Poll shows concern about American influence waning as China's grows

[onehandle]

Source: Washington Post

Facing high unemployment and a difficult economy, most Americans think the United States will have a smaller role in the world economy in the coming years, and many believe that while the 20th century may have been the "American Century," the 21st century will belong to China.

These results come from a new Washington Post-ABC News poll conducted during a time of significant tension between Washington and Beijing.

"China's on the rise," said Wayne Nunnery, 56, a retired U.S. Air Force employee from Bexar, Tex., who was one of 1,004 randomly selected adults polled. "I don't worry about a Chinese century, but I do wonder how it's going to be for my three sons."

Asked whether this century would be more of an "American Century" or more of a "Chinese Century," Americans divide evenly in terms of the economy (41 percent say Chinese, 40 percent American) and tilt toward the Chinese in terms of world affairs (43 percent say Chinese, 38 percent American). A slim majority say the United States will play a diminished role in the world's economy this century, and nearly half see the country's position shrinking in world affairs more generally.

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/24/AR2010022405168.html

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File this under: 'Duh!'

Our time is ending, thanks to the concessions we have made to China and particularly to, American corporations in so many ways.

We have been and continue to set China up as the next, and only, superpower.

[OHdem10]

1. In the pursuit of so called Free Market Principles(Conservative

Economic Fundamentalism) Our Government has permitted
China to obtain the lead through unfair practices.

Thank the Free Traders who until this very moment continue
to stand by their ill-managed Trade Policy.

I thought that the wise people knew that when you are in
a hole do not keep digging.

[WriteDown]

2. Proving that if you have zero concern about the environment or worker safety, you can be #1. nt

[Blue_Tires]

3. that's why our CEOs here are jealous

"How can we compete with their completely unregulated industries and dirt-cheap labor?!? We need those same advantages HERE if we're going to level the playing field!!!"

[Moostache]

4. The era of "superpowers" is over, period.

There will not be a "Chinese Century" OR another "American Century".
There will be a century of regional powers and adjustments to the resource deficient era we are entering - both natural resources and capital resources.

The American / Multi-national corporations that are seeking out new pools of human labor to exploit are going to find that the number of virgin markets to make useless shit for pennies a week is dwindling. Their entire business model has been based on exploitation for so long that they cannot even see the forest through the trees any longer. We have entered a period of de-globalization and eventually the dismantling of the American military Empire will happen by necessity and it will NOT be replaced globally. Oil will lose its financial importance in this century and the regions of the world that today are only discussed because they have oodles of black gold left will find themselves marginalized as never before.

China will withdraw internally to care for its massive population of it will implode with massive civil conflicts. India will likewise find itself in tumultuous times based on its runaway population curve. There is going to be a VERY painful period of human history ahead, but the era of nations dictating the global policies is over for now. The only scenario that allows for global dominance would involve the US trying to actually use its nuclear arsenal - a possibility so horrific that we should start dismantling the bombs RIGHT NOW to even remove the possibility at all...

[WriteDown]

7. Well said. nt

[HeresyLives]

8. The era of superpowers and empires is over, yes, because

globalization is well underway. There won't be any 'withdrawing' and isolationism since all our problems and opportunities are now global. There will certainly be lots of problems along the way, there always are, but we will learn to cooperate and get along...because we have to.

[Romulox]

10. I see no evidence whatever for your claims; Africa is ripe for the plundering, for example.

"China will withdraw internally to care for its massive population of it will implode with massive civil conflicts. "

This simply doesn't match the facts on the ground.

[pampango]

5. "...remind him of America's reaction to another rising Asian nation three decades ago: Japan."

"For Andrew Kohut, the president of the Pew Research Center, increasing public concerns with China remind him of America's reaction to another rising Asian nation three decades ago: Japan."

"This is déjà vu all over again, to quote Yogi," he said. "When a Japanese company bought Rockefeller Center, Americans went nuts. We asked questions about whether Japan was going to become No. 1 and people said yes. These two sentiments are very similar."

"Anyone who would say that China has eclipsed the United States hasn't been in a Chinese house," he said. But, he added, an "inflated view of what China is today" could have ramifications.

"When Americans are unhappy with themselves, they are unhappy with others, which can translate into protectionist pressure and security anxieties, both of which make it hard to manage U.S.-China relations," said David M. Lampton, a professor of China studies at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. "People tend to be anxious about big, rapidly changing, nontransparent things -- China is all three."

[Romulox]

11. And 30 years later, things have NEVER BEEN BETTER for the American middle class!

Those dopes who opposed "free trade" sure have been proven...right. :hi:

[pampango]

12. It's all the fault of too much trade, right? Nothing to do with tax cuts for the rich

(resulting in a regressive tax system), the shredding of the social safety net, the dismantling of corporate and financial industry regulation, and laws that have weakened unions and worker protections. No, the problems of the middle class are all due to too much trade. If we just got rid of those foreign goods, our taxation system would become progressive again, a strong social safety net would be miraculously restored, effective business regulation would, of course, happen automatically, and our government would generously enact legislation that would strengthen unions and workers' rights.

You can't have a progressive society with too much trade, you know. Don't pay any attention to the examples set by Canada, Australia and the EU. They are all an aberration. It could never work in the US.

