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China has a lot of the makings of a superpower. They’re going to win a manufacturing simply because that’s where the factories are for the most part. We still have some factories, but nothing near what China has. Secondly, China (and most of East Asia in general) have prioritized education and particularly science, mathematics, engineering, and related subjects. And they are oriented towards getting the best and brightest the best education they possibly can. Americans make little mouth-noises about education and STEM, but really, they don’t care about education that much. We are much more concerned about leaving behind a kid who doesn’t or can’t read or write or do math because we prioritize his feelings (actually more than likely his mother’s feelings) than we do about getting the rest of the kids to read and write and do math to the best of their abilities. Culturally, we don’t care about education much either. We want our kids to attend college and get a diploma, but no parents ever care much about whether or not they’re getting a real education. In fact Theres a lot of ADA based cheating in schools where kids get diagnosed with various things so they can get grades they don’t deserve because they have extra time, or help with reading the test, or whatever else. Kids go to college needing remedial education and increasingly having never read a single full book either fiction or nonfiction.
If I’m betting, im choosing the civilization that graduates millions of engineers and scientists and mathematicians every year ready to build the future over a civilization that graduates millions of people with literature, psychology, marketing, and law degrees. I’m betting on the one who teaches kids to study hard and learn the material without coddling them over the civilization that cheats kids through to prevent hard feelings and teaches kids to slack off.
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