- E.M. Cioran, History and UtopiaA civilization proves its fecundity by its talent to incite others to imitate it; when it no longer dazzles them, it is reduced to an epitome of vestiges and shards.
Meanwhile, Apple has just announced that they will abide by China's laws concerning data storage, which enable the Chinese authorities to access any data stored by any party, anywhere in China. — Wayfarer
It seems likely that an ideological battle will take place on the world’s stage, pitting a “retreating” liberal democracy against China’s growing one-party autocracy, the latter of which will make increased gains in influencing and exporting its political model on developing countries, or to be copied by political parties within developed countries. — Maw
Why? Because the BS you were sold as a young adult (New Age, open society, bla bla) turns out to be nonsense?It's pretty scary, and also depressing. — Wayfarer
"Sinofuturism is an invisible movement. A spectre already embedded into a trillion industrial products, a billion individuals, and a million veiled narratives. It is a movement, not based on individuals, but on multiple overlapping flows. Flows of populations, of products, and of processes. Because Sinofuturism has arisen without conscious intention or authorship, it is often mistaken for contemporary China. But it is not. It is a science fiction that already exists.
So the US was founded on one kind of mythology - the endless frontier. China is instead a belief in an insular empire that had a bad century or two and now is getting back to how things should rightfully be. — apokrisis
Trust in public institutions have fallen to new lows. Given this backdrop, what will unfold within the next decade or two? It seems likely that an ideological battle will take place on the world’s stage, pitting a “retreating” liberal democracy against China’s growing one-party autocracy, the latter of which will make increased gains in influencing and exporting its political model on developing countries, or to be copied by political parties within developed countries. Will the concentration of global influence move from West to East? — Maw
Minorities, which are under the influence of the West. Irrelevant. If the West wasn't a liberal democracy, and if the West didn't have global hegemony, unlikely that these people would advocate for political change. And I'm talking about just the vast majority, not the 10-20% or so that protest, etc.This is a disservice to the many Chinese and Russian men and women who openly advocate for political change in their respective countries, and risk their lives doing so. — Maw
I'm not one for prognostications, so I can't comment on what the probable trajectory will be for democracy, but it's hard to imagine a near-future where things will be better before they get worse. An "event" can transpire that can further damage the legitimacy of Western democracy, from another recession to a second term victory for Trump, etc. However, it's hard to imagine a singular (or set of) event that would, on the other hand, benefit democracy. There are serious obstacles facing liberal democracy in the next decade, and, pessimistically, I don't think its current fragile state is prepared for a rising China (which in itself, is not fated to succeed. — Maw
China as it is now does have some problems - I think at some point in the future China will reorganise as a monarchy. The goal of getting China to convert to liberal democracy is the goal of spreading the disease to them as well. That wouldn't be good for the world.
I think the time has come for all of us to return to constitutional monarchies, with one life-time ruler whose powers are limited by the Constitution, but who is in charge of the country and does not have to worry about losing power as much as rulers do in democracies. — Agustino
Putin is respected in Russia because he stabilised the country. After the era of Yeltsin who was too busy getting drunk and chasing girls, Putin actually put an end to the chaos, and introduced some order. Right after the collapse of the Soviet Union things were very chaotic - businessmen would get shot in the middle of street, etc. These areas were like a jungle. No doubt that Putin has set himself and his friends to set the rules of the game, and to control everything that happens - but at least there is a degree of order now.Surprised you'd fall for such a transparent piece of propaganda that's really aimed at the least thoughtful and intelligent sectors of the population. — Baden
The common people generally never had to worry about the knock at midnight. That was more for the middle to higher level people who were involved in administration, whether directly in government or otherwise as bosses and managers in factories - or were professors. Professors were also dangerous if they did not promote the party line.As with all who blithely support totalitarian regimes, he didn't have to worry about the goon squads coming at midnight. — T Clark
The part where he describes problems with the West ideologically:What part of the video were you referring us to then? — Baden
Abandonment of the importance of our religious heritage — Agustino
The common people generally never had to worry about the knock at midnight. That was more for the middle to higher level people who were involved in administration, whether directly in government or otherwise as bosses and managers in factories - or were professors. Professors were also dangerous if they did not promote the party line. — Agustino
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