The American Dream - Is it Over?

[dimbat]

stopping the war is one thing but the solders still have to be paid?

[Sierra]

That's a very interesting point. Perhaps the Chinese simply wish to use this debt as a crutch with which increase their influence in global politics, much like they're doing in Africa.

 

And as for what the Chinese doing in Africa - namely supplying equipment and expertise to isolated governments in return for access to the country's mineral wealth - there's not much honour involved. They're not Japanese

 

I know diddly about the world economy, but I really don't believe the Chinese are ever going to get their money back. At least not in this lifetime. Heh.

 

There's a saying that if you borrow $100 dollars, you have to be nice to the bank. But if you borrow $100 million dollars, the bank has to be nice to you.

[Big time]

I dont buy this talk of a power shift from west to east; ultimately, its a countries military capability that determines a countries standing in the world, so on that basis the west has nothing to worry about.

[Big time]

Capitalism is in decline. China will be the new superpower.

 

China is on the rise because it has embraced capitalism. Quite brutal capitalism too, not much of a safety net there.

[Harleyman]

I dont buy this talk of a power shift from west to east; ultimately, its a countries military capability that determines a countries standing in the world, so on that basis the west has nothing to worry about.

 

That might have been true 60 years ago but it's a different world today.

When we get into wars of choice where we try to bring our kind of democracy and ideas of freedom to other cultures that neither believe in it nor want it then that's when wars become bogged down and over a long time people on both sides become tired and impatient and the original reason why we're there eventually becomes blurred and confused.

 

Also as far as the military is concerned these kind of long drawn out wars are detrimental to even the most powerful, technologically advanced armies

[Harleyman]

The Chinese will become a major world economy without a doubt and of course contngent on foreign markets for their products. As for becoming a major military power I dont see why they would want to. Maintaining a huge military and keeping it technologically up to date is an enormous chunk of the budget. There aren't going to be any more massive WW2 type conflicts because with the technology that armies have today the destruction on both sides would be catastrophic even without nuclear weapons being used..... no winners period.