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> I believe that a command economy like China will be the clear winner of the 21st century. I agree that the "command" aspect has been an asset for China, but

by kelnos 1y ago

> I believe that a command economy like China will be the clear winner of the 21st century. I agree that the "command" aspect has been an asset for China, but the real drivers of their economic success has been cheap labor (fueled by weak labor protections), and indifference toward burning fossil fuels (until recently) and in general ignoring the externalities of their rapid industrialization. If US companies could pay people dirt, work them to death, and care even less than they do now about environmental externalities, a lot more manufacturing would have stayed on US soil. > This administration in particular has done more to erode and destroy American soft power than any other and it's not even close. Yup. It is still entirely bizarre to me that they don't see this. Or that they do see this, but think it's fine. Or that there is some other "plan" that actively seeks to destroy the US's dominance from within, and for some reason they think that's a good thing.

jmyeet 1y ago
The idea of poverty wages in China is very outdated. Labor isn't even necessarily "cheap" anymore in China. But why people continue to manufacture there is because of the infrastructure there. China has a long-term vision for sustainable devlopment [1]. China is excellent at long-term planning that looks 50 years or more into the future. As for renewable power, China is adding capacity at an astounding rate. China will likely ween itself. They'll likely end the use of fossil fuels in our lifetime. As much as housing and food affordability are now very real problems in the US, utility prices are going to get so much worse in the next few years with the administration killing renewables, increasing LNG exports (we're now heavily reliant on natural gas) and we're allowing privatized utilities to price gouge. [1]: https://news.cgtn.com/news/2025-06-05/President-Xi-s-key-quotes-on-environmental-protection-and-governance-1DXjV2HHxAI/p.html https://news.cgtn.com/news/2025-06-05/President-Xi-s-key-quo...

by kelnos 1y ago

jmyeet 1y ago

The idea of poverty wages in China is very outdated. Labor isn't even necessarily "cheap" anymore in China. But why people continue to manufacture there is because of the infrastructure there. China has a long-term vision for sustainable devlopment [1]. China is excellent at long-term planning that looks 50 years or more into the future. As for renewable power, China is adding capacity at an astounding rate. China will likely ween itself. They'll likely end the use of fossil fuels in our lifetime. As much as housing and food affordability are now very real problems in the US, utility prices are going to get so much worse in the next few years with the administration killing renewables, increasing LNG exports (we're now heavily reliant on natural gas) and we're allowing privatized utilities to price gouge. [1]: https://news.cgtn.com/news/2025-06-05/President-Xi-s-key-quotes-on-environmental-protection-and-governance-1DXjV2HHxAI/p.html https://news.cgtn.com/news/2025-06-05/President-Xi-s-key-quo...