RE: Are the USA and China "peace-loving nations"?
January 28, 2013 at 1:48 pm
(This post was last modified: January 28, 2013 at 2:05 pm by Anomalocaris.)
One could argue that at any given point in time, certain countries are more prone than others to overestimating its ability to address its own problems with external violence. So these nations tend to resort to violence more easily, usually to their own long term detriment, than others.
In this sense, I have to say the United States is the least peace loving of any nation since WWII, having convinced itself external violence was the best solution to its problems on more occassions than literally any other nation on earth since 1945.
China is harder to say. During most of last 65 years china was so weak it was inconceivable for anyone in it to imagine it to be a good idea to resort to serious proactive external violence to solve problems, except under extremely unusual circumstances, like during the Sino-Vietnamese war of 1979. However, for the future signs are not good. It's cultural favoritsm towards boys, and its strict one child policy has resulted in high incidence of selective abortions and female infanticide, and has left china a large surplus of males in the country's youth sex ratio. For every 100 young men, there would only be something like 87 young women. Many Chinese young men in the next few decades would have no wifes and no prospect of a family of their own due to shortage of young women, but a great deal of frustrated, pent up energy seeking release. This is generally not a good sign. China might be tempted to improve its own demography, social stability and governability, by thinking up ways to get rid of its surplus male population, for example by using them up as canon fodder.
The same probably applies even more strongly to India, whose sex ratio imbalance is even more severe than chinas, and whose lack of population policy would leave it with an even large population of youth looking for something to do.
In this sense, I have to say the United States is the least peace loving of any nation since WWII, having convinced itself external violence was the best solution to its problems on more occassions than literally any other nation on earth since 1945.
China is harder to say. During most of last 65 years china was so weak it was inconceivable for anyone in it to imagine it to be a good idea to resort to serious proactive external violence to solve problems, except under extremely unusual circumstances, like during the Sino-Vietnamese war of 1979. However, for the future signs are not good. It's cultural favoritsm towards boys, and its strict one child policy has resulted in high incidence of selective abortions and female infanticide, and has left china a large surplus of males in the country's youth sex ratio. For every 100 young men, there would only be something like 87 young women. Many Chinese young men in the next few decades would have no wifes and no prospect of a family of their own due to shortage of young women, but a great deal of frustrated, pent up energy seeking release. This is generally not a good sign. China might be tempted to improve its own demography, social stability and governability, by thinking up ways to get rid of its surplus male population, for example by using them up as canon fodder.
The same probably applies even more strongly to India, whose sex ratio imbalance is even more severe than chinas, and whose lack of population policy would leave it with an even large population of youth looking for something to do.
