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sapinker's profile
Steven Pinker
Steven Pinker
Steven Pinker
Verified account
@sapinker

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Steven PinkerVerified account

@sapinker

Cognitive scientist at Harvard.

Boston, MA
pinker.wjh.harvard.edu
Joined January 2010

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    Steven Pinker‏Verified account @sapinker 22 Dec 2017

    Fears of China getting richer and more globally engaged are largely misplaced: It was when China was poor and insular that it started wars and starved & brutalized its citizens. https://www.cato.org/publications/policy-analysis/responsible-stakeholders-why-united-states-should-welcome-chinas … via @CatoInstitute

    3:28 PM - 22 Dec 2017
    • 129 Retweets
    • 322 Likes
    • Keith Devlin Jeroen W. Thomas Cortellesi 🎃🇦🇶 Main Street Muse D Jim 👓 🎬 🌱 StevenageTico Lena_D_Sarcast Niccolo
    32 replies 129 retweets 322 likes
      1. New conversation
      2. Howard Chu‏ @hyc_symas 22 Dec 2017
        Replying to @sapinker @CatoInstitute

        Yep, it's the US' turn to be poor and insular and starve & brutalize its citizens.

        1 reply 1 retweet 4 likes
      3. 1 more reply
      1. New conversation
      2. Rhabdouchos‏ @rhabdouchos 23 Dec 2017
        Replying to @sapinker @CatoInstitute

        So when did China stop brutalising its citizens?

        1 reply 0 retweets 1 like
      3. Anon Ymous‏ @ken8b5 23 Dec 2017
        Replying to @rhabdouchos @sapinker @CatoInstitute

        Will be there soon. When it will have placed cameras at every corner with advanced AI, plus social networks for delation of citizens who step a bit outside the norm to ostracize them from society. No job, no home, nothing for political opponents. Violence won't be needed anymore.

        0 replies 0 retweets 1 like
      4. End of conversation
      1. Abraxus Canuck‏ @ABXCNK 24 Dec 2017
        Replying to @sapinker @CatoInstitute

        Yeah, like the U.S.A. only started wars when it was poor. Will it be rich enough to stop starting wars soon?

        0 replies 0 retweets 1 like
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      1. Henrik Johansson‏ @dahankzter 22 Dec 2017
        Replying to @sapinker @CatoInstitute

        Nevermind the the dictatorship...

        0 replies 0 retweets 1 like
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      1. Improv‏ @dachte 22 Dec 2017
        Replying to @sapinker @CatoInstitute

        Cato is not a reputable news source for anything.

        0 replies 0 retweets 1 like
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      1. ProudlyStand4America‏ @FondoOfTheMondo 22 Dec 2017
        Replying to @sapinker @CatoInstitute

        Yes, they are such a free and open society... Just ask Guo Wengui - or look at events around Liu Xiaobo - or the media and internet crackdowns - or South China Sea events. Then there is Xi's recent consolidation of power. Naive at best...https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/media-censorship-china …

        0 replies 0 retweets 1 like
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      1. MassAve Curmudgeon  🎃‏ @mass_ave 22 Dec 2017
        Replying to @sapinker @CatoInstitute

        Sometimes rationalism and optimism don’t go together

        0 replies 0 retweets 1 like
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      1. Bad Mojo‏ @Badwojo 22 Dec 2017
        Replying to @sapinker @CatoInstitute

        "it was when the United States was poor and insular that it started wars"... no, wait a minute. Most definitely not.

        0 replies 0 retweets 1 like
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      1. Martin Solomon‏ @SolBlog 22 Dec 2017
        Replying to @sapinker @CatoInstitute

        Interesting point. Of course, we're only just now seeing the new China. It also sounds like the type of thing people used to say before WW1. Not arguing, just considering.https://www.amazon.com/Origins-War-Preservation-Peace/dp/0385423756/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1513985587&sr=8-1&keywords=on+the+origins+of+war+and+the+preservation+of+peace …

        0 replies 0 retweets 1 like
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      1. New conversation
      2. Richard Stands‏ @richardstands 22 Dec 2017
        Replying to @sapinker @CatoInstitute

        . “When goods don’t cross borders, Soldiers will." Claude Frédéric Bastiat (apocryphal)

        1 reply 0 retweets 0 likes
      3. Gregory Cochran‏ @gcochran99 26 Dec 2017
        Replying to @richardstands @sapinker @CatoInstitute

        The peak of international trade and interdependency was in 1914.

        1 reply 0 retweets 0 likes
      4. Richard Stands‏ @richardstands 26 Dec 2017
        Replying to @gcochran99 @sapinker @CatoInstitute

        Interesting claim, and counterintuitive, given the size of current-day populations, economies, and modern global supply chains. I’d be interested in any supporting research. Very brief research on my part yielded this:https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2014/04/01/what-world-war-i-can-tell-us-about-international-commerce-and-war-today/?utm_term=.4b3643156b73 …

        1 reply 0 retweets 0 likes
      5. Gregory Cochran‏ @gcochran99 26 Dec 2017
        Replying to @richardstands @sapinker @CatoInstitute

        If the strong economic ties between Germany and Britain/France in 1914 weren't enough to prevent war - and they weren't - thesis is weak at best. Thucydides is a better guide.

        1 reply 0 retweets 1 like
      6. Richard Stands‏ @richardstands 26 Dec 2017
        Replying to @gcochran99 @sapinker @CatoInstitute

        I’ll look into it. And while extensive trade may not be sufficient to prevent war, surely decreasing it can’t be seen as helpful. Any opinions about the analysis at the link (reduced regional interdependence allowing conflicts which drew in allies)?

        2 replies 0 retweets 0 likes
      7. Gregory Cochran‏ @gcochran99 26 Dec 2017
        Replying to @richardstands @sapinker @CatoInstitute

        If crappy little Serbia was more powerful than the pacifying effects of close trade ties, those ties had weak effects.

        1 reply 0 retweets 1 like
      8. Richard Stands‏ @richardstands 27 Dec 2017
        Replying to @gcochran99 @sapinker @CatoInstitute

        Good point.

        1 reply 0 retweets 0 likes
      9. Richard Stands‏ @richardstands 27 Dec 2017
        Replying to @richardstands @gcochran99 and

        As for @sapinker‘s original point & the one possibly espoused by Hayek, I’d argue that greater trade leads to greater prosperity, and greater prosperity decreases at least one motive for war making. War may occur for other reasons, but less trade and more poverty are negatives.

        0 replies 0 retweets 0 likes
      10. End of conversation

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