They were mine alright. Aaaaaaal mine.
Last edited by Squeamous; 04-10-2008 at 06:25 PM.
Sanctions or the threat of sanctions will have a greater effect if we allow them to become more dependent on trade first... and for that to happen the distribution of wealth within China needs time to develop.
Stalin virtually eradicated the Georgians, and they and their culture were repressed for more than 70 years... they're still Georgian today... in fact it would seem that no repressive regime has ever been able to completely wipe out a culture, even some of the Mayan culture survives to this day... and Cortez really did for them.
I think you have to accept that wealth is a comparative thing, whilst people are becoming wealthy political change is forced as a direct consequence of that wealth generation and distribution. This holds true for all societies so far, that's how we have ended up with unions and workers rights... a path China has still to walk, and one that will become harder to resist for the regime as the expectations of the people are raised in line with their living conditions and relative personal wealth... by trading with them we cause that personal wealth to increase for the population, thereby increasing the distribution of that wealth and causing the expectations of the population to rise. Yeah that takes a long time... but this is the Chinese we are talking about and they like long games.
I have to disagree, I accept that my predictions are long term, and that there are many uncertainties in the way they will pan out, like the security question... but ultimately Communism cannot survive against the people... I also understand many would like a quick fix, but that's just not going to happen.
MG, if it wasn't for Squeams and Les (and pwning Allen), you'd be bored to fuck around here.
Ever think about joining in with the craic?
You might just enjoy yourself.
You'd be amazed at how much I actually enjoy just reading stuff here... this really is a great board
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