Why is China supposed to be the future?
- Thread starter JohnRichards
- Start date
Not a country that had any sense of self-preservation, no. When the US loses Global Reserve Currency status (and this will certainly happen), the fallout will be swift and comical... and then comes the finger-pointing.
But those countries still lack other things. And those things can't be compensated by building bridges or having a high GDP.
Have you ever been to china emp? If you go there you might change your opinion. They basically have tons of unskilled laborers and an elite that is much smaller than in the US. They are doing impressive things, building huge cities, but eventually that will backfire one day as they do that very poorly (check the smog and traffic in Beijing). Those people are so disorganized, they need a load of Oracle and SAP up their anuses. Their infrastructure is a total chaos and disaster and sooner or later most people there will suffer serious health problems.
There is really nothing to be proud of in the larger Chinese cities and from what I've heard the real horror is in the rural areas. People are starving there..
John.. you might be interested to read that the Chinese are set to surpass even Germany in renewal energy usage (%wise... they are already ahead in absolute numbers)
The Chinese are very aware of their environmental problems and tackling them - right now.
::emp::
The Chinese are very aware of their environmental problems and tackling them - right now.
::emp::
Do you have any idea of how stupid you sound? I could even rip that argument to shreds, let alone what a businessman in Shanghai could do. Yes, you can point out bad shit with China. Now put the shoe on the other foot, and try pointing out bad things in the US. It's just as easy both ways.
Building huge cities that are exact copies of other countries...
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPjGWcM3Awc"]China's Ghost Towns: Strolling the Thames (VICE on HBO Ep. #6 Extended) - YouTube[/ame]
Lol OP. If you don't know how fast China and the other BRIC countries are coming up to shift the balance of power, you are in for a shock a decade or two from now when things will be very different....
Most Western countries have been stagnating for the past 50 years. Countries like China have not. At the pace that we're going, America is bound to diminish in power similar to civilizations before us - the most recent example being Britain.
China on the other hand has slowly built the infrastructure to succeed, has a success-driven mindset, and has over a billion people to compete with.
If you listen to any tech or economic podcasts, you'll notice that everyone is saying China is the future. Growth is the reason why.
China on the other hand has slowly built the infrastructure to succeed, has a success-driven mindset, and has over a billion people to compete with.
If you listen to any tech or economic podcasts, you'll notice that everyone is saying China is the future. Growth is the reason why.
China's growth is based on exports on a huge level.
That is the case because the workers live in terrible conditions and are paid close to nothing. As the economy grows however, their salaries are improving. At a certain level their salaries will be at a point where it doesn't make a lot of sense to have your stuff manufactured in China any more because of rising costs.
At that point China's growth will slow down and it will have to fuel its growth internally, which definitely won't allow it to get to levels of developed countries because of lack of innovation and competition. Look at Russia. Internationally very strong country, but just can't grow its people's wealth to the point where they'd have a high level of human development.
ATM China is so poor (per capita) that everybody still gets their stuff produced there, but that won't last forever, and when that comes to an end they will be like Russia.
A huge Russia with 1b+ population and one that will absolutely dominate international relations, with a much bigger influence than the US.
So no, they won't have a developed country any time soon, but they will become the country that decides on international matters, taking the throne from the US.
That is the case because the workers live in terrible conditions and are paid close to nothing. As the economy grows however, their salaries are improving. At a certain level their salaries will be at a point where it doesn't make a lot of sense to have your stuff manufactured in China any more because of rising costs.
At that point China's growth will slow down and it will have to fuel its growth internally, which definitely won't allow it to get to levels of developed countries because of lack of innovation and competition. Look at Russia. Internationally very strong country, but just can't grow its people's wealth to the point where they'd have a high level of human development.
ATM China is so poor (per capita) that everybody still gets their stuff produced there, but that won't last forever, and when that comes to an end they will be like Russia.
A huge Russia with 1b+ population and one that will absolutely dominate international relations, with a much bigger influence than the US.
So no, they won't have a developed country any time soon, but they will become the country that decides on international matters, taking the throne from the US.
Development economics 101 says that countries currently underutilizing their capital (human, resources), will grow quicker until they approach their steady state, where only technological advances or advances in human capital can give higher growth rates.
Due to a high technological level (invented in the west), emerging countries can now approach their steady state quicker. This is also helped by the Asian culture of education which increases human capital quickly, in stark contrast to the mid east and africa with no culture of education and therefore no growth in human capital.
As China approaches it's steady state, they will face the same problems as all Asian countries, namely their collectivist confucian culture, which discourages out of the box individuality. This is also Japan's major problem. The Asian propensity for collectivism and group approval means innovation happens at a much slower rate than the western countries where individuality is encouraged.
You might reply that this is easily changed but it isn't, because the fundamental difference is that Asians have a shame-based morality. The deterrent is humiliation, not personal guilt. That also means that being seen as a failure in public is much worse than feeling as a personal failure. In the Asian mindset, you are only a winner if society agrees you are a winner, what you think of yourself doesn't matter. Where as the individualist of the West doesn't give a damn if the entire world thinks him a loser, if only he believes he is a winner. That is why western innovaters go years as 'losers' before making it big. That does not happen in China, where parents will long before that have made their son an accountant as to not bring shame upon them.
The combination of high IQ, individuality and guilt based morality is why the West will stay ahead.
Due to a high technological level (invented in the west), emerging countries can now approach their steady state quicker. This is also helped by the Asian culture of education which increases human capital quickly, in stark contrast to the mid east and africa with no culture of education and therefore no growth in human capital.
As China approaches it's steady state, they will face the same problems as all Asian countries, namely their collectivist confucian culture, which discourages out of the box individuality. This is also Japan's major problem. The Asian propensity for collectivism and group approval means innovation happens at a much slower rate than the western countries where individuality is encouraged.
You might reply that this is easily changed but it isn't, because the fundamental difference is that Asians have a shame-based morality. The deterrent is humiliation, not personal guilt. That also means that being seen as a failure in public is much worse than feeling as a personal failure. In the Asian mindset, you are only a winner if society agrees you are a winner, what you think of yourself doesn't matter. Where as the individualist of the West doesn't give a damn if the entire world thinks him a loser, if only he believes he is a winner. That is why western innovaters go years as 'losers' before making it big. That does not happen in China, where parents will long before that have made their son an accountant as to not bring shame upon them.
The combination of high IQ, individuality and guilt based morality is why the West will stay ahead.
I came to post pretty much exactly what rusvik said. Cultures where individuality is promoted provide more innovation. It just so happens that people who enjoy individuality also enjoy a more capitalistic/democratic/free kind of government as well.
One problem with all of Asia, including Russia, is that even before communism people there felt that the group was more important than themselves. This way of thinking has been with them for thousands of years (gf takes Russian history). It's now in their very being and that's why you can't just throw democracy at them and hope something great will come out of it. It's why they will always go back to strongmen, dictators, emperors, etc, until something changes their core culture somehow.
One problem with all of Asia, including Russia, is that even before communism people there felt that the group was more important than themselves. This way of thinking has been with them for thousands of years (gf takes Russian history). It's now in their very being and that's why you can't just throw democracy at them and hope something great will come out of it. It's why they will always go back to strongmen, dictators, emperors, etc, until something changes their core culture somehow.
(O_o)
H̨̼̩͐̑͆̀̚&
When experts are saying something, that's when you do listen. Not everyone is saying that China's the future. Ask any typical American or Westerner and they'll tell you that it's not China. They'll likely tell you it's 'Merica. Ask an expert (economist, high-level business person), and they'll tell you China.
