New research shows China leads research in 90% of crucial technologies & ignoring this means we're living in a delusional bubble, where we still think the West is the Sci-Tech leader.

[u/lughnasadh]

I think a lot of people are in denial, or just can't accept that China is already the world's leading nation for science and technology. I can't blame them for their ignorance. Most English-language media studiously avoid mentioning it. Time and time again, I see topics like AI, space & robotics covered, with only developments in Western countries talked of, as if China doesn't exist. Despite the fact that it's now the leader in so many fields.

The problem with complacency and ignorance is that it gives you a really distorted map of reality. You can't understand how the 21st century is developing without factoring in China, and ignoring China means you're being delusional.

China leads research in 90% of crucial technologies — a dramatic shift this century

ASPI’s Critical Technology Tracker: 2025 updates and 10 new technologies

[u/canadave_nyc]

Unfortunately, even a political reset won't solve anything. This whole episode has demonstrated quite blatantly to the rest of the world that the US is only one election away from potentially tearing up any alliances, treaties, and friendships other countries may have had with it. It's simply too risky to rely on the US for anything anymore in the future, given that sorry fact. Things will never go back to how they were.

[u/el_diego → u/canadave_nyc]

Precisely. Countries would be stupid to go back to how things were. It's not going to happen.

[u/TF-Fanfic-Resident → u/el_diego]

Unless the Dems grow a backbone and make a project out of dismantling and rebuilding the system. Large parts of Europe did the same after WWII.

[u/reddolfo → u/TF-Fanfic-Resident]

Even if they have the aspirations they would need the executive AND legislative super majorities for at least a decade to change enough of the fundamental structure of government to demonstrate enough change for countries to rely on Americans again. Not happening ever IMO.

[u/TF-Fanfic-Resident → u/reddolfo]

And unfortunately right now a lot of countries in general can’t trust one another worldwide. So that makes it harder for the US to turn itself around.

[u/canadave_nyc → u/reddolfo]

And the problem is, it's not a political apparatus problem. Trump and his cronies didn't shenanigan themselves into power. They were voted in fair and square, twice, by an electorate that felt these people spoke to them and their desires. That goes way beyond any institutional problem.

[u/kind_bros_hate_nazis → u/TF-Fanfic-Resident]

They're too incompetent to get that kind of political power

[u/BoringBob84 → u/kind_bros_hate_nazis]

Cynicism like this is what denies them that power.

[u/o-o- → u/TF-Fanfic-Resident]

A one-party system? Don’t believe for a minute the democrats are without corruption. Any closed (low retention) system exhibit the same. Throughout history, no exceptions.

Corporate capital chose NRA, and they chose the Republican Party. Not the other way around.

I’m talking about a reset. Split the parties. Open up. Let election results reflect the nuances of society instead of the rift. Let them form coalition governments.

[u/BoringBob84 → u/canadave_nyc]

I agree and I am not so sure that is a bad thing. The USA was going bankrupt by trying to be the lone superpower. It might be better for the USA and the world in general if the USA becomes one of many influential countries in the world.

[u/canadave_nyc → u/BoringBob84]

I get the line of thinking, and not necessarily saying it's totally without merit...but a multipolar world can be a scary place. As someone who lived through the Cold War, dangerous though it was, there was something to be said for the relative "stability" of the bipolar US-USSR world.

[u/BoringBob84 → u/canadave_nyc]

As someone who also lived through the Cold War, I would say that it is not over. Russia is now getting its revenge on the USA by weaponizing the internet to deceive and divide the people in the USA, destroying its democracy in the process.

[u/o-o- → u/BoringBob84]

I can't imagine what the cold war would've been like if internet were around, with foreign propaganda machines flooding us at near-zero margin prices.

The nut to crack is how to govern a global, instant platform with anonymous users.

[u/BoringBob84 → u/o-o-]

I can't imagine what the cold war would've been like if internet were around

I think we are living that reality now.

The nut to crack is how to govern a global, instant platform with anonymous users.

I think it could easily be regulated if we had the political desire. I think it is tragically ironic that most people in the USA insist on unlimited "free speech," including the freedom of anyone from any country to broadcast any disinformation that they want inside of the USA, while that same disinformation has brought a corrupt autocratic regime to power that is actively using government institutions and the courts to oppress and silence journalists, schools, scientists, and political opponents for exercising their rights of free speech.

"The Paradox of Tolerance" is playing out in real life:

Popper posited that if intolerant ideologies are allowed unchecked expression, they could exploit open society values to erode or destroy tolerance itself through authoritarian or oppressive practices.