Ok.
But does everyone now agree we not in a space race with China.
China might worry about invasion from Space, but being spacefaring doesn’t fit their worldview.
Of course if China ever become a free nation, that would be different issue.
Or this is the dumb Chinese ruling class view of things.
Race implies all the contestants are after the same thing, are playing the same game, and have the same rules. No, we aren’t in a space race with China. The competition we have with China is much broader and riskier. Space is just one aspect of it, which shouldn’t be dismissed.
A nice summary that fails to mention: The Chinese (or Han) are Chauvinistic Xenophobes. Chauvinistic because they have been the dominant culture for thousands of years and think of their neighbors as almost subhuman barbarians, which leads to: Xenophobes because their neighbors are sorted into two categories: (1) Dangerous Bloodthirsty Barbarians such as the Mongols, Japanese and anybody they can’t control who will surely invade the motherland; and (2) Usefully Obedient Puppets that serve as Buffer States while being economically despoiled by the Han.
I strongly recommend the works of Ralph D. Sawyer who has made a career of translating ancient Chinese military and other works into English. Educationally they surely are, to create a Yoda-ism. I was first introduced to his bookshelf by reading “The Seven Military Classics of Ancient China”.
” But I wouldn’t be surprised if, at some point in the future, the Han started a systematic Han-ization of Tibet.”
It has been going on for decades. It just doesn’t get much press anymore.
When the bank sent me to China back in 2009 to meet with regulators the one thing that really struck me about the locals was the hustle. They want your business and will make sure you’re happy. Very helpful. I however have zero illusions regarding the distinctions between the general populace and their leadership caste. As is true most everywhere – folks in general are usually quite nice, but the leaders tend to be dicks. Phalli politicum especially. No you don’t get to decide how I live my life. Like Voltaire said, first tend to your own garden. Leave me to mine.
My funniest moment was when I got on the metro in Beijing. I got in at the end of the car and when I turned around there was not a single person in the car taller than my collarbone, if that. And every single one was staring at this weird barbarian from somewhere off searching for the Ancient Observatory (where I got a Moon globe) and the People’s Bookstore right off Tiananmen Square (where I picked up a bunch of Moon-centric books for the Lunar Library).
The coolest moment was the maglev train out to the airport in Shanghai. Smoooooth.
As mercantilists the Chinese are formidable, but we can compete if we can ever get our hustle back (which frankly requires much younger leadership than we have now). As authoritarians they are terrifying, and not any kind of system I could live under. We can celebrate our differences and enjoy them without any need to beat the shit out of each other. There’re so many wonderful things to experience in this world, if only the elitists would quit effing everything up with their dick-measuring contests.
“As mercantilists the Chinese are formidable, but we can compete if we can ever get our hustle back (which frankly requires much younger leadership than we have now). ”
Politicians wont save us.
Wasn’t just talking political leadership, but also corporate and societal leadership as well. I expect very, very little of politicians other than the mental masturbation of political theatre.
Now if we had a decent cadre of statesmen and stateswomen we might be able to make progress in righting the ship of state, but yeah, nah, politicians ain’t gonna make it happen. They only care about what they can loot from the floundering ship. (q.v. ex-Afghan president…)
This is a great link but it ignores much of China’s history. They used to have a North-South split between the wheat and rice growing regions. They were split back when the Mongols invaded for example. The South was much richer because of increased yield of rice giving them higher population.
The only choice is for the other population, this includes Tibetans, Inner Mongolians, Uygurs to assimilate into Chinese culture. You complain but please remember North American industry. Do you think a reservation system is better long term?
The Uygurs are sponsored by the same people who fund both the Taliban and Al-Qaeda. So be careful who you pine for. I think.
Ok.
But does everyone now agree we not in a space race with China.
China might worry about invasion from Space, but being spacefaring doesn’t fit their worldview.
Of course if China ever become a free nation, that would be different issue.
Or this is the dumb Chinese ruling class view of things.
Race implies all the contestants are after the same thing, are playing the same game, and have the same rules. No, we aren’t in a space race with China. The competition we have with China is much broader and riskier. Space is just one aspect of it, which shouldn’t be dismissed.
A nice summary that fails to mention: The Chinese (or Han) are Chauvinistic Xenophobes.
Chauvinistic because they have been the dominant culture for thousands of years and think of their neighbors as almost subhuman barbarians, which leads to:
Xenophobes because their neighbors are sorted into two categories: (1) Dangerous Bloodthirsty Barbarians such as the Mongols, Japanese and anybody they can’t control who will surely invade the motherland; and (2) Usefully Obedient Puppets that serve as Buffer States while being economically despoiled by the Han.
I strongly recommend the works of Ralph D. Sawyer who has made a career of translating ancient Chinese military and other works into English. Educationally they surely are, to create a Yoda-ism. I was first introduced to his bookshelf by reading “The Seven Military Classics of Ancient China”.
” But I wouldn’t be surprised if, at some point in the future, the Han started a systematic Han-ization of Tibet.”
It has been going on for decades. It just doesn’t get much press anymore.
When the bank sent me to China back in 2009 to meet with regulators the one thing that really struck me about the locals was the hustle. They want your business and will make sure you’re happy. Very helpful. I however have zero illusions regarding the distinctions between the general populace and their leadership caste. As is true most everywhere – folks in general are usually quite nice, but the leaders tend to be dicks. Phalli politicum especially. No you don’t get to decide how I live my life. Like Voltaire said, first tend to your own garden. Leave me to mine.
My funniest moment was when I got on the metro in Beijing. I got in at the end of the car and when I turned around there was not a single person in the car taller than my collarbone, if that. And every single one was staring at this weird barbarian from somewhere off searching for the Ancient Observatory (where I got a Moon globe) and the People’s Bookstore right off Tiananmen Square (where I picked up a bunch of Moon-centric books for the Lunar Library).
The coolest moment was the maglev train out to the airport in Shanghai. Smoooooth.
As mercantilists the Chinese are formidable, but we can compete if we can ever get our hustle back (which frankly requires much younger leadership than we have now). As authoritarians they are terrifying, and not any kind of system I could live under. We can celebrate our differences and enjoy them without any need to beat the shit out of each other. There’re so many wonderful things to experience in this world, if only the elitists would quit effing everything up with their dick-measuring contests.
“As mercantilists the Chinese are formidable, but we can compete if we can ever get our hustle back (which frankly requires much younger leadership than we have now). ”
Politicians wont save us.
Wasn’t just talking political leadership, but also corporate and societal leadership as well. I expect very, very little of politicians other than the mental masturbation of political theatre.
Now if we had a decent cadre of statesmen and stateswomen we might be able to make progress in righting the ship of state, but yeah, nah, politicians ain’t gonna make it happen. They only care about what they can loot from the floundering ship. (q.v. ex-Afghan president…)
This is a great link but it ignores much of China’s history. They used to have a North-South split between the wheat and rice growing regions. They were split back when the Mongols invaded for example. The South was much richer because of increased yield of rice giving them higher population.
China is also making massive, massive investments like the high-speed rail line Sichuan-Tibet. Same to the Uygurs.
https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/lhasa-nyingchi-high-speed-railway-china-tibet/index.html
The only choice is for the other population, this includes Tibetans, Inner Mongolians, Uygurs to assimilate into Chinese culture. You complain but please remember North American industry. Do you think a reservation system is better long term?
The Uygurs are sponsored by the same people who fund both the Taliban and Al-Qaeda. So be careful who you pine for. I think.
s/industry/history/g