A country’s success is bound by the people that inhabit it. It doesn’t matter how libertarian inclined or wise a country’s leaders may be in a democracy, if their people are uneducated and uncreative the country will gain nothing. Whereas a country whose leaders stagnate the economy, treat it’s people like sheep and enslave them to un-needed regulations may still be lucky enough to be dragged along through prosperity if it’s people are deep thinking. Though in time it’s people are forced to do one of two things, revolt or become what it’s government wants, obedient sheep. This can be helped along by working to placate and dumb down the population; aka television and public education.
It perplexes me how so many Americans keep saying that Mandarin will soon replace English as the world’s trade language. The thought I would assume comes from the idea that if our country’s dominance ceases, so will our language. It is completely false. The Greeks, led by Alexander the Great conquered the known world by force of arms, though their culture made a far stronger impact and it’s language which had been set up as the world’s trade language; remained dominant for centuries after the fall of the nation. As the Roman nation rose, Greece fell to in-fighting, the Romans didn’t rise in spite of the Greeks but instead used it to propel them. The Romans had already begun to emulate Grecian culture, Greek slaves were prized by wealthy Romans; the educated revered as teachers. And when Greece fell, Rome gained the philosophers, the artists, the poets and the like by way of immigration. It seems like a modern idea, but the cultured of the world have always gravitated towards new happening places; The Greeks left a dying Greece to go to Rome, the Romans left for Constantinople as the Roman Empire began to fall, Mansa Musa of Mali was such an inspiring figure that he sucked talent from Europe and the Middle East creating a Golden Age in Timbuktu that even now we don’t fully know the extent of it, When Constantinople fell the cultured came to Italy and sparked the Renaissance, and of course the United States of America has had massive migrations of talent from around the world; the greatest example being the Jewish-Germans thinkers that immigrated during the Nazi reign of terror. America’s dominance in the world is waning, but will our culture and our language disappear from the scene; unlikely.
Now I hate to bring China up but I have little choice. China is not a free nation, it’s economy is controlled and it’s laws are merciless. I bring it up due to it’s people’s thirst for American culture and language, the former for it’s entertainment and the latter for it’s economic purposes. In my model of a Roman-Greek relationship China is most certainly the Rome to our Greece; something to keep in mind as you chuckle at China’s Shijingshan Amusment Park (a blatant copy-off of Disney World) or beam with pride as they ship students to our Universities and hire American computer scientists for their own Silicon Valley. They seek to emulate us because they seek to replace us. Now the question is, will they. I would say they have a very good chance to. They’ve done a great job of opening up the market and turning themselves into a massive producer of raw goods, refining goods, and consuming goods; loosening up restrictions on those in the dense south-east while keeping those in the north and west drowning in poverty seems to be working for them. Also with massive increases in education, the Chinese are turning into a smart little bunch. Now the double-edge sword of education is the more educated a person becomes the more restless the need for freedom will be. That along with Christianity spreading like wildfire (bringing morality to a secularist people) has a good chance of turning China into a very strong free nation.
Now, you may be asking yourself, how can I profit off of my homeland’s fall? What a despicable thought. Here’s how; In our ever globalizing world taking an overseas position can have massive payoffs. Companies opening up new branches overseas often want to bring their own people over as managers, overseers and trainers but Americans hate leaving home so the benefits tend to be substantial. Good to keep in mind if you’re sensing your company is going to export yours and your fellow co-worker’s jobs; a potential problem can turn into a new beginning if you look for it. Also just having a good command of the English language is extremely valuable, even without TESOL certification (though it’s great to have) there are countless jobs for English speakers abroad, many in Asia, where when cost of living is factored in; you can make out quite well. People around the world love us, don’t ask me why; we’re rude, loud, pay no attention to our host culture and act like we should be treated like royalty. But for some reason they do; milk it for what it’s worth.
Slightly off topic, but quite typical for me; Estonia. Remember the name, keep an eye on it, the gains they are making in terms of freedom and economics are fascinating. They are well on their way to first world status. Libertarians have a habit of sounding off on which countries they’re going to immigrate to due to this or that law being passed, this country should be first on their list. I stand in awe of what the Estonians have done since gaining independence from the Big-Momma. I keep going back and forth on whether I want go for my masters at Tartu University in Baltic Studies, they keep up the good work and I’ll probably be set.
