balajis
@balajis.eth
Why I disagree with Zeihan… He thinks America is physically stronger than China. I think America is digitally stronger, but physically weaker. Why? China is the factory of the world and can build infra at literally >100X the speed of California. But it isn’t as good at global apps. And it can’t argue in Engl
3 replies
0 recast
0 reaction
paulpierre.eth
@paulpierre
Hi Balaji, what about his point on demography and reluctance to adopt Western immigration policy? What would be the realistic counterfactual.
1 reply
0 recast
0 reaction
balajis
@balajis.eth
TLDR: 1) Robotics > demographics 2) If it's even *possible* to boost births by state action, China will do it 3) And US demographics are on many dimensions actually far worse than China's — political polarization, family breakdown, internal conflict, etc See: https://twitter.com/balajis/status/1448803665293185025
2 replies
0 recast
0 reaction
balajis
@balajis.eth
It's not as simple as "you have a youth-centric demographic pyramid, you win". If so, Indonesia would be out-executing Estonia. Zeihan's model of demographics is just "lots of young people = strong". But obviously in the internet age, a few smart people >>> lots of random people, whether young or old.
0 reply
0 recast
0 reaction
