BaliBabyDoc
Lifer
- Jan 20, 2001
- 10,737
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I guess we may need to define superpower. There military is behind ours b/c they choose to spend their money investing in their population . . . as opposed to say North Korea or the Bush administration. China has unmatched human capital. India is a close second but Pakistan is stunting their growth. The incredible links between China to HK (still not really China), Taiwan, and Singapore only strengthens China's position as the future of the Pac Rim. It matters b/c if you checked the label on every product in your computer room I bet 85% were sourced in the Pacific . . . all the way down to your clothing.
Assuming Three Gorges works . . . China will greatly expand its capacity for productivity/commerce within the country and abroad. Every company with a clue will establish/expand operations on mainland China. As America continues to waste hundreds of billions annually to guarantee the right to drive 3-ton vehicles to the grocery store, China is building an empire which may actually be sustainable.
Sure, no country can match our ability to blow stuff up . . . but that power only has credibility amongst like minded people. The majority of the world isn't interested in blowing stuff up . . . they want to build a better present towards a prosperous sustainable future. Aircraft carriers, Ospreys, and NMD (hmm, haven't heard that in a while) are wastes which do not make us safer . . . they actually make us weaker.
We've got a great head start but the current adminstration is piddling it away. The EU will tolerate US hegemony b/c 1) they don't really have a choice and 2) it will not matter. Ultimately, Iraqis will reject US "occupation" b/c the only thing people hate more than their kindred bastard despot is a foreign despot. We will not profit from invading Iraq . . . it will only cost . . . 1) moral standing (note our only real ally is backing farther and farther away from Bush admin decrees), 2) more blood in Iraqi resistance and US troops, 3) financially to fund the military presence/ economic costs to the homeland, and 4) time (invested in trying to prevail when the cause is futile).
Assuming Three Gorges works . . . China will greatly expand its capacity for productivity/commerce within the country and abroad. Every company with a clue will establish/expand operations on mainland China. As America continues to waste hundreds of billions annually to guarantee the right to drive 3-ton vehicles to the grocery store, China is building an empire which may actually be sustainable.
Sure, no country can match our ability to blow stuff up . . . but that power only has credibility amongst like minded people. The majority of the world isn't interested in blowing stuff up . . . they want to build a better present towards a prosperous sustainable future. Aircraft carriers, Ospreys, and NMD (hmm, haven't heard that in a while) are wastes which do not make us safer . . . they actually make us weaker.
We've got a great head start but the current adminstration is piddling it away. The EU will tolerate US hegemony b/c 1) they don't really have a choice and 2) it will not matter. Ultimately, Iraqis will reject US "occupation" b/c the only thing people hate more than their kindred bastard despot is a foreign despot. We will not profit from invading Iraq . . . it will only cost . . . 1) moral standing (note our only real ally is backing farther and farther away from Bush admin decrees), 2) more blood in Iraqi resistance and US troops, 3) financially to fund the military presence/ economic costs to the homeland, and 4) time (invested in trying to prevail when the cause is futile).