Would China rule the world in the future but not the United Stat

Q: Would China rule the world in the future but not the United States?

A:

Yes, and it will be good. It is good for the world and the future of mankind.

We have to distinguish the differences in the political cultures between the Christian civilization and the Chinese civilization.

In the Western political culture, to rule means power and interest. The most powerful rule and the ruler get the most interest. When a Western power rises to the ruling position, it conquers.

In the Confucian political culture, to rule means responsibility. The ruler is responsible for the prosperity of all people and must be fair. When a Chinese power rises to the ruling position, it fair the world （平天下）.

Chinese political culture emphasizes governing morally. It is called proper governance (王道）.

What does the world need? America First? Or a Shared Future for Mankind? Can one tell the difference between the two visions? What should the world be? American exceptionalism? Or mutual respect and win-win cooperation? If we need a power to lead, which one should we choose?

Now let’s talk about why China will rule.

According to Adam Smith, economic advances are made by the division of labor. That means that the supply chain will become longer and longer, because one product is produced by more and more steps. It also means production is socialized. It takes a society to produce. No individual can self reliance. Homo Sapiens is a species of society. Individualism will have a direct conflict with socialized production. Why did Trump’s “reciprocal tariffs” tumble the market? It broke the supply chains. It reduces the division of labor. It turns the world economy backwards. It makes the world economy less effective. This is exactly what Marx said about the conflict between the socialized nature of production and the private ownership of the means of production.

When technology advances, the economy develops more, the labor divide becomes more pronounced, the supply chain becomes longer, and the conflict between the socialized nature of production and the private ownership of the means of production becomes more violent.

Marx talked about the subject from another angle. He said the private ownership establishment and the ideology of individualism belong to the superstructure of the capitalist society. Technology advancement and economic development belong to the economic base, the production power. When production power advances, it will conflict with the old superstructure. In other words, the prolonged supply chain cannot fit into the capitalist ideology. Trump wanted to squeeze China out the the world supply chain since 2017, and never succeeded. His tariffs on China did not reduce the trade deficit, but increased the deficit. China developed because China has a socialist ideology. The US stagnated in the last decade because the US has a capitalist ideology.

The developed world, the US and its allies, has a population about the same size as China. The developed world controls world resources many times than China. For example, Europe has a larger territory than China, Canada has a larger territory than China, and the US has a territory about the size of China. The US and its allies have territories about 4 times that of China. The US and its allies control the resources in their territories and their former colonies through international corporations. Especially, the US monopolizes the world financial system. When Trump became president in 2017, the US had more capital, more resources, and more talent than China. By Trump’s calculation, the US can win against China like a piece of cake.

The information revolution happened in the US at the end of the last century. Because of the information revolution, the economy became globalized, deeper division of labor and longer world supply chains. With the dominant financial position, dominant capital, dominant resources, and dominant talent, the US should have a splendid future with the information revolution, right? Yet the 2008 financial tsunami occurred in the US. Why? Because the production of the world became more socialized and the socialized production intensified its conflict with the capitalist system.

We observed the leaps and bounds of technology, with e-commerce, color TVs, and cell phones. We see an increase in aviation traffic. Yet the US and its allies stagnated in the last decade while China made huge progress. The West keeps blaming China. The West said socialism wouldn’t work. The West said democratic India would soon pass authoritarian China.

But China is not authoritarian. The individualism of the West is not democracy. The collectivism of China is not authoritarian. China strives for common prosperity. That’s socialism. That is not authoritarian. Socialism is for the people. Capitalism is for profit. When profit conflicts with society, the capitalist system favors capital, while the socialist system favors people.

Now, China is surpassing the US on all fronts: green energy, quantum computing, quantum communication, space exploration, nuclear fission and nuclear fission, and AI applications etc. The more advanced the technology, the more trouble in the West. The Western capitalist system cannot handle the advanced technology. China’s socialist system can turn technology advancement into economic growth in harmony with society.

There is no doubt, for Marxists and communists, that China will surpass the US in due time. Capitalism is doomed because of the advanced technology. The capitalist society is crumbling with the advanced technology. The advanced technology increased the social nature of production. Germany initiated industrial 4.0 first, yet it is China achieved the China Manufacturing 2025. Germans are smart, but the capitalist system doesn’t give them a chance.

When the US withdrew from Afghanistan after 20 years of occupation, the hegemon was no more. Trump said he will end the Ukraine conflict, but neither Ukraine nor Russia is listening to Trump. Trump’s plan to end the Ukraine conflict is resisted by Europe, Ukraine, and Russia. Why? because Trump’s plan is for America First. Trump ignored the concerns of Europe, Ukraine, and Russia. The US is incapable of ruling the world.

Socialist ideology enables China to adapt to the fast advancement of technology. Mao said in 1957 that only socialism can save China. Mao’s conclusion is correct. Mao’s conclusion is correct not only for China but also for the US. The US is collapsing with the advancement of technology. Because only socialism can adapt to the fast advancement of technology, only socialism can save the US. Only socialism can make America great again. The US and its allies need a socialist cultural revolution, changing the mindset of individualism to collectivism. Homo Sapiens has existed for about 100 thousand years, but only in the last 5 thousand years has individualism (private ownership) emerged. Homo Sapiens survived and lasted mainly due to collectiveness, or survived as a whole society. At the present stage, individualism has failed our society.

Who rules the world is not the issue. The issue is what kind of world we want to have. If the world needs a ruler, we want the ruler to rule morally, fairly, and justly. We don’t want a ruler making rules unilaterally for his benefit at the expense of other stakeholders.

The UN should have a referendum to write “Shared Future for Mankind” and “common prosperity” into the US Charter. Only socialism can save China, save the US, and save the world.