AngloSino

This is a sound response in many scenarios, but the counterargument also still stands in other situations. If the woman spending years chasing the "Chads" was the same woman when she "dated down", the argument is sound. However, the keyword here is "years", and people change over time. Yes, this is admitting men value women for their appearance, and placing a number on a human being, but we should still recognize the element of time. The other commenters here are also correct to state that being a backup plan after rejection is not the same as a woman realizing the Chad was not worth it. Love shouldn't begin as settling because it is not based on attraction but "oh well".

@GLIAClegend Some have, some haven't, but either way, if having women discard hot guys on favor of you isn't enough to stroke your ego, you may just be beyond help 😂

The "incel" worldview is just wrong, wrong, wrong. Most regular, average men experience sexual and romantic success. That's just a fact. And there are plenty of reasons many women want a regular average guy instead of a "Chad". noahpinion.blog/p/dating-advic…

The Gadfly Doctrine recently published a provocative piece that asked a hard question: Is flexibility a product of economic power? The other day, I pointed out that human relations are not about good versus evil, but a hierarchy of values that changes based on context. The key question is similar to the materialist-versus-idealist debates of the ancient Greeks. You either believe the world begins with the tangible or the abstract. In their essay, Gadfly argues that the UK's political flexibility over the past 300 years was only possible by exporting the subjugation of the Feudal Age beyond its borders. To Alan, the UK has wasted too much time valuing debate for debate's sake instead of rewarding results, unlike Singapore. Too much emphasis has been placed on liberal arts majors, resulting in an oligarchy that prohibits long-term planning. Gadfly argues above all that the country must focus on rebuilding its productive (materialist) base. This essay is not direct with its solution. My own reading is that they are subtly saying democracy may be a byproduct of particular historical and economic circumstances, which may explain why the UK has seen so many prime ministers face the exit recently. With this lens, the UK is caught between ideological demographics and global competition. On one hand, you have a voting base brought up to believe particular interpretations of the world, all generally perfectionist (Conservatism has too much faith in markets. Labour trusts that evening out the playing field is moral and therefore more economically sound.) On the other, you have developing and semi-developed countries that barely appeared on the radar 50 years ago now capable of manufacturing products at far lower prices. The result is deadlock, and very few citizens are willing to budge. No one is admitting that the UK is not the empire it once was and therefore no longer has the flexibility it once had. This problem may also stem from there no longer being "one" definition of nation. There is the classic definition (a common people), the economic definition (GDP and productivity), the elite definition (the state, nobles, and other powerful people), and the ideological definition (our country represents a particular idea). All now compete, meaning everyone is imagining a different community. In the less-globalized 17th century, these definitions were kept in line through the nobility's monopoly on military power. Yet because the Black Death and the rise of humanism/capitalism boosted the power of individuals and money, the old elite needed to allow freedom of movement to retain control. This article ends with an argument similar to Trump's push for reindustrialization, but still begs the question of how generations educated to believe they evolved beyond manual labor would ever leave the service industry for blue-collar work. Hopefully, the answer to that question is not a return to the power dynamics of the past. Article: substack.com/home/post/p-17…

@joequant The US is better prepared for this one than the 1970s though.

Since the time Chang wrote his book, the West has had two major financial crisis (2008 and COVID), and what's crazy is that there is another one that is about to hit us once the oil shock hits. So we don't have a few years to wait for China to collapse. We have a few months

One thing about @Brad_Setser and @michaelxpettis is that they both seem to think that the West has the luxury of time, when I am more alarmed. So the idea is that you can just have a dozen more meetings of the IMF and European Council and then wait a few years to rebalance.

@thecyrusjanssen I'd argue nit all the history was unstable. All those dynasties lasted for 350ish years. Still overall point about stability as a value is valid.

