Wednesday 30 November 2022

Annus mirabilis?


"Is it possible that we’ll see the defeat of the Russian Army and the collapse of the Chinese Communist Party in the same year? Authoritarians can only squeeze their people so far, and liberal democracy, for all its greedy bankers and silly pronouns, still has the moral upper hand."
~ Tim Stanley, from his column 'Olena Zelenska proves we do not need to feel impotent in the face of evil'
UPDATE
"The current situation in both Russia, the remnant of the USSR, and in China illustrates how fragile are authoritarian states.... If we exclude possible wars, there is only one reason why residents of a free, or more or less free, country should feel economically threatened by a foreign authoritarian state. It is that the subjects of the latter will have limited opportunities to trade, both among themselves and internationally, and will thus be poorer. And it is more beneficial to have trading partners, either as suppliers or customers, who are richer than poorer."
~ Pierre Lemieux, from his post 'Fearing Leviathans With Feet of Clay'

3 comments:

oneblokesview said...

I suggest the author has indeed stuck his cranium up his own Anus.

He is just regurgitating Washington generated papp.

Russia is not an authoritarian state any more than the USA.
It is a democracy run by self serving elites.

As to China........ Words fail me. I suggest the author stop reading Washington Press releases and read media from Countries like India, Pakistan, and African countries.
Maybe go visit China and talk to Chines business people...They have a good finger on the pulse.

Pcler said...

Russia is an authoritarian state. USA ist democratic.

Libertyscott said...

Russia is a democracy like Syria is a democracy, holding sham elections, with candidates chosen by the leadership, with people arrested for holding protests with blank signs. It's naive or disingenuous to think Russia is equivalent to the US, where anyone can loudly opposed either or both major parties without being arrested.

Whereas the suggestion to go visit China is so incredible that it can't be suggested by anyone serious. It's literally impossible to get a Visa to visit China as a tourist and has been so for over two years.