I have been accused by conservatives as being “in love with China”. I am not polyannish however, I look at what the Chinese have done, and how they have done it, and while I don’t like everything about what they have done, I can clearly see that our own leadership is solopsistic and clueless. We need to learn from China the same way that China has learned from us.
But it’s not just China that has begun to unlock the recipie for peaceful advancement of humanity. Oddly enough in an old iperialist nation a Cathholic priest helped unlock collective ownership of the means of production at scale in the country of Spain. Mondragon is the worlds largest cooperatively owned enterprise.
Yes, I know, I am running for a state political office, and the China / US gap is supposedly national politics, but you need to understand how our power structures work in the United States. Under a two party system, power bubbles up from the bottom, and decisions come down from the top. To move up in a party you need to have the blessing of the party leadership.
This means if you, the voter, don’t like something at the national level, one thing you can do is cut the party down at the roots…the grass roots. This denies the aging gentry at the top of a succession heirarchy. It is really the most effective way to exert control over national politics which is currently fully governed by well funded lobbyists.
Not only that but being willing to look outside your own borders for ideas to solve intractible problems cannot be a disadvantage if your goal is to serve the people of your state.
So what about that U.S. China Gap?
Here is a write up by Robert Vanrox a Former Operator at Office of Naval Intelligence from (1981-2007)
Yes, you are correct. There is a gap. And it’s getting wider with each day. Let’s just cover certain areas and look at what kind of gaps exist.
We will start with Spaceflight. It’s my preferred industry and I have a great love for aviation, especially Naval Aviation.
Spaceflight
For half a century the United States lead the world in space flight technologies. It started with the Apollo moon program, and then went downhill as Washington DC became infested with FIRE “leaders” instead of people from STEM backgrounds. Over the years, NASA became cannibalized, and has become a real “clown show” much to my utter horror and disgust.
America has retained the skill sets, but they are in the process of atrophy. A for-profit mindset took hold and now what ever is made turns into profit generation mechanisms, rather than for the supposed purposes of exploration, and mastering technologies.
The USA and China are on par in avionics, engines, and systems integration. China leads in deep space probes, planetary landing systems, cheap and reliable rocket technologies, supersonic, robotics, AI, and mass production of space systems. The USA leads in media promotion, and diversity in the workforce.
Electronics
The USA lost. There’s an enormous gap.
China leads at all levels, and has been mass producing the Taiwan (impossible) 7nm chips all year without any delay.
Culture
The USA has Hollywood, but the emphasis on diversity and alternative lifestyles has increasingly narrowed the gap in global distribution. China and other nations have their own cultures and styles and don’t really turn towards the USA for guidance and culture like what was once the undisputed champion of culture export.
China and USA are on par.
Military
The United States is a military Empire, and it is the undisputed leader in that field. It has more bombs, weapons systems, and bases than the rest of the world combined. The USA is the world’s “police man”. Though it is (truly) a “crooked cop”.
China has a large military, but it is unable to apply force projection like the United States can.
China has state of the art, peer-capable weapons systems, but they are designed for local defensive purposes only and are useless for long range force projection.
The USA leads in global military force projection and application. China leads in defense of China, Taiwan, and the islands surrounding China.
Overall
The United States is a declining empire. However, it is not too late to stop the rot. With proper leadership, and a serious and thorough “house cleaning” of crime and corruption at all levels, as well as a focus on domestic needs, American can turn itself around and regain its former role as a nation worthy of emulation.