Liberalism flourished after WW2 due to the US's unparalleled economic advantage, which was built on the massive expansion of its industrial base during the war while the rest of the world burned.
The economic supremacy that legitimized western system has now faded and liberal democracies face a crisis of confidence while China's model is emerging as a successful alternative.
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#geopolitics #china #usa #socialism
The Stress Test Liberalism Never Saw Coming
Prosperity Falters, Alternatives RiseDialectical Dispatches
Arindam
in reply to Yogthos • • •The author claims:
'Indeed, the Soviet bloc, having started from a position of post-war devastation, was never able to close the economic development gap with the massive head start enjoyed by the United States.'
I beg to differ... the gap was closing, and had it not been for the subversion of the USSR, it most likely would have been closed by now.
Successes of the Soviet Union before Perestroika
youtu.be/B4hK3HPCSZU
Successes of the Soviet Union before Perestroika
YouTubeYogthos
in reply to Arindam • • •@Arindam I'm not saying USSR economy was inferior in nature, merely that the US had a massive head start. The US leveraged this advantageous position during the Cold War to pull of the world economy into its orbit which further shifted the balance of power in its favor.
The problem USSR had was that it was stuck in an ideological struggle with the US where countries were forced to pick bloc allegiance. China managed to avoid falling into that trap.
Arindam
in reply to Yogthos • • •The advantageous position of the United States in 1945 was whittled away in the subsequent decades.. and furthermore, it didn't prevent the following:
The USA lost the first half of the Cold War
youtu.be/cK7CUy8PxRQ
(Not just Vietnam, but also the defeat of Pakistan by India in 1971 were indicative of declining American power).
The ideological struggle wasn't the problem - especially since the existence of the Non-Aligned Movement demonstrates that countries didn't have to pick sides. The problem was that the Soviets made a few critical mistakes (the Sino-Soviet split, the war in Afghanistan, the failure to push forward in IT, etc...) - and were subverted. The latter is of utmost importance.. and a key source on it is:
Revolution From Above: The Demise of the Soviet System
amazon.co.uk/Revolution-Above-…
Learning from the Soviet example, Beijing has avoided the mistakes - and has taken extraordinary care to avoid subversion.
The USA lost the first half of the Cold War
YouTube