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It doesn't ever have to get to war for the power of military superiority to be felt. It's very unlikely to ever get to war, much less a nuclear war, because it would be suicidal for China to even try, so we have pax-Americana equilibrium.  Here's the strategic problem for China and the US:  Both China and the US depend today on foreign-based natural resources to maintain current levels of prosperity, China a bit more than the US due to US domestic agricultural capacity. But only the US has a navy and global basing structure capable of securing access to those foreign resources through international trade regimes such as property rights norms, tariff agreements, etc.  China can't secure the foreign resources it needs, so, like everyone else in the world, it depends on American goodwill to provide access to them through the trade, global governance institutions, and liberal democracy discourse that America has organized over the last 60 years or so.  The world is much less interdependent than we have been led to believe by business journalism.  It's much more of one way street that benefits America and her allies/partners.
by santiago on Tue Jul 20th, 2010 at 10:29:22 PM EST
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The world is much less interdependent than we have been led to believe by business journalism.  It's much more of one way street that benefits America and her allies/partners.

It does tend to be a one way street, but it only benefits "America" if you consider the only interests of "America" to be the financial elites. I find it rather hard to see how the generation of volunteer US soldiers who have been traumatized in Iraq and Iran have really benefited, compared to having had the opportunities that their parents had to earn a living from a decent paying US job.

That job has been sent to China, not because it had to be, but because that was the most profitable decision for the elite. This elite has become destructive and parasitical. The economy that is run in their interest is sucking the wealth out of the bottom 99.3% of the US population for the benefit of the top 0.7%, give or take a few tenths of a percent. This model of military backed domination has been extended not just to the rest of the world, but to the domestic population as well. Perhaps you are o.k. with that but I am not.

As the Dutch said while fighting the Spanish: "It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."

by ARGeezer (ARGeezer a in a circle eurotrib daught com) on Wed Jul 21st, 2010 at 01:18:30 AM EST
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US soldiers who have been traumatized in Iraq and IranAfghanistan

You got a couple of years ahead of yourself there...

By laying out pros and cons we risk inducing people to join the debate, and losing control of a process that only we fully understand. - Alan Greenspan

by Migeru (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Wed Jul 21st, 2010 at 02:39:38 AM EST
[ Parent ]
It's very unlikely to ever get to war, much less a nuclear war, because it would be suicidal for China to even try

This is rhetorical statement. The same applies to US to go to war with China or Russia. US would be obliterated in any nuclear holocaust.

so we have pax-Americana equilibrium

This moment is passed you did not know? It was called "American Century" by neo-cons.

But only the US has a navy and global basing structure capable of securing access to those foreign resources through international trade regimes such as property rights norms, tariff agreements, etc.

False statement because of the word "only the US". The power of US for example in South East Asia was in mix of economic and military ties which are on the wane by all accounts, even Thailand and Indonesia are drifting away from US. After decades of lobbying US was admitted into East Asian Forum only humiliatingly together with Russia which obviously had had less interests in this region.

Then the West indeed has currently dominated international organizations but everything is changing. Take for example Moody's with atrocious rate of 80-90% of failures which were rated AAA obviously will be replaced and why not by Dagong?

China can't secure the foreign resources it needs, so, like everyone else in the world, it depends on American goodwill to provide access to them through the trade, global governance institutions, and liberal democracy discourse that America has organized over the last 60 years or so.

Again unsubstantiated statement. China has money why it can't secure the foreign resources? What happen with Australia (and other resource-based economies like Canada) if China launch sanctions against them? China does not depend on American goodwill to get access to them.

The world is much less interdependent than we have been led to believe by business journalism.

Empty rhetorics without proof.

It's much more of one way street that benefits America and her allies/partners.

Again false assumption.

by FarEasterner on Wed Jul 21st, 2010 at 01:34:44 PM EST
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