Oct 28, 2022·edited Oct 28, 2022Liked by Angelica Oung
Short and to the point a rare skill!
I think the paradox of tolerance needs to be updated Hitler/'Stalin/Mao all came to power via the the barrel of a gun where as today authoritarians come via the democrat process (think Hungary, Poland and state level GOP) as well via gate keeper status (woke left). That along with the fact that Free Speech is now equated with fascism. means we need a new way of looking at this.
Great article, Angelica, especially the very relevant point about the paradox about tolerance. Absolute power corrupts absolutely, Xi will be no different. Let’s hope, to quote Frasier, he joins the rest of all despots on the ash heap of history.
Also, minor typo in your headline! Should be “Is this the…”
Hope to hear you on David McWilliams podcast again soon! Enjoy Kilkenomics where you are there. Wish I could be there to take part in it all!
Thanks Brandon! It’s amazing how I can’t see my own typos. BTW, I’ll be on the David McWilliams pod again to talk about this!
It’s really hard to see how things are going to go with Xi. He is a mediocrity who has surrounded himself with other mediocrities but he is genius at one thing: consolidating power. On the bright side, the world is acting accordingly, and the US has cut China off from advanced chips, not a moment too soon.
Instead of counting on Xi not to attack, Taiwan and allies (US, Japan at the bare minimum) need to study exactly what went down for Ukraine, account for the geological differences and start problem-solving for how to fight post-Modern war.
I’m so glad you’ll be returning to David’s pod again soon, I am really looking forward to that! It is heartening to see that as you point out the world is acting accordingly to Xi’s machinations. The next few years will be critical, won’t they? As you’ve mentioned in past episodes, Xi has designs on Taiwan and making it part of his legacy to go after it, and given his age and now that he’s been re-confirmed as leader, he’s built up a lot of momentum leading to that.
I am hoping that he ultimately manages to exercise restraint and see that it’s not worth it, but that is far from definite and yes I sure hope US and Japan and others are already deep in planning how to counter in this post-Modern era of war. Catch you on the podcast soon.
The 'factions' in Chinese government so beloved by Western China watchers are imaginary.
There have been historical moments when the government has been faction-riven, but this is not one of them. China is more united today than ever in its history.
Trust in their government is 96%, which alone renders factionalism farcical. Who's going to form a "Let's do Worse" faction?
The figures I gave you do not imply that China is doing just fine, though it has grown much faster than America's, and suffered 1% of the Covid casualties. It's currently the fastest growing major economy on earth.
Thousands of cases, not hundreds of thousands. 90% of Chinese have never been locked down, remember. Though the Plague and other epidemics reached China, none spread far, thanks to, you guessed it, lockdowns.
They've bee doing this for centuries and keeping good records of what works.
Excellent article. Very well-written. And interesting to learn about "The Paradox of Intolerance". Thank you.
Short and to the point a rare skill!
I think the paradox of tolerance needs to be updated Hitler/'Stalin/Mao all came to power via the the barrel of a gun where as today authoritarians come via the democrat process (think Hungary, Poland and state level GOP) as well via gate keeper status (woke left). That along with the fact that Free Speech is now equated with fascism. means we need a new way of looking at this.
Rob
Great article, Angelica, especially the very relevant point about the paradox about tolerance. Absolute power corrupts absolutely, Xi will be no different. Let’s hope, to quote Frasier, he joins the rest of all despots on the ash heap of history.
Also, minor typo in your headline! Should be “Is this the…”
Hope to hear you on David McWilliams podcast again soon! Enjoy Kilkenomics where you are there. Wish I could be there to take part in it all!
Thanks Brandon! It’s amazing how I can’t see my own typos. BTW, I’ll be on the David McWilliams pod again to talk about this!
It’s really hard to see how things are going to go with Xi. He is a mediocrity who has surrounded himself with other mediocrities but he is genius at one thing: consolidating power. On the bright side, the world is acting accordingly, and the US has cut China off from advanced chips, not a moment too soon.
Instead of counting on Xi not to attack, Taiwan and allies (US, Japan at the bare minimum) need to study exactly what went down for Ukraine, account for the geological differences and start problem-solving for how to fight post-Modern war.
I’m so glad you’ll be returning to David’s pod again soon, I am really looking forward to that! It is heartening to see that as you point out the world is acting accordingly to Xi’s machinations. The next few years will be critical, won’t they? As you’ve mentioned in past episodes, Xi has designs on Taiwan and making it part of his legacy to go after it, and given his age and now that he’s been re-confirmed as leader, he’s built up a lot of momentum leading to that.
I am hoping that he ultimately manages to exercise restraint and see that it’s not worth it, but that is far from definite and yes I sure hope US and Japan and others are already deep in planning how to counter in this post-Modern era of war. Catch you on the podcast soon.
The 'factions' in Chinese government so beloved by Western China watchers are imaginary.
There have been historical moments when the government has been faction-riven, but this is not one of them. China is more united today than ever in its history.
Trust in their government is 96%, which alone renders factionalism farcical. Who's going to form a "Let's do Worse" faction?
You are correct of course…there are no factions these days, just absolute trust and loyalty for Xi, who is doing a fabulous job.
He's certainly doing a fabulous job. His stats are stellar and his esteem is unequalled since Mao.
After three years of Covid, 90% of Americans and Chinese have NOT been locked down, and
1. US GDP has grown 3.4%, with 1,000,000 Covid deaths and 3,000,000 Long Covid invalids
2. China's GDP has grown 13.8%, with 7,000 deaths and 38,000 Long Covids.
Xi's 2021 accomplishments are greater than all Western leaders this century combined.
https://www.unz.com/article/ten-china-predictions-for-2021/#new_comments
Wow. Ok. If you think China’s economy is doing just fine, you really are deluded.
The figures I gave you do not imply that China is doing just fine, though it has grown much faster than America's, and suffered 1% of the Covid casualties. It's currently the fastest growing major economy on earth.
China's official COVID statistics are not plausible. They've reported 0 deaths in the last 4 months despite hundreds of thousands of cases.
China is projected to grow around 3% in 2022, which is less than half of India's growth rate.
Thousands of cases, not hundreds of thousands. 90% of Chinese have never been locked down, remember. Though the Plague and other epidemics reached China, none spread far, thanks to, you guessed it, lockdowns.
They've bee doing this for centuries and keeping good records of what works.