Love Thy Neighbor (China) or Spread Fear and Talk of Catastrophe: America, Post Economic Crisis

by: Holly Cairns

Fri May 01, 2009 at 14:07:52 PM CDT

Instead of predicting our American demise it invited me to accept a new concept.  Zakaria supposes we'll share the global arena's top spot rather than continue on as the only superpower.  

I agree.  Our global, economic crisis will most likely result in the rise of one or two new superpowers.  We can graciously accept new, shared world leadership and look for global solution or spread fear and talk about world catastrophe.

One thing is certain.  It would be detrimental to turn into ourselves.  Isolationism, combined with nationalism, has caused many wars.  We could also go on the offensive and use weaponry to ensure our superiority, but we aren't the only ones who have nuclear capability and there is no winner in a nuclear war.

Instead of fearing foreigners and finger pointing, let's search for a new global fit which benefits us the most.

We might embrace change by showing respect where it is due.  Let's focus our attention on the world's number two country, China and prepare ourselves for a new, stronger friend.

More on China:  
Although China is officially a one-party, Communistic state, it has incorporated a mix of economic policy for some time. China was our ally in WWI and WWII.  It is one of the few countries still experiencing robust growth, and it most likely will look to expand its interests.  

"Just how peacefully China can rise will be determined by a combination of Chinese actions, other countries' reactions, and the systemic effects that this interaction produces." (Zakaria, pg 115)

Economic factor:
In the 1990's labor became mobile. Jobs now move to people (outsourcing) and the expansion of communications means the world is deeply connected.  How can we use this to our best advantage?

Less violence, world situation:
"It feels like a dangerous world.  But it isn't.  Your chances of dying as a consequence of organized violence of any kind are lower and getting lower." (Zakaria, pg 9).  

Statistically, the world is a safer place.  We might ask ourselves:  As we go forward, how do we best maintain a peaceful world?

Pandemic worry:
Swine flu has many viewing others with suspicion and hatred.  People are pointing fingers even more.  

Coleman repeats debunked China/Cuba myth

by: Joe Bodell

Sun Jul 06, 2008 at 19:16:19 PM CDT

At the same time, we've got to be producing more...outer continental shelf exploration. The Chinese are able to begin operating nintey miles from our shore by working with the Cubans, American companies need to tap into those resources.  I read estimates, estimates of over 80 billion barrels of fuel being available in our reserves in the outer continental shelf...

But mislead he does, and with a thoroughly false myth. New Hampshire's John Sununu (also currently locked in a tough reelection battle) has modified the myth for his own purposes and been caught.  Rudy Giuliani repeated it last week on Glenn Beck's show. Vice President Dick Cheney was dinged for passing the myth off as factual just last month, so at least Norm Coleman isn't the highest on the totem pole to do so.

But what is it with Republican elected officials these days repeating repeatedly debunked rumors as fact?

If we were in some kind of time warp to the late 1950s, this might be considered some kind of Red Scare: The Communists are stealing our oil! Instead, it seems like a new market-based approach to political scare tactics: China has long been seen as an ascendant power in world politics and economics, and supposedly shared political ideals between two nominally Communist governments are simply a convenient detail to use when trying to scare voters into thinking that our oil is being stolen out from under the continental shelf.

There was a similar joke put forth a few years back about how the Iraqi people had been unfortunate enough to have their country's borders positioned on top of so much of America's oil supply. But it's probably out of style by now.

The bigger issue here is simple economics.

More after the break