[landryraccoon]

I'm curious where you fix the goalposts.

The GDP of the Soviet Union never exceeded that of the United States at any point.

If the GDP of China exceeds the United States in the near future (which seems quite possible), how does that fact reconcile with your analysis?

I find the government of China to be morally reprehensible. However there are plenty of cases in history in the real world where that which is morally reprehensible prevails, at least in the short term.

[chrischen]

If they prevail in the short term then that answers your question. A lot of things prevail in the short term.

If they prevail in the long term, then we might need to revisit our morals.

[landryraccoon]

The "short term" on a historical timescale can easily be longer than your lifetime or mine.

If China collapses in two hundred years due to it's moral failings, that will be no more comfort to us than the United States collapsing might be to the indigenous tribes that used to live in North America before Europeans arrived.