Civilizations either grow or collapse. This has been demonstrated over and over and over. In spite of what idealists might think there is no way back except for chaos and darkness. The only hopeful way is forward.
"...when you introduce ideas of scientific rationalism, modern communication and transportation systems, sound property rights, markets (including for capital), and ideas of golden rule, you get a phase change and a meteoric rise to wealth. there is no real middle state between third world and first world, it’s a binary. you get the pieces in place, and change comes very quickly.
"i have written on this many time in the past notably on “causing prosperity” and on golden rules making golden ages and the fragile idea of doing unto others as one would have done onto them in turn that underpins the civilizations capable of supporting sufficient amounts of the free market capitalism that has been the only force to ever durably lift meaningful numbers of people out of grinding poverty.
"there is no real middle state of half develop...
“Biggest Transnational Crime Group on Earth”: Why Canada Must Break Free From China
A group of top national security experts is sounding the alarm: Canada’s relationship with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has crossed from economic engagement into a full-blown democratic threat.
At a Dec. 6 forum in Toronto, former RCMP proceeds-of-crime director Garry Clement called the CCP “the biggest transnational organized crime group ever seen,” warning that Beijing is actively infiltrating Canada’s political, business, and cultural institutions. Through the United Front Work Department, the CCP co-opts elites, business leaders, community organizations, and media outlets—while intimidating and surveilling dissidents “on a daily basis.”
Clement also linked Beijing to the fentanyl crisis, saying the CCP could shut down precursor shipments to Canada “if they really wanted to,” but instead allows the flow as a form of “disruptive warfare,” echoing the tactics of the Opium Wars....
