>You have to omit China and other Asian countries from the graphs that show Europe is falling behind so to claim that free market and libertarianism is driving

>You have to omit China and other Asian countries from the graphs that show Europe is falling behind so to claim that free market and libertarianism is driving innovation and growth, because if you include Asia you end up claiming that its communism and centralized economies are actually the big success stories. See, you have to realize that China is "still in the process of democratizing from free market exposure" and "the world is more peaceful now than it ever has been because of economic interdependence". Thanks Milton Friedman! /s Admitting that offshoring was actually prioritizing lower prices (through regulatory arbitrage and human suffering based subsidies) over national economic and skills maintenance security will get you shooed out of the room. Yeah. Look at all the Indians lifted out of poverty... Shipbreaking multi-decade old ships, rebuilding lead batteries by hand (without PPE). Look at all the uplifting of the Global South! ...Often ruining their own environment to do things that absolutely would not fly here. Look at all the inroads we've made making the world more peaceful by shipping all the most advanced manufacturing infra over to a hostile regime that culturally values patience and tends to think further ahead than a 200 year old upstart. There was a period of complete retardation in full swing in the 80's to early 10's that I truly wish it were easier to articulate in media res as opposed to in hindsight. But that's life for ya.