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The US Vs. China: A Study In Opposites
Submitted by Jeff Thomas via Doug Casey's International Man blog,
In the first photo, taken in 1972, US President Richard Nixon made what was then considered a bold move, visiting Mao Zedong in Communist China. Literally, as well as figuratively, Chairman Mao is on the left and Mr. Nixon is on the right.
In the second photo, taken over forty years later, we have US President Barrack Obama making a similar visit to China. This time, again literally as well as figuratively, Mr. Obama is on the left and Chinese President Xi Jinping is on the right.
Over the ensuing four decades, both countries have been changing dramatically. The US has become increasingly socialistic, more focused on Big Government and more of a totalitarian state. In 1972, it was the world’s foremost creditor nation; it is now the world’s foremost debtor nation. By contrast, China, since the death of Chairman Mao, has opened up considerably, with billions of people becoming upwardly mobile, in response to China becoming increasingly capitalistic.
To be sure, both countries retain some of their historical features, but increasingly, the US is acting like a country in decline, whilst China is acting like a country on the rise.
As a result of successful capitalism, the US became the world’s foremost power after World War II. Then, in the 1960s, the US began apologising for the spoils that came with that capitalism. It became increasingly popular for Americans (largely at the urging of the media and the political structure) to be ashamed of capitalistic achievements and to head in a more socialistic direction. Republican politicians have needed to soften their views on capitalism in order to appear to be “good people.” (“Good people” has essentially come to mean “those who are prepared to take from the rich and give to the poor.”) They are now Republicans in name only. The US still has two major parties, but one is a moderately liberal party and the other is a vehemently liberal party.
China has gone in the opposite direction, becoming increasingly capitalistic. The results have been dramatic. Many Chinese now have all the trappings that Americans do. In addition, their government is expanding more each year into capitalism.
Again, these developments have followed along the lines of “Declining Empire” vs. “Burgeoning Empire.” Increasingly, the US approach to the world has become one of demanding that other countries subjugate themselves to the US, as though they are subsidiaries of the empire. The US has demanded that trade in many essentials (particularly energy) be settled in the US dollar. As this relationship has been crumbling in recent years, the US has responded by threatening other countries, creating sanctions against them, and even invading them. In doing so, the US has earned the reputation as the schoolyard bully of the world—the country that the world loves to hate. They still have to play ball with the US, but the resentment is growing globally.
(It should be noted here that, if and when a schoolyard bully does fall from his position, he is stomped on, not only by his challenger, but also by those who resented and hated him but had previously deferred to him and pretended to befriend him. Similarly, when empires fall from grace, “staunch allies” frequently switch sides rather quickly.)
In contrast to the US, the Chinese have, in recent decades, displayed the sort of capitalism that is indicative of a burgeoning global player. They are, in effect, saying, “We’re open for business and we’re here to deal. We have some creative ideas to offer that we think you’ll welcome.” They’re not twisting arms behind backs. They’re offering creative opportunities for other countries.
In addition, they’re not aiming for immediate gratification. Their aim is for long-term benefits, just as US goals once were. Today, the Chinese are buying up properties on every continent, setting up businesses, and making sure that the locals benefit from their investments.
In addition, they’re creating deals with governments that those governments could not create on their own. They seek out a country like Venezuela that is on the ropes economically and offer to buy heavily into Venezuela’s primary asset—oil—to the tune of tens of billions of dollars. The deal is not intended to provide a major return for China in the short term, but it does place China in the economic catbird seat in Venezuela over the long haul.
Around the globe, state-backed Chinese developers are offering creative deals to other countries’ political leaders. For example, if a small nation needs, say, a new port and the port costs $50 million (an amount that the country does not have), the Chinese offer to build the port for, say, $30 million, a bid that no other developer can meet. The Chinese developer takes a loss on the construction, but a part of the deal is that he gets a significant portion of the income of the port for, say, 50 or 75 years.
Chinese developers are now executing such deals in nearly every country in the world. What they lose in profits upon completion is made up for in long-term income. As a bonus, China not only owns property worldwide, it is a shareholder in the economies of countries worldwide.
This rapidly expanding global Chinese capitalism is receiving little notice in the US media, but that, most certainly, will change. As the US reaches its own economic tipping point—market crashes, currency collapse, etc.—and finds that it can no longer pay even the interest on its debt, it will also discover that it cannot pay out the benefits promised to the 50% of its population who pay no tax but are recipients of governmental largesse. The US government will then find itself desperately trying to keep this portion of the population at bay, as payouts to recipients decrease. As a result, governmental capital projects will fail to receive funding. Someone will need to step in and offer “creative bidding”. Enter the Chinese.
Once the US is on more of a Third-World economic footing, it will have little choice but to accept the kinds of deals that are now being offered by the Chinese in Jamaica, Egypt, Nicaragua, etc.
