> why isn't the west's own supply chain options as immense?

The US explicitly chose to be a service economy. China explicitly chose to be a mercantile economy.

The US can absolutely switch paths, it will just take a long time and will require pushing millions into poverty. But we're on track to do it.

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myrmidon 7 hours ago | parent | next [-]

"Explicitly chose" is a strong word.

US and China are on completely different stages of industrialization: The US had its massive boom of manufacturing almost a century ago, enriching its population massively. Those rich citizens make the same manufacturing uncompetitive today, because no one is going to work in a factory for $20k/year (median wage in urban China), when he can work for other "rich" people for more than twice as much.

Switching paths is not feasible for the US in the same way that it is not gonna be feasible for China to hold on to all its industry as wages rise: You can't compete globally at "poor people wages" while being "rich", as simple as that.

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palmotea 10 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

> The US explicitly chose to be a service economy. China explicitly chose to be a mercantile economy.

In other words: the US wants its workers assembling hamburgers, China wants its workers assembling drones.

And when there's a conflict, the US will lose because you can't win a war with hamburgers.

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Levitz 5 hours ago | parent [-]

Rather, the US wants its worker coming up with the concept of drones to begin with.

Which is how China gets to make drones to begin with. You don't seem to have any understanding of what a service economy is.

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palmotea 3 hours ago | parent [-]

> Rather, the US wants its worker coming up with the concept of drones to begin with.

Sure, but that idea is too stupid and arrogant to event consider. China's not going to cede that kind of high-level work forever. They'll learn how to do it, and when that happens what will the US do?

And then, in the conflict, can your "concept makers" get their implementation done by the hamburger assemblers, with their hamburger assembler skills and hamburger assembly equipment?

	▲	mullingitover an hour ago \| parent [-]
		> They'll learn how to do it, and when that happens what will the US do? Continue coming up with even more advanced ideas. This is like the Winklevoss Twins getting mad at Zuckerberg for 'stealing their idea', and the dean of Harvard lecturing them about how they're Men of Harvard and as such they'll simply come up with another idea, because that's what Men of Harvard do. They don't just one and done with one good idea. The US built the world's most advanced idea factory, but the people who hate smart people got into power and now they're stripping the copper out of the walls. > And then, in the conflict There won't be a hot conflict between nuclear powers. Or there will, and whoever can make the most drones will be irrelevant in the first 24 hours.

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vkou 10 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

> But we're on track to do it.

The only thing that the US is on track to is getting a taste of what real corruption feels like, enriching Trump's friends, and hollowing out its middle class.

	▲	CuriouslyC 7 hours ago \| parent [-]
		Joke's on them. If a wave of post-trump anti-corruption retribution doesn't come when the Republicans get swept out of power, we're going to have a whole generation of Luigis.