[Romulox]

14. Let's not forget the greatest inequality since before the Great Depression!

:hi:

[pampango]

16. Quite true. You'll also see that nations with the least inequality trade more than

those with more inequality. Progressive societies tend engage in more international trade than those that are not as progressive, like the US.

http://www.bls.gov/fls/chartbook2009/chart4.5.pdf

International trade was equal to 23% of the US' GDP in 2007. Australia - 37%, the UK - 39%, France - 45%, Canada - 61%, and Germany - 72%.

In 2007 the Gini index (the lower the number the more equitable the distribution of income) for the EU was estimated at 31. Canada is 32.1, Australia - 30.5, the US - 45.

The countries that trade more tend to have more equitable distributions of income.

[Romulox]

18. Ummm...Except for the United States, you must surely mean!

:hi:

[pampango]

20. Nope. International trade is a much smaller part of our economy and we have much more inequality.

;)

[Romulox]

21. That's just spin. We have the greatest trade deficit in the history of humanity

as well as the greatest inequality in the industrialized world. Your frame is weak.

[pampango]

29. No, we have the greatest inequality because we have the least progressive taxation, weak union

protection, weak corporate regulation, and a porous social safety net.

Canada, Australia and Europe all show that progressive societies which are much more egalitarian than ours, trade more with the rest of the world, not less. They did not dismantle their safety nets or skew their taxation systems towards the rich. They have maintained much more effective regulation of business and their financial sectors and have continued to protect the rights of unions and workers. That is why they have more egalitarian societies than we do, even though they trade with other countries more than we do. (China exports more to the EU than it does to the US.)

Your frame of correlating more trade with more inequality is not supported anywhere in the industrialized world. Their are many reasons for our much greater inequality, listed above and more, but you keep focusing on trade as the cause when all the evidence in the industrialized world points to a positive link between trade and equality.

[izquierdista]

6. Not China

The only "superpowers" in the future will be the ones with "Inc." after their names.

[Romulox]

9. This is the inevitable consequence of neo-liberal economics--a hollowing of the middle class

and a concentration of wealth amongst authoritarians.

Thank GAWD it passed!

[HeresyLives]

13. Inevitable consequence of the world moving on, more like.

Cold war is over, technology has advanced, progress made on many fronts.

It was never going to remain the 50s forever.

[Romulox]

15. Your post must be meant for another thread. Makes no sense here. nt

[HeresyLives]

17. It's a reply to a previous thread,

and does indeed make sense.

[Romulox]

19. That's like saying "Fascism is the inevitable result of the industrial revolution"--

unfalsifiable and ultimately meaningless irrespective of any proof. :hi:

[HeresyLives]

22. You're not even in the same ballpark. LOL

China's influence, and everything that means, is growing as a result of changes in the world.

[smiley_glad_hands]

23. Are you a member of the chinese communist party, your always cheering them on. eom

[HeresyLives]

24. LOL no, that's just the bizarre ideology of some on here.

It was inevitable that China would move up the ladder in the world again, and become a power. It has nothing to do with 'neo-liberal economics' or the American middle class or anything else.

Even Napoleon predicted it.

"Let China sleep. For when China wakes, it will shake the world."

Pointing that out doesn't make me either Chinese nor communist. Just realistic.

[smiley_glad_hands]

26. LOL, realistic. To deny the effect of trade imbalance is delusional.

Or your just reinforcing your communist masters propaganda.

[proteus_lives]

30. So does the CCP pay you via paypal?

[HeresyLives]

31. Hmm a discussion site with no discussion.

:eyes:

[smiley_glad_hands]

38. There's nothing to discuss when its obvious you are pro china biased at the expense

of American jobs and the American Middle class.

[HeresyLives]

41. I'm a citizen of the world, and a globalist.

Just like you will be someday.

[smiley_glad_hands]

44. I'm an American and always will be so.

Fuck china, fuck globalism and globalists.

[New Dawn]

34. And are you Joseph McCarthy?

[smiley_glad_hands]

37. Nope, and I'm not in the pocket of or rooting for the chinese communist party either. eom

[HeresyLives]

39. No one here is.

But I can't help your fantasies.

[smiley_glad_hands]

43. I can only call it like I see it.

You've been pushing pro china propaganda for some time now.

[smiley_glad_hands]

27. The cold war with china is just getting started. eom

[HeresyLives]

33. No, it's over with.

China and the US need each other, so in spite of various squabbles that crop up, there won't be any war, hot or cold.

[smiley_glad_hands]

36. Your non American opinion is duly noted.

But the cold war with china is only getting started. The USA just announced new tariffs on chinese steel today, with hopefully more to come. :)

On edit: Fuck china and their cheap plastic shit THAT I DO NOT NEED!

[HeresyLives]

40. That's cuz I'm not an American.

However I doubt most Americans are anti-the-world the way you seem to be.

The US and China need each other, so while there'll be squabbles, there will be no war of any kind.

[smiley_glad_hands]

42. I'm not anti world, just anti china.

Sorry dear, but there is a cold war already underway with china.

[bemildred]

25. Duh indeed.

But the other guy is right, there are going to be no super-powers. The 20th century was very bad for empires, and the 21st century is going to be even worse for empires.

[Hekate]

28. It's a rational concern.

[HeresyLives]

32. Of course it is.

I'd be surprised if no one was concerned.

[New Dawn]

35. Multipolarity is where we are headed.

Sorry Neocons, your delusional fantasy of "Pax Americana" will never come true.