Tom Barnett in his post "An article I've been waiting years to blog" on global warming ends with the following:
The faster we break down East-West mistrust, the faster the appropriate solution sets emerge on the environment.
So when I argue for Sino-American alliance, I argue not just in terms of preventing the loss of lives on our side in this Long War, but the preservation and betterment of life long-term. Put the U.S. and China together and you have the ultimate head-and-body superpower, capable of tackling the world's biggest problems in the context of shared vulnerabilities and desires (not the same values, mind you). Put them at odds because that's the only world your upbringing allows you to imagine, and watch the opportunities for positive global change evaporate in the same stupid stew that we were subjected to by the European empires over the past 500-plus years.
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