The result will be Chinese ownership not only of considerable US real estate and corporations within the US, but ownership of US infrastructure.
Today, the vestiges of Communism undoubtedly remain in China, but the move is decidedly away from Communism, toward capitalism. Conversely, the US seems to be hell-bent on replacing US capitalism with a socialist totalitarian state. Since more than 50% of Americans are now on the dole in some form, it seems highly unlikely that the US will suddenly reverse that direction, since the majority of Americans will vote for continued (and increased) government hand-outs.
Both Chairman Mao and President Nixon are now pushing up daisies, and their present-day replacements are reverse images of them. The future belongs to those who are productive.
As investment guru Jim Rogers has stated, the future belonged to the British in the 19th century and the Americans in the 20th century. The Chinese will own the 21st century. Accordingly, Mr. Rogers now lives in Singapore.
We are passing through the early stages of a period of dramatic change. The economic and political world is in the process of turning upside down. Those who come out the other side of this change with their skin on will be those who have diversified both their wealth (however large or small) and, indeed, themselves, so that they are positioned to thrive in the future, rather than to remain where they are and be a part of the decline.
Editor’s Note: Unfortunately there’s little any individual can practically do to change the trajectory of this trend in motion. The best you can and should do is to stay informed so that you can protect yourself in the best way possible, and even profit from the situation. That’s what International Man is all about—making the most of your personal freedom and financial opportunity around the world. Our free video crash course is a great place to start, more on that here.
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When does it all come down?? Obama is going to speak on this Port thing? That should be good. As a retail Car Audio store..We are already feeling the pinch. Kenwood and Kicker are OUT OF Product. Fire all of those fucks.
YEAH!! LET THE CHINESE COME IN AND DO THE JOBS CHEAPER WITHOUT TAXES IN THEIR TRADE ZONE!!
GET THOSE EVIL AMERICANS WHO WORK THERE NOW OFF THE JOB AND ONTO EBT CARDS STAT!!!
China has turned Capitalist while the US has turned Fascist.
Oh sure. And I like this statement:
"They’re not twisting arms behind backs. They’re offering creative opportunities for other countries."
An example being the way they treat Tibet.
Go to Tibet. Ask the people what they think. Then write here. It sounds like you would like to turn the place back to a feudal kingdom run by Buddhists who live in palaces while the people live wretched lives starving without healthcare or schools and one of the shortest lifespans on the planet.
Are we pretending that the US hasn't been conducting war games on dollar collapses and an eventual Sino/Russian conflict for eventual ownership of the world at least since the 1950s? The Global Mafia needs this war more than any other in history. This will pave the way for the new digital credit currency and a world surveillance system/army. If ever in history there was a time more critical to defending liberty not just of the body, but of the mind, it is now. Sooner or later we may all have to defend these principles not just with our words, but our very lives. I only wish i could more easily spot our fellow ZH brothers. Something tells me you will be out in front.
best of luck to you my friend, the future is bleak indeed
The communist party still controls China and under Mao, the party murdered 85 million, at least, Chinese. Given the Chinese are as racist as any other group, what do you think they will do to non-Chinese?
Some people did not get the memo that Mao died in 1976, and that they country is run by the people who suffered greatly under his regime.
that they country is run by the people who suffered greatly under his [Mao] regime.
Oh, so that's why most of the recently turned-rich want nothing more than leave China?
Some of them, yes. Most of them, no. Probably the ones who made their money illegally fleeing the crackdown on corruption.
You are living in a dream world, Roddy.
Carry on!
So this is how the US dollar dies.
"Normal" prices but no product to buy.
Photo caption: Xi is thanking Barry for all those jobs Barry created for the Chinese.
Did the US have ANY 'trade deficit' with China before 1972?
Was China making ANY money trading with the US before 1972?
The US GAVE China all the factories they used to produce the goods that the US bought - the US VOLUNTARILY committed economic suicide.
US corporations shipped whole factories to China in pursuit of lower labor costs. All the goods produced became part of CHINA's GDP - earning $US for CHINA and creating a trade deficit for the US.
China managed to industrialize WITHOUT borrowing from the West - We GAVE them our industrial base which let them earn the money they are using to buy up the West.
so.... China managed to industrialize with the West footing the bill, AND earned enough to then go and buy up all the companies that shipped their factories to China in the name of larger profits....
How much stupider could we be?
Well, Marx did forsee that happening 250 years ago... Seems he was a much better prophet than Adam what's-his-name...
Not all negative. Pollution was exported to China.
aftermarket car audio is dead... I used to design for JBL and infintiy. We used to do $6k amplifiers for audiophiles and db contests. But since the car companies went to custom dashes and made deals with audio companies for decent sounding eom componenet. the aftermarket is dead. I moved to kids product design in 2009 as childern products and health care faired best during recessions. but I am looking to get out of product design altogether as it seams we have too much products in this world and spending 90% energy to get 5% improvement is not worth it.
