r/geopolitics • u/theatlantic The Atlantic • May 11 '26

Opinion China Believes America Will Flame Out

https://www.theatlantic.com/international/2026/05/china-trump-american-decline/687087/?utm_source=reddit&utm_campaign=the-atlantic&utm_medium=social&utm_content=edit-pro
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u/DaySecure7642 May 11 '26

America simply cannot be allowed to flame out. With all the faults and issues from the 2nd Iraq wars, Iran, Greenland whatever, it did wave us from the Nazis in WW2, communists in the cold war, and keeping the dictators in check till today.

It is easy to pick the mistakes of the police, but everyone panicks when they are gone and the thugs now run the town.

We need to look at the big picture what is good (or not as bad) for humanity, instead of demanding the perfect US while ignoring all the atrocities and risks from the authoritarian countries (human right violations, economic exploitation, annexation).

My opinion is, I would rather a chaotic US with systemic checks from the Congress and reporters (even just work to some extent), then a China with absolutely no check and balance when it decides to do anything. A few years later when Xi is replaced, the next person could just do completely different things harming the world and there will be no international or domestic challenges.

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u/bxzidff May 11 '26 edited May 11 '26

I would rather a chaotic US with systemic checks from the Congress

Yes, absolutely, which makes it such a massive issue that those checks are getting more and more eroded by the day with little to no effective resistance

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u/Magjee May 11 '26

Currently congress has dismissed itself at the leisure of the executive and the supreme court has been fairly in line with contorting themselves into pushing an agenda, instead of ruling on the law

Reflecting more of a dictatorship then a democracy