I would respect the proponents of engagement with China in the past more if they said 'It could have worked, but it failed, and we need to look at why' than when they push this 'actually it was never about the things we said it was about at the time' line.
-
-
There's a very different trajectory China could have followed from 2012, which in retrospect would have vindicated everyone who believes economic liberalism must lead to political pluralism. But the reality is we just roll the dice a lot
-
Anyway someone should write a sprawling novel about whether history is determined by individuals or great currents of inevitable fate, and make their wife retype it ten times
- Show replies
New conversation -
-
-
Yes, but that Soviet leader was constrained by needing huge, state guaranteed western loans to buy food. Those loans would have evaporated if tanks rolled. The reason Gorbachev was in *that* situation is quite structural.
-
Also worth remembering that Russia did have a leader who did send in the tanks: Boris Yeltsin. Strengthening Yeltsin might well not have led to a successful democratisation in Russia, because the man ultimately in charge was not really a democrat.pic.twitter.com/vDBxQ849O6
- Show replies
New conversation -
-
-
Tiananmen happened before the Berlin Wall fell
-
The fall of the Berlin Wall was a telegenic symbol, but the real stuff happened in 1988.
- Show replies
New conversation -
Loading seems to be taking a while.
Twitter may be over capacity or experiencing a momentary hiccup. Try again or visit Twitter Status for more information.