> the same trite bullshit we’ve been hearing for decades

Nope. It isn’t. Xi has ruled China like a dictator that breaks the tradition of intraparty competition the CCP has had since Mao.

When Xi ended his Wolf Warrior nonsense it seemed to signal a reset. Now we have this nonsense.

> Look at where China is today

Look at where America is today. Both are richer than they’ve ever been. More militarily potent than ever. Both are growing their economies, militaries and territorial ambitions. Both have serious issues, including the gerontocratic oligarchic consolidation of power at the expense of national interests.

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blibble 2 hours ago | parent | next [-]

> Look at where America is today. Both are richer than they’ve ever been. More militarily potent than ever.

just don't look at the first derivative vs china

	▲	JumpCrisscross 2 hours ago \| parent [-]
		The argument is the reflexive defensiveness works-and is raised—in both cases. Premature declarations of victory have never been a historic sign of strength.

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SilverElfin 3 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

Not that I disagree, but I’m curious how you define national interests.

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JumpCrisscross 3 hours ago | parent [-]

> curious how you define national interests

My metric would be what the country’s population today and weighted populations of the future, if they could weigh in, would choose.

It’s possible to frame ex post facto and impossible to pin down in the present. And it’s inherently subjective and culturally relative. But it’s useful to reason with, including for finding patterns in history.

One pattern is the cost of corruption. If a leader is making billions off their power, they’re putting person about polity. That’s currently true in America [1] and China [2][3]. The difference is America has a chance to fix that in ‘28. China used to rotate leaders. But Xi fucked that up. (Note the language similarity between the above comment and how MAGA defends itself. “Trite bullshit.” Beijing has a hidden MACA problem, it’s just had a tougher time dealing with it because Xi reveres Mao.)

[1] https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/spy-sheikh-secret-stake-...

[2] https://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/18/world/asia/chinas-preside...

[3] https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2025/mar/20/us-intel-sa...

	▲	SilverElfin 39 minutes ago \| parent [-]
		Can’t weighted population of the future change based on what is chosen? For example by immigration and deportations? Also is MACA actually MCGA? Or something else? Aren’t there similar trends also in Europe and India?