I’m not endorsing China’s government, but China has a rational planning system.
Politico writes about how China is surpassing the US in diplomatic relations and general influence around the world. ‘Frustrated and powerless’: In fight with China for global influence, diplomacy is America’s biggest weakness,
The Chinese communist system may be repressive and rigid, but it is more steady than the trajectory of the United States, with long-term plans that can run decades. U.S. diplomacy, on the other hand, has become too capricious, unreliable and exposed to partisan deadlock, officials and analysts say.
[…] When it comes to China, “there’s no rivalry, because the U.S. isn’t present in that rivalry here in Latin America,” the former envoy said. He noted that China is now the top trading partner for several Latin American countries. “There’s no real evidence that there’s a U.S. policy toward Latin America,” he said. “There’s pronouncements, there’s communiques, but a policy? None whatsoever.”
It’s simple. America’s “system” now prevents “us” from having and certainly from achieving any long-term goals – in diplomacy, policy and everything else
Since Reagan. America’s “conservative” project requires government to be discredited so the public will allow privatization. As a result current American ideology considers government to be bad, and government planning to be “interfering” with markets. Markets know best, etc. Business always does everything better than government. Etc.
THAT is America’s current project — dismantling government and its institutions, democratic decision-making, etc., and handing everything over to the “private” (corporate) sector — not diplomacy, policy, infrastructure or any other collective action. The wealthy who control corporations will make decisions for us. They will decide what is produced, how we live, etc.
How will this work out? Conservative ideology preaches that corporations will “act” in “their” long-term interest – even though corporations are not sentient, don’t “act,” and don’t have “interests.” In reality executives make these decisions for their own interests. The people who manage corporations are incentivized to maximize short-term gains at the expense of the long term, and then take off with the loot for themselves, not the “corporation.” So corporatism can’t, doesn’t and never will work. It’s a series of short-term managers making short-term decisions and then absconding with the loot.
China Plans, America No Longer Does
The Chinese have a system that plans and we no longer allow that. They map out goals, then come up with the plans for achieving those goals. So if they are going to build 24,000 miles of high-speed rail by 2020 they get the steel production, labor, equipment, etc in place first. They achieved that and by 2035 they will have 43,000 miles completed. At the same time they have been working on the Belt-and-Road initiative, building infrastructure around the world.
America’s “system” wont even build a few miles of high-speed rail. Never mind strategic diplomacy.