[mbrumlow]

You’re arguing against a position I never took.

I didn’t say right-wing policies are inherently anti-science. I said your contrast makes no sense. You’re blaming Western decline on xenophobia and far-right politics, but China has strong nationalism, social conservatism, demographic engineering, speech controls, and limited immigration. All things typically associated with the political tendencies you are criticizing.

So which is it?

If nationalism and social conservatism are corrosive to long-term success, then China shouldn’t be your example of strategic competence. If those traits aren’t inherently corrosive, then maybe "far-right politics" isn’t the explanatory variable you think it is.

You can’t simultaneously argue that right-wing xenophobia is sinking the West while praising a country that institutionalizes many of those same tendencies.

If your actual claim is about state capacity and science investment, then say that. But don’t smuggle in partisan framing as the cause of decline and then retreat to "pro-science funding" when the comparison falls apart.

[shiroiuma]

Go back and re-read my comments. I never specifically said that xenophobia was sinking the West. That's something that you said, not me.

The West is sinking due to many causes, and is predictably turning to xenophobia as a distraction. It's a typical far-right playbook: find some minority group to blame all the country's troubles on, instead of looking at the real reasons.

China doesn't need to amp up xenophobia because it just doesn't have a lot of immigrants in its borders in the first place, and it isn't sinking (yet) compared to the West, and seems to be generally outperforming them for now. In fact, they can distract people from the problems caused by their government's bad policies by blaming "the West" instead.