CHINA

PEPE ESCOBAR—BRI represents a massive geopolitical and financial investment by China, as well as its partners; over 130 states and territories have signed on. Beijing is using its immense pool of capital to make its own transition towards a consumer-based economy while advancing the necessary pan-Eurasian infrastructure development – with all those ports, high-speed rail, fiber optics, electrical grids expanding to most Global South latitudes.The end result, up to 2049 – BRI’s time span – will be the advent of an integrated market of no less than 4.5 billion people, by that time with access to a Chinese supply chain of high-tech exports as well as more prosaic consumer goods.

RAMIN MAZAHERI—Selfless asceticism from Party officials abiding by the codes of conduct relayed in Mao’s Little Red Book and working in the fields were no longer expected. Corruption and bribery increased, children of officials got cushy jobs instead of spreading night soil, the right to use big character posters (China’s version of a free press, in no exaggeration) was excised from the constitution, Deng’s “manger responsibility” system – which gave them the authority to determine salaries – was installed.All of that is obviously contrary to the values of the CR and in line with many Western values: no wonder the West hates the CR!

SUBHUTI2—I once had the opportunity to speak to a pretty high ranking Chinese official. Someone told me he was in the Chinese version of the CIA. He asked me what I thought of Marx. I haven’t read much Marx, however, as a student of Buddhism, I said that the ideal Buddhist works to ‘save all beings’, that is, everybody deserves and eventually achieves Nirvana, the highest state of existence. Communism, I said, works to the same end on a social and cultural level, where everyone is treated fairly so we all prosper together at nobody’s expense. Win Win. Which is exactly the opposite of Western Zero sum, “Heads I win, tails you lose.” It is no accident that some of the greatest musicians came from Soviet Russia, where people actually got support to create beauty, not gadgets.

LARRY WILKERSON —Absolutely. Let’s face it, Sharmini. We’re looking at an all-volunteer force, the personnel cost of which are better than 50 percent of a $700+ billion budget. And just heading up, we’re looking at people costing now the Army last year almost half a billion dollars just to recruit 9,000, three brigades of noncommissioned officers now are out trying to recruit. We’re paying these people. We’re paying them bribes to serve. They’re coming from the third and fourth quintiles in America. They’re coming from West Virginia. They’re coming from Mississippi. They’re coming from Louisiana. You know, most Americans, 99 percent of America has no skin in the game. And so, they don’t realize even these wars are going on, nor do they realize that we’re contemplating more of them, nor do they realize that we’re doing things in the South China Sea, for example, or in the Strait of Hormuz with Iran that might lead to even more conflict.