Complete and utter nonsense. If you knew anything about China, you would know that stability (稳定) means everything to Chinese people. Throughout their 5,000 year history China was nothing but unstable (不稳定). Dynasties rose and fell for thousands of years until the current Chinese government came to power and established that stability for the nation. You might not like that (we all know you hate it) but it doesn’t matter what you and I, both outsiders in China, think about the government. China is for Chinese people and their government is one of the most supported governments in the world, because it offers that stability. You are simply a war monger and trying to push propaganda that China wants to take over the world and therefore is a threat to US interests. This is completely false and both nations needs each other and should be working with each other. Grateful more people are waking up to this idea and walking away from the propaganda you and other US think tanks are promoting

朋友来了有好酒，豺狼来了有猎枪 is a popular phrase meaning "When friends come, out comes the good alcohol. When wolves arrive, out comes the rifle." As a New Jerseyan who grew up surrounded by the American culture of debate and criticism, I can be a very straightforward person. My Catholic upbringing where I was socialized to seek out ways to persuade others to the cause reinforced this perspective that life and society is all about a marketplace of ideas and the best ones winning. Some would argue that being a man makes me more inclined to bluntness, too. Yet, speaking directly does not always have the same effect. Greet a person by telling them their shirt is ugly will hit differently than cracking a joke about it with an old friend over some beer. Context matters. The reason Confucius remains so valuable to the modern world is he recognized the importance of personal connections. Many conversations today speak about relationships, but everyone is aware it's all politeness. In these situations, it may actually be better to be blunt and call out the bullshit for what it is. Although we'd still need to consider whether the current dynamic is better than what would come from that. When a relationship is pure, people can speak more honestly. Another trusts you actually have their best intentions in mind. True friendships are not built from formality or calculations but from combined struggle or a shared hobby.

@AngelicaOung Nah, the two are different. Kaiser is not a hawk though.

Wow! These days I don’t even think of Kaiser Guo as that far apart from Shaun’s point of view. Like I wouldn’t really think of him as a China hawk at all! But back in 2010 the Sinica pod described Shaun as a China apologist and « defending the indefensible ». I feel really bad for Shaun. I feel like he was someone who made the right call but wayyy too early. Being pro-China back in 2010? He had to go thru some hard years. Meanwhile, I was insulated by my obliviousness and stupidity until what…2024 when I STARTED to get it?

The red pill community is obsessed with the theory that women will overlook a chad's flaws a lot easier. Most of those complaining do the same with hot women. Much of the anger between the genders stems from a mismatch in expectations and a lack of self-honesty. Many could take the route of dating the nice people who are interested in them, but instead choose the "toxic" types and then are surprised afterward. Who can blame them? We all want perfection. The same equation applies to Mr. Musk. Despite his actions in early 2025 angering Americans and Germans alike, sending his stock crashing, and eventually ending his close alliance with Donald, here we are in May of 2026, with Elon walking into the Great Hall of the People with his son in hand. Is the man untouchable? Ford's Jim Farley recently labeled Chinese EVs an existential threat to American autos. Elon himself has claimed that BYD, Li Auto, Xiaomi, and their domestic competitors would pretty much destroy all other auto companies in the world without trade barriers. Yet, the story on the ground in China is somewhat more blurry. I've been surprised to hear more people tell me here how Tesla is still the best. China remains not only a key market for the automaker but also a manufacturing and supply chain center. China-made sales were up 36% year-on-year last month. This doesn't mean local competitors should be forgotten. Revenue in China was basically flat for 2024 and 2025. Either way, we can see why Elon is here. The realistic lesson to take from this is that values are not always read on a "good vs bad" axis but rather a "is this worse than the alternative" and "which values do I honestly treasure more". Despite Trump and Elon falling out, the former still needs the latter due to Tesla remaining America's proudest electric vehicle company, and a tech tour de force, too. This goes two ways. Not merely for national projection, but also for monetary gains from an important foreign market, which eventually adds to annual GDP and the stock market. As Marx once put it, “Life is not determined by consciousness, but consciousness by life.” Materialist and economic incentives often trump abstract, rational ones. That still depends on whether Tesla is upheld more by Elon's personal branding or actual strength, and whether the company could dominate with another person in the role.

