff down the road a couple of years for the next person to pick up. While something the Elizabeth line is greatly beneficial to London as a whole, it is annoying for neighbors, at least while being built, and for the majority EL isn't a deciding factor for election, for those neighbors it might be.