Friday
Socialism is the dominant ideology of our times. Even in the US, the home of freedom, looney-Bernie Sanders got a fair swag of votes.
The problem, and it’s a big one, is that over the whole span of recorded history, socialism has never worked.
Socialism relies on pre-existing accumulations of capital to finance its schemes. Once that is depleted, then the economy collapses, just as surely as night follows day.
China gives the appearance of being an exception to this. It does seem that somehow they have managed to actually create wealth under socialism, not just destroy it.
It is usually explained, plausibly, that this is because they have allowed sufficient commercial freedom to facilitate wealth creation.
Emperor Xi Jinping has just cemented his grip on total power. He articulates a glorious and powerful future for China in world affairs. But there are major problems, not least of which is the debt problem, the falling value of the Yuan, the surplus real estate that is already impacting apartment prices, rising civilian unrest (here and here) and the beginnings of a tariff war with the US – that China can only lose.
The tougher the economy becomes, the more that he will see it as his responsibility, nay his duty, to regulate away the problem. This, of course, will make it worse, which will lead to more regulations. What is the point of total power if not to exercise it?
If I were a betting man, my money would be on a Chinese economic collapse, and sooner rather than later.
The problem is that it is around the point of economic collapse that political leaders with delusions of grandeur make the decision to go to war. A few million deaths is more palatable than personal loss of face.
Under such a scenario, the Girl Guide army of Australia does not fill me with confidence.
China is an area to keep a close eye on. The Xi Dynasty could better the brevity of the Qin Dynasty (15 years).
A lot of sorrow is tied up with the collapse of a civilization.