Xi seems to be a like Stalin and Trump with poor impulse control. He felt fearful so put secret police into all of the board rooms in China, which is very obstructive to commerce. He felt angry at Canada so took Canadian hostages. He felt angry at the Australian Prime Minister asking the obvious question about the epidemic, so banned coal from the biggest and highest quality supplier and created a coal shock, and is now talking to Indonesia and Russia, as if they can solve his personal problem quickly. His wolf warriors provided written ransom demands to the Australian government, which was a seriously bad idea, showing a gangster mentality to the world! I also…
Yes I think bad advice could operate as a negative feedback loop where his advisers praise his prior decisions and then give further advice based on what they think he wants.
I'd agree that this could have got us to a Kafkaesque state, though it's not as if things are much better in the West. You have the permanent election campaign in the US (and probably other countries) where all legislation is designed to create electoral advantages instead of actually help anyone. That is how we end up with people riding a bike wearing face masks but not bike helmets. You also have things like the situation between feminist and transgender activists. As I see it this this is a…
I'd like to discuss the philosophical outlook people have. My view is that people everywhere, in every country and profession, are basically the same. In particular they are equally corruptible, and are motivated by the same factors of wealth, power, security, and libido. I prefer decentralization of government because local officials are more accountable to the people voting, and it diversifies the corruption. I'm totally indifferent to national governments because pretty much all I want from them is to organize defense, which should not be a political exercise. Also I've never been eligible to vote in an election in the country where I live.
I'd agree with David that nationalism is a good thing - it isn't a zero sum…
Isn't it the case that the wikipedia article takes the Cambridge definition and then splits it up so that the two components of it are given different names, and then asserted to be totally different things? Logically speaking, at least one of them must be nonsense.
The wikipedia article goes on to assert that excess patriotism is equivalent to Chauvinism when in fact it is only a sufficient condition. Still a concern that you rightly voice, but I think this is the distortion of language that David mentions.
I think there is very little chance that China will attack Taiwan in the near term. Otherwise, China wouldn‘t have been flaunting its aircraft in Taiwan airspace and alerting the enemy. In addition, given Taiwan is the global supplier of semiconductors, the US cannot let Taiwan go into the hands of China and making itself vulnerable to Chinese attack in the future. The tone of Beijing also has become more reconciliatory lately (they are talking about one country two systems, which makes no sense in the context of Taiwan).
Great analysis David. The news media does not take into account the historical context or intricacies of the goals that China has. Another potential next step by China could be a restriction on the airspace and naval blockade of shipping lanes. It's a less dangerous path and would not be physically seen by the people in Taiwan. If that happened, what would happen to the goods that Taiwan sells to the rest of the world and especially semiconductors?? Thank you.
Hi Jason, Thank you! Given the current global semiconductor shortage and the pivotal role TSMC plays in the entire global hardware supply chain, a China naval blockade of Taiwan will likely immediately invite US intervention. This is why Taiwan is conducting semiconductor diplomacy these days in the US and Japan and Europe
IMO . . .
Xi seems to be a like Stalin and Trump with poor impulse control. He felt fearful so put secret police into all of the board rooms in China, which is very obstructive to commerce. He felt angry at Canada so took Canadian hostages. He felt angry at the Australian Prime Minister asking the obvious question about the epidemic, so banned coal from the biggest and highest quality supplier and created a coal shock, and is now talking to Indonesia and Russia, as if they can solve his personal problem quickly. His wolf warriors provided written ransom demands to the Australian government, which was a seriously bad idea, showing a gangster mentality to the world! I also…
Loved the history lesson on China. Thanks!
I'd like to discuss the philosophical outlook people have. My view is that people everywhere, in every country and profession, are basically the same. In particular they are equally corruptible, and are motivated by the same factors of wealth, power, security, and libido. I prefer decentralization of government because local officials are more accountable to the people voting, and it diversifies the corruption. I'm totally indifferent to national governments because pretty much all I want from them is to organize defense, which should not be a political exercise. Also I've never been eligible to vote in an election in the country where I live.
I'd agree with David that nationalism is a good thing - it isn't a zero sum…
I think there is very little chance that China will attack Taiwan in the near term. Otherwise, China wouldn‘t have been flaunting its aircraft in Taiwan airspace and alerting the enemy. In addition, given Taiwan is the global supplier of semiconductors, the US cannot let Taiwan go into the hands of China and making itself vulnerable to Chinese attack in the future. The tone of Beijing also has become more reconciliatory lately (they are talking about one country two systems, which makes no sense in the context of Taiwan).
Great analysis David. The news media does not take into account the historical context or intricacies of the goals that China has. Another potential next step by China could be a restriction on the airspace and naval blockade of shipping lanes. It's a less dangerous path and would not be physically seen by the people in Taiwan. If that happened, what would happen to the goods that Taiwan sells to the rest of the world and especially semiconductors?? Thank you.