The West had a good run

Authoritarianism will win.

Inequity always finds a new home.

China's population is actually falling. It may still emerge as the leading civilization, but it won't be because of mindlessly pumping out kids, a really old-fashioned way of measuring who is "winning." India may well surpass it as the biggest nation before too long (some people think it already is, and China is lying about its actual population). But India still struggles with not just having masses of poor, ignorant, largely useless people in the economic sense, good on paper but just not much use in an economic sense.

On the other side, if we in "The West" are just a bunch of useless assholes ourselves, there is probably no particular reason to be traumatized by its diminishing influence in the world. If it isn't, then we need to figure out what do we like about the West, what to we hate about it, and how can we get more of the former and less of the latter.

The whole reason the filthy Europeans left Europe was to get to India and rape it, then on to China and turned them into opium addicts, hello you Brits!!! Europe was poor and backwards but aggressive of course, and hated going through the arabs to their stuff, so they left and raped the world, nice.

[quote] Authoritarianism will win.

Authoritarians don't have any magic to improve economies. People will turn on them quickly if they can't curb the deficiencies and wealth disparities with late-stage capitalism

[quote] China's population is actually falling.

Yep. Their empire is built atop a stack of cards. They're going to have a real problem with an aging population in a few decades and not enough help.

Good

[quote]China's population is actually falling.

That is a good thing.

The world needs fewer people. Not more.

[quote] good on paper but just not much use in an economic sense.

Well they do populate call centers!

Thank you, Tokyo Rose! Morale eroding propaganda has found a place at the Data Lounge.

Shanghai. Take a look.

If you say so. But I am not learning a Russian language or a Chinese dialect.

The video is at night so you can't see the brown sky

R4 is still spinning about centuries old bullshit. Typing it all out on her slave labor-made iPhone. Not a peep about Mexico and China flooding the US with fentanyl, present day. Fuck off, you woke virtue signaling cunt. If the US falls it’s because of traitorous bitches like you.

R12 A bullet to the head will cure that problem.

They don't do bullets. They do windows and tea, shithead

Three Russian doctors fall from hospital windows, raising questions amid coronavirus pandemic

R16 Tell that to the dead soldiers in Ukraine, Super-shithead.

You're not cute or funny. None of you Russian shitheads are.

Look at China today and then compare to the US

Bingo, OP. I liken it to the fall of Rome. Unrestricted gluttony and avarice, world exploitation, worship of violence and militarism, and internal corruption at every level. Let it burn.

LOL OP - just because there is a rising middle class in India and China doesn't mean they also don't have a massive wealth divide.

And China's population is falling - India's current birth rate of 2.01 is not high enough to sustain population.

The problem we have is the idea of ever expanding growth instead of expanding and improving all people's conditions.

The idea of having more and more people and growth is only for business to keep abusing people at the bottom who are in a never ending supply with too much population.

Interesting post, OP. The West is in decline, but part of what made the west strong was democratic, relatively corruption-free political establishments. Those seem to be in decline in the West, but then again, they did too in the 20s and 30s, and then recovered.

China's economy has grown only insofar as it could grow under an autocratic regime. While India has a democracy, it also has a neo-fascist leader in Modi. I don't think it's going to challenge the West anytime soon. A large middle class is great, but without a free political system, a country will grow only so much.

American cities are the height for the 20th century,

Chinese and other top Asian cities are 21st century cities, they blow your mind with technology and cleanliness.

Funny to see Americans, brainwashed by “America is the greatest,” finally see on the internet what the rest of the world offers.

R24 - the Chinese ones are new cities - literally slum clearing to build the new infrastructure. Shenzhen is just a new city period - it didn't exist really 30+ years ago. Of course they're going to be more advanced - it's all new construction.

[quote]Chinese and other top Asian cities are 21st century cities, they blow your mind with technology and cleanliness.

And they show that "diversity" is overrated.

[quote]A large middle class is great, but without a free political system, a country will grow only so much.

Says who?

[Quote] A large middle class is great, but without a free political system, a country will grow only so much.

America has a political system controlled by the wealthy to support the wealthy

[Quote] And they show that "diversity" is overrated.

Diversity works when you use and value all the brains and opinions in a diverse society. Sadly America is all talk and doesn’t do any of that

[Quote] the Chinese ones are new cities - literally slum clearing to build the new infrastructure. Shenzhen is just a new city period - it didn't exist really 30+ years ago. Of course they're going to be more advanced - it's all new construction.

NYC just added a completely new subway line with new stations. None of them look anywhere near as modern as those in China.

When the GOP pushes huge tax cuts for the rich and let’s infrastructure decay, what do you expect in the US?

R31 - so you're comparing a 130 year old system to a completely brand new one? The 2nd Ave line had started over 50 years ago, if that's the one you're referring to.

Plus it's cheaper to build nice things when you pay peasants from the countryside very little.

I'm not saying it's not nice - but it's not apples to apples comparison.

R30 Agreed.