[extropy-chat] [Politics] Real Politick

[Samantha Atkins]

On Aug 15, 2005, at 5:01 PM, The Avantguardian wrote:

> ;
>
> I understand that much of world history has shown this
> to be a fairly accurate description of how politics
> USED to work. Treaties are made and broken at the
> convenience of the participants in the mad scramble
> for eminence in the international theater.
>

This still seem to be driving the US at least.

> While I understand that there was a time when such a
> world-view made a lot of sense. But in this day and
> age of economic globalism, weapons of mass
> destruction, and the Internet, the world seems smaller
> and more interconnected than ever. Can the nations of
> the world persist in this behavior for long without
> bringing about their own ruin?

In my opinion, no.

>
> For example, there is much anticipation regarding a
> showdown between the US and China with respect to
> Taiwan. Now, I understand that Taiwan is a fairly
> prosperous little island. But I will wager that the
> current economic trade between the U.S. and China is
> worth more than the GNP of Tawain. The US and China
> have made many mutual investments with each other.
>

That itself is a rather cynical view in that it says $$ makes right  
effectively.  Taiwan broke off from China as a relatively much more  
free country wishing to be a separate entity.  China keeps insisting  
that it is not separate.  As supporters of freedom, democracy and  
self-determination it seem obvious that we would and should support  
Taiwan in its bid for continuing independence.    I don't agree it is  
wise to sell off the principles involved.

> Since these days, a stock market crash in any one
> market cause a chain reaction of market crashes around
> the world, I just don't see how a confrontation of
> such a magnitude over such a small island is at all
> beneficial to either side.

There are questions of principle and of precedent at stake.

> What good would serve China
> to regain control of Taiwan, if in the process, the
> U.S. stops buying Chinese goods and employing Chinese
> workers in its overseas factories. What good would it
> do the U.S. to keep Taiwan under its influence, if it
> means that we can no longer purchase cheap goods from
> China and the Chinese liquidate its investments in the
> US.

Taiwan is its own country.  Not the pawn or chattel of either the US  
or China.   The US cannot stop buying Chinese goods without extremely  
negative economic consequences.  China cannot liquidate all its US  
holdings without extremely negative economic consequences.  If China  
tries to bully Taiwan then the right thing to do is to call their  
bluff.  They have little rational choice but to back down.

>
> These days as people make Internet penpals all over
> the world, it seems harder and harder to maintain the
> nationalistic illusion of "we are good, they are bad".
> I know that to many conservatives this sounds like the
> "it's a small world" disney land ride, but it seems
> that technology is making this so called "liberal"
> viewpoint much more rational than it was 50 years ago.

Yes and no.  Shades of gray still presume  notions of black and  
white.   Different countries and policies can be weighed as to degree  
of good or bad.  All countries, political systems, cultures and so on  
are not equally good or bad.

> In fact it seems that much of the jingoism is
> manufactured by the respective leaders of countries to
> consolidate their own internal power by painting the
> rest of the world as a threat to national security.

Do you believe then that there are no threats to national security?   
Do you believe we would somehow be better off with one global  
government?

> But when there are nukes and linked markets involved,
> can we truly afford this paranoia?

Calling it paranoia is an assumption.

> Especially when
> there are global issues (like pollution, asteroids,
> etc.) that need to be addressed.

Co-operation between nations on true global issues has been around a  
long time, imperfect as it is.

- samantha
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