Hey folks, Derek here. As usual, if you've got questions for Daniel the comments section will be open for two weeks and he'll try to answer you sometime within that window. Thanks!
Thanks, Daniel. Fantastic analysis. What do you think the ideal end state is on China for this zombie liberalism? Assuming that China continues to develop into a world superpower, how will this form of zombie liberalism respond? I see three options or potentially three sequential structures for the relationship: (1) Zombie Liberals grow increasingly eager for a shooting war at least in rhetoric and possibly more, creating serious tension that escalates over time, (2) Zombie Liberals slowly morph into a cold war style mindset with separate spheres of influence and potential proxy conflicts, or (3) Some kind of peaceful transition where the US slides into the backseat while China rises as the new global hegemon. Do you see one or all of these in our future? Do you see one that I'm missing here?
Thanks Brian! I think, from today's perspective, (2) is most likely. No one wants a shooting war, and I don't think China, specifically the CCP, has a genuine desire to rule the globe in the same way that the US did--750 bases, etc. So I assume we'll have some sort of Cold War redux. The complicating factor is that the US-PRC economy is far more imbricated than the US-SU economy ever was, so that provides a new wrinkle, the effects of which I don't know how to predict.
Blinken is being given the duty (along with Yellen and whoever heads the new international climate change department) "to assist developing countries in implementing ambitious emissions reduction measures" as per one of Biden's latest EOs- also involving the World Bank and IMF. In your view of zombie liberalism and this form of internationalism it takes on, do you think climate change will become a new crusade liberalism will take on in order to justify either imperial or neocolonial tendencies?
Hi Edward--great question. I think it'll be really interesting to see what happens with climate change. It seems that many liberals consider it an existential threat, but the reforms it would actually take to address the issue would require serious new regulations of American businesses plus serious efforts to engage huge emitters like the PRC and India. But the US can't control what the latter two countries do. So there's a lot of open questions about the future of climate and liberalism, and I don't think we (or at least, I) know enough to give a concrete answer.
Hey folks, Derek here. As usual, if you've got questions for Daniel the comments section will be open for two weeks and he'll try to answer you sometime within that window. Thanks!
Thanks, Daniel. Fantastic analysis. What do you think the ideal end state is on China for this zombie liberalism? Assuming that China continues to develop into a world superpower, how will this form of zombie liberalism respond? I see three options or potentially three sequential structures for the relationship: (1) Zombie Liberals grow increasingly eager for a shooting war at least in rhetoric and possibly more, creating serious tension that escalates over time, (2) Zombie Liberals slowly morph into a cold war style mindset with separate spheres of influence and potential proxy conflicts, or (3) Some kind of peaceful transition where the US slides into the backseat while China rises as the new global hegemon. Do you see one or all of these in our future? Do you see one that I'm missing here?
Thanks Brian! I think, from today's perspective, (2) is most likely. No one wants a shooting war, and I don't think China, specifically the CCP, has a genuine desire to rule the globe in the same way that the US did--750 bases, etc. So I assume we'll have some sort of Cold War redux. The complicating factor is that the US-PRC economy is far more imbricated than the US-SU economy ever was, so that provides a new wrinkle, the effects of which I don't know how to predict.
Thanks for reading!
Blinken is being given the duty (along with Yellen and whoever heads the new international climate change department) "to assist developing countries in implementing ambitious emissions reduction measures" as per one of Biden's latest EOs- also involving the World Bank and IMF. In your view of zombie liberalism and this form of internationalism it takes on, do you think climate change will become a new crusade liberalism will take on in order to justify either imperial or neocolonial tendencies?
Hi Edward--great question. I think it'll be really interesting to see what happens with climate change. It seems that many liberals consider it an existential threat, but the reforms it would actually take to address the issue would require serious new regulations of American businesses plus serious efforts to engage huge emitters like the PRC and India. But the US can't control what the latter two countries do. So there's a lot of open questions about the future of climate and liberalism, and I don't think we (or at least, I) know enough to give a concrete answer.