Post by ltlee1"Those who cling to the fading notion of American supremacy, shout back that China will not overtake the U.S. or rather will not be permitted to assume global leadership.
Economic data and statistics are used to show the rise of China and the fall of America. It makes sense to do so. It immediately shows that one economy is clearly in the ascendency. Economics matter. It is a fact that economic structures determine political factors. It is also a fact that an economy and political structures exist because people exist.
People are important. Their social interactions, health and well-being are important. All of this must be considered when determining who is rising and who is falling. Social factors and data are inextricably linked. This is never more obvious than when considering who occupies anything like the high moral ground. How children are treated is a starting point. How social aspirations are met is another.
The USA, as the leading capitalist economy for decades, recorded a steady rise in life expectancy, positive health outcomes, a decline in infant mortality and maternal mortality rates. Other countries tended to follow. This upward trajectory in the United States has not simply slowed, or even stalled, but is in serious decline.
An appalling statistic was recently published in the Financial Times. One in 25 American children are not expected to live to see their 40th birthday. Former U.S. Secretary to the Treasury, Larry Summers, could only remark that the figures are ‘the most disturbing set of data that I have encountered in a long time'.
There are many factors that make up this despairing analysis. Thousands of children die each year in America from gun violence, but growing poverty remains at the very heart of the crisis. 15.3% of all American children live in poverty. There are 38 million officially poor Americans, or nearly 12% of the total population. There has never been a richer nation on earth. Its GDP per person is more than $70,000. Something is fundamentally wrong."
https://independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/quality-of-life-in-us-in-freefall-chinas-rising,17533
"Comparisons are unavoidable. Is it reasonable to compare China and the United States? One has been "independent" only since 1949.
The U.S. began its climb to the top a long time ago and has been the leading force in the world for decades. China’s GDP per person is
$12,000. The U.S. figure is $70,000. The United Nations Human Development Index still regards China as a "developing nation". Even so,
comparisons are made. It is almost impossible not to compare the two nations. How, then does China fare in relation to those important
social indicators?
Suicide rates are another strong indicator of the health of a state. 14.5 Americans in every 100,000 commit suicide in any given year. The
figure for China is just 6.7. Statistics can be treacherous and can be manipulated, but there is something rather telling in the figures around
maternal mortality. In 2000 there were 59 deaths per 100,000 live births in China. That figure is now 23 in every 100,000. The trajectory in
the USA is heading in the opposite direction. Today the two countries have relative parity.
Obviously, there are areas where the U.S. still leads China. The fact remains, however, that on so many key indicators, the greatest economic
political and military power the world has seen is lagging behind an officially designated developing economy points to a decline with no sign
of reversal.
A strong economy should reflect a healthy, stable and relatively contented population. One startling statistic was recently revealed. The Harvard
Gazette reported that the Ash Center, in conjunction with Gallup, conducted a long-term survey, independent of Chinese government influence,
over 15 years. It found that the great majority of Chinese were "relatively" satisfied with how things were faring. By contrast only 38 per cent of
Americans expressed satisfaction with their federal government. The Ash Center and Gallup have no political axe to grind and are adamant that
their research was fairly arrived at.
Whether China is operating better capitalism or whether it is in a transitional stage between capitalism and socialism is a topic for others to
determine. What is in less doubt is that America remains in decline, economically, politically and socially."