I hear 'drone operator' is a growth industry
"I got a Porsche already; a 911 with a quadrophonic Blaupunkt!"
~Ebby Calvin 'Nuke' LaLoosh
i interviewed with a drone company focused the crop dusting. they had a compelling story to more effientcly and more precisely using pesticides but wonder how they will fare in a world controlled by monsanto.
Are you kidding?
They'll do great if they cut a deal with Monsatan or sell out to them. I'm surprised Monsatan hasn't done this already.
Hmm...Ahhh...no it is not.
Here's an angle re:ports
TPP
By design.
Dollar next?
I’ve heard that the chinese are evil capitalists with a free market system!
EVIL I TELL YA!!! EVIL!!!!
The US has not become socialistic -it has become Fascist - by joint resolution of democrats and republicans
that would imply the oligarchs have won
Fascism is just another brand of socialism. The too big to fail banks have been socializing their losses to the public since 2008. Many corporations are the same. What do you think Obamacare and the healthcare industry is all about other than giving them a monopoly to protect their profits at the expense of the American public?
"Fascism is just another brand of socialism."
Totally incorrect. And what we actually have in the US is "inverted fascism". Instead of the government being a tool of the economy (corporations), the US is a country where the economy, i.e. corporations, are a tool of the government. Thus the Fed sets monetary policy and the government spies on you using all of the DARPA/CIA corps it set up for their control matrix.
Stop fussing about the US and Socialism - there is no connection other than this author needing a consistent theme to weave through his article that was based on the juxtapostion of two photos. The problem with the US is that it totally lacks any legitimacy. The institutions lack legitimacy and are merely run by force and control. This has occurred in other regimes, regardless of their orientation, but it is neither a hallmark or inevitable result of socialism or capitalism.
thats the funny thing in nature... the oscillation between polar opposites...they are inevitable, you will become your enemy...that is the reason to not fight against anything. the oscillation is going to happen you can speed it up or slow it down but the cycle can not be avoided.
Ole! another 7 point earthshake in Japan.
Do you know where your iodine tablets are?
it's a race to the bottom! and we are winning!
americans should prepare for civil war.
Yes, it's all about "acting."
Government mostly wholly owned, controlled commerce is hardly capitalism. Hey the USSR conducted commerce too.
Author forgot to mention China acquired debt hand over fist. Wonder why?
Stockman says their QE is an even bigger failure than ours, both in scope and effect:
"... let’s go back to 2000, China had $2 Trillion of credit outstanding. It’s now $28 Trillion. So we’ve had just massive 14X growth in 14 years. There’s nothing like that in recorded history, nor is there any plausible reason to believe that an economy, which is basically under a command-and-control system that is run from the top down to the party cadres, could possibly create $26 Trillion in new debt in that period of time without massive inefficiencies in waste and mistakes everywhere within the systems, especially since they have no markets. They have no feedback mechanisms. It all comes cascading down from the top and everybody lies to the next party above them. And I think the system is irrationally out of control."
If the US ends up on top when the dust settles, it will be the accumlated centuries of wisdom and investment in tangible things that gets us through, no thanks to the current crop of looters, who would be happier running China.
Complete propaganda......China is a U.S. globalist partner through and through
U.S. DoE Helping China Build a Molten-salt Nuclear Reactor
China’s Biggest Law Firm To Merge With Western Multinational Law Firm Dentons
General Electric’s China Technology Center Highlights U.S. Chinese Collaberation
Chinese Investors Pouring Money Into Myrtle Beach
Yale Receives $10 million…Harvard Got $15 Million Both Chinese Donors
U.S. Air Force to Send Satellite Data To China Bypassing State Dept.
China Creates Yuan Trading Center in Los Angeles
North Dakota State University Advising China on Soybeans As China Approves GMO Soybeans
China Buys Into U.S. Property/Casualty Insurance Market……Expansion Planned
China Approves Imports of DuPont Pioneer Soybean (GMO)
Chinese Billionaires Buying American
China’s Largest Cinema Chain Puts HQ In Beverly Hills
So many deliberate mistakes but let's mention the most obvious ones:
USA didnt become the world’s foremost power after World War II as a result of successful capitalism. It became what it was because it had no competitor after WWII.
"The US still has two major parties, but one is a moderately liberal party and the other is a vehemently liberal party.
The right is "moderate liberal"?? Are you kidding me?????
Yeah there is some good analysis here, but it's so obvious the author is coming from a Red Team perspective in presenting it. It's all sort of sad - I didn't know we even traded in articles of "partisans" on ZH.
