Re China and Russia: Don't count on that. China is not sitting back, they are actively working on our demise. Been the plan since the long march. On top of that, the CCP are a criminal organization, but I don't think their leadership is all that smart because they seem to be in dire financial straits. Putin is playing much smarter a…
Re China and Russia: Don't count on that. China is not sitting back, they are actively working on our demise. Been the plan since the long march. On top of that, the CCP are a criminal organization, but I don't think their leadership is all that smart because they seem to be in dire financial straits. Putin is playing much smarter and making 3D chess moves against the EU's checkers, and Brandon's Tic Tac Toe.
You both seem to overlook the problem that, over long time periods, empires tend to stagnate and rot, for any number of reasons. I don't dispute that America and the West are likely well down the chute into an unclear but likely disastrous future. But you seem to forget the vast turmoils that the (then ) USSR and China went through in the twentieth century -- man-made catastrophes on a scale rarely seen in Europe or America. Did they "learn" from these upheavals? Maybe yes, maybe no. Like everything else, empires and nations are born, live a while, and die, or at least transmute into totally new forms. That is the lesson of thousands of years of world history. Nobody stays on top for ever.
America had a good run. The ancient cycle of hubris has been fulfilled. The incompetent and the greedy rose to the top.
China is full of greedy fools. There is a lot of corruption at all levels. Construction is often shoddy and even the Chinese know domestic baby formula is harmful to babies due to corruption.
The leadership has studied the West extensively and are trying to avoid our pitfalls. Xi is strongly supporting Chinese nationalism and the ancient Chinese school of Legalism. It may be enough to put off a collapse. Xi is most worried about losing out domestically.
Russia survived a collapse and if it can stay out of Davos control, it should succeed in its rebirth. There is a good chance of it falling apart post-Putin, as future leaders may not be as capable.
Well aware of the fate of empires over the centuries. I am also aware that the time span before collapse is accelerating. Those old agrarian cultures lasted a long time, but even there went through major upheavals and reformation before they ended in the dust heap. Now because of technology and its increasing pace old institutions go past their best buy date more quickly. We saw the rise and fall of the British Empire in a few hundred years, same with Spain, and who is going to morn the demise of the Third Riech? The near future will tell whether America is headed for the dust bin or huge transformation. "My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings;
Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair! Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare The lone and level sands stretch far away.”
Re China and Russia: Don't count on that. China is not sitting back, they are actively working on our demise. Been the plan since the long march. On top of that, the CCP are a criminal organization, but I don't think their leadership is all that smart because they seem to be in dire financial straits. Putin is playing much smarter and making 3D chess moves against the EU's checkers, and Brandon's Tic Tac Toe.
You both seem to overlook the problem that, over long time periods, empires tend to stagnate and rot, for any number of reasons. I don't dispute that America and the West are likely well down the chute into an unclear but likely disastrous future. But you seem to forget the vast turmoils that the (then ) USSR and China went through in the twentieth century -- man-made catastrophes on a scale rarely seen in Europe or America. Did they "learn" from these upheavals? Maybe yes, maybe no. Like everything else, empires and nations are born, live a while, and die, or at least transmute into totally new forms. That is the lesson of thousands of years of world history. Nobody stays on top for ever.
America had a good run. The ancient cycle of hubris has been fulfilled. The incompetent and the greedy rose to the top.
China is full of greedy fools. There is a lot of corruption at all levels. Construction is often shoddy and even the Chinese know domestic baby formula is harmful to babies due to corruption.
The leadership has studied the West extensively and are trying to avoid our pitfalls. Xi is strongly supporting Chinese nationalism and the ancient Chinese school of Legalism. It may be enough to put off a collapse. Xi is most worried about losing out domestically.
Russia survived a collapse and if it can stay out of Davos control, it should succeed in its rebirth. There is a good chance of it falling apart post-Putin, as future leaders may not be as capable.
By the third generation or so, bureaucracies forget their mission and the only impetus is preserving itself.
Well said.
Well aware of the fate of empires over the centuries. I am also aware that the time span before collapse is accelerating. Those old agrarian cultures lasted a long time, but even there went through major upheavals and reformation before they ended in the dust heap. Now because of technology and its increasing pace old institutions go past their best buy date more quickly. We saw the rise and fall of the British Empire in a few hundred years, same with Spain, and who is going to morn the demise of the Third Riech? The near future will tell whether America is headed for the dust bin or huge transformation. "My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings;
Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair! Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare The lone and level sands stretch far away.”
Well said
Brandon can’t understand Tic Tac Toe.