The above posting was transferred from http://www.politicalforum.com/warfare-military/196337-chinese-agenda-54.html Somebody, most probably Andromeda Galaxy, has coined or invented a term called "economic entanglement" by which "China is waging war, without seeming to wage war and doing it all without directly fighting". As the gobbledegook of "economic entanglement" sounds more like a conspiracy theory, I start a new thread here hoping that Andromeda Galaxy, his "professional" US defence expert, all other US defence experts, all interested netizens and the inventor of "economic entanglement" could participate in the debate on the controversial subject.
I have to say that most people who believe in democratic capitalism and who have any basic understanding of economics, also see free trade as a key foundation of free markets and competition, even though nation states, at differing stages of development, frequently hamper the efficient working of the market. Free market capitalism and trade, operating effectively without cartels or overt protectionism, leads to peace. Free markets are however always more in the interests of the more developed nations - first Britain, now the USA - and are always partly resisted by developing nations, even as they emerge. As developing nations emerge they liberalize their approach to free trade as their prosperity grows. Dominant markets - especially where politics is driven by exceptionalism and nationalism - do seek to extend their existing domination (whether this, as with the current USA, is with their reserve currency, or through encouragement of transnational cartels) also in ways at odds with free trade. Civilized beings have a choice when looking to resolve these tensions. The can look for compromise as developing nations gradually liberalize (as China will probably do, in it's own interest). Or they can bang the drum for war. In the case of China and the USA, each country has both elements.