Wow...tbis surely took us by surprise. .hope its not too late... (major fuckin eyeroll).
I saw thos comin when i was 14..in my room grounded for the summer for somethin stupid. People saw it. Why did nobody care? If nobody did anything in the early 80's. .when in was obvious. . (And people still cared a little).. there is NO f'n way it can be changed now. NO WAY.
Theres no civil war comin..are yall retarded?.. nobodys comin to save the day.
I would have done something. .if i wasnt just 14 when i figgerd it out (and grounded). ;)
What will YOU do?
Wait for 'sheeple to wake up'? Fkin good one. Its over. Its been over for .. (31 years since i figured it out). But its over.
Theres more of them than of us.
For fck sake this place is depressing. Jesus.
Calling the US socialist? SINCE WHEN QE MONEY FLOWING TO EVERYONE EQUALLY?
Did Rip van Winkle just wake up after a decade(s) long slumber and discover this amazing transformation of the US and Chinese "investment" strategies???
The Chinese terms are far more generous, and even with taxpayer funded crutches like the Ex-Im Bank-- what's left of USSA Big Business (non financial) is unable to compete with the Chinese based on price (for identical specs), the grotesque margins of the "for profit" USSA banks are icing on non-competitive cake, but since their losses are passed on to the taxpayer anyway - why do they need profit when pursuing the strategic interests of their subsidiary government?
Xi isn't going to need Lloyd and Jamie once Barrack and his replacement are in their proper places, and the compensation and retirement packages Xi will offer will be far less generous than Uncle Sam's. When strategy is shortsighted, it isn't strategic.
It's true, we gave away our industry, so wall street could take wage arbitrage. This is actually a failure of Capitalism. Financial predators take the intellectual property, know how, and industry of America - which is a birthright - and then monetize it for today.
There are many in on the take: Wall Street, Big Retail (like Wal-mart), the transportation sector, Dock Workers, Captains of Industry. Chinese Oligarchs are in on the take, but Communist leaders help the game gives them world class industry in a short period of time.
Paul Craig Roberts discusses the failure:
http://www.paulcraigroberts.org/2015/02/01/capitalism-killing-earth-paul...
To quote PCR, "In the 21st century American capitalism has flourished, because it has succeeded in overturning unions and blocking environmental restraints. Income and wealth inequality has increased with the rise in social costs. "
My addition: The U.S. had a mixed economy that made it successful. It also had a mixed money supply, where the government issued coins and dollars as seigniorage. U.S. used savings and loans, where neighbors financed neighbors in order to buy homes. Therefore the interest on this money cycled back into the population, rather than away toward finance. Today the money supply is almost all private bank credit.
U.S. used tariffs to prevent predatory foreign industry from taking root. U.S. also spent public dollars into the commons to improve labor's conditon.
America is going to collapse in the next few years and it isn't going to be pretty.
2017..harbinger!
What's Chinese for U.S.A. U.S.A. WE'RE#1! WE'RE#1!
" The US still has two major parties, but one is a moderately liberal party and the other is a vehemently liberal party."
Funny - my impression was that Clinton turned the Democratic Party into Republicans and the Republicans into a confused and divided lot that were hijacked by Neo-Con warmongers as a result.
The government cheese handouts, EBT, faux-bama care, amnesty for all shit is NOT liberal or even socialist. It's merely a salve - a band-aid to try to limit the hemorrhaging of Americas every-class (since the elite > 1% are the problem here, it doens't even make sense to talk about lower/middle/upper class - these people are transnational elites and NOT Americans in any sense). I wish people would stop seeing Obama as socialist tring to turn the US into Maoist China. The Chinese had plans of transforming society with an aim to be just and more equal (ok the plans were horrific, but this was the aim). The Obamese simply need to stuff fingers in the dike, or else the entire self-engratiating two party glutfest will fall in social disorder.
Don't use words you don't know the meaning of, for the Lord's sake. STOP feeding the trend that makes America one of the most ill-informed places on Earth.
America IS NOT socialist, but has a corporate-led big government. Which is the very definition of banana republic fascism, not socialism by any stretch of imagination.
Socialism relies heavily on State-owned production assets/companies. How many of those are there in the USA, where even the money issuing is in private hands?
Can this really be true? No source...
You say, "Those who come out the other side of this change with their skin on will be those who have diversified both their wealth".
Gold & Silver are the only monetary assets that will protect your wealth unless you are recommending we all buy farm land or physical copper and other comodities.
Many think diversification involves stocks & bonds as in the old 60s paradigm of buying and holding blue chips for life.
China better put its multitude of scientists and engineers to work fixing their ecological calamity, if they want a high quality of living.
As soon as I read "Increasingly, the US approach to the world has become one of demanding that other countries subjugate themselves to the US..."
The first thing that came to mind was FATCA.