@thecyrusjanssen What is this... 1990? It's been forever since these companies landed.

The world would be better if stupidity was painful. Hands down the dumbest commentary I’ve ever heard on China 🤦🏻‍♂️

@redl3tters Move to a country with a higher IQ?

The sweet spot with IQ gaps is ~10 points higher than the girl. That's the zone where she can tell you're smart, but the two of you can still relate. Beyond 10 points, she just thinks you're a weirdo because she can't understand your thought process at all. So there's plenty of irony to be found in intelligence as a desirable trait: The average woman will consistently recognize guys in the 110 - 120 range as impressively "smart" to her liking. Beyond that, you're going to have to dumb yourself down to impress most girls with how "smart" you are. The flip side of this coin is that there are few souls more tortured than the pretty, high IQ woman. Her whole life is one big search for a desirable guy who can impress her with his mind... Then when she finally finds one, he's sadly developed the persona of a mid, because that's what he learned he needed for romantic success. And that's how we all end up on Twitter.

@KyleKulinski China knows more about the US than the other way around.

The IQ gap between us and our enemies is astronomical. At this point just wrap it up America is barbecue chicken.

@ShayWoulahan The issue is will they still feel the same in 10-20 years and will they be as capable of resolving that when that moment comes.

A lot of men complain about women’s standards, calling them unrealistic and implying they should lower their standards to get a man. They miss that these women are already happy, successful, and aren’t desperate. They’d rather stay single than settle.

I know loads of straight women who are perfectly happy being single and would only consider dating a man if he added value to their lives and met their specific criteria for a partner. If they don’t find that they’re not bothered. I think this is lost on a lot of men.

@GlennLuk Do you know the story about Baosi in the Zhou dynasty? It's like the man who cried wolf.

"China is late 80s Japan" - Pettis (2011) "China is late 80s Japan" - Pettis (2013) "China is late 80s Japan" - Pettis (2021) "China is late 80s Japan" - Pettis (2026) Pettis has been drawing this comparison of China to Japan on the brink of its multi-decade stagnation for the better part of two decades. This comparison was one of the crucial supporting points to confident forecasts on the GDP growth rate ("a ceiling of 3%") that China could sustain over the long run ... forecasts which despite a two-decade run of being completely wrong ... he continues to cling to. This is what happens when you make a forecast a core part of your identity.

Soft nationalism is okay, as in the powerful must realize it is their responsibility to show love for the weak in their own country. Hard nationalism, where the weak are persuaded to do the bidding of the powerful, is not the answer. Totally agree that the USA's problem is a lack of an end goal. This is a major roadblock for democracy. It was easy to ignore in the 1990s. Not now.

@Mobilegames2020 The trouble is that consequentalism doesn't work if you don't specify what your objectives are. I happen to think that the philosophy is nationalism, which can be positive or negative. When people are stressed they become tribal, and that can be both good or bad.

The problem with @michaelxpettis, @YashengHuang, and @vshih2 is that they are stuck in the 1990's. If you explain to someone their economic theories, it might make sense to a boomer, but to anyone over 30, they will think you are freaking insane, and people like @adam_tooze and

Yes, but how do you do this after 40+ years of pro-market and "socialism v.s capitalism" thinking? Plus, the major lesson from the last election was that voters don't think of long-term economic trends, just "economy bad, therefore the current leader's fault", even if the current predicament is the result of a multitude of decades-long phenomena. Even if the Democrats get in next time, which I currently believe will happen, they will only have a short window to make their case. People will need to be persuaded to realize some economic situations cannot be solved in 4 years.

@Mobilegames2020 @michaelxpettis @YashengHuang @vshih2 @adam_tooze The thing is that I don't think 2) will alienate voters. If the left can improve the economy, then no one will care, and I think working class populism is more popular than Wall street elitism.

@joequant The only philosophy of the moment is realist consequentilism. It is not a matter of right or wrong but what has the fewest negative consequences.

@Mobilegames2020 I think we all are. What seems obvious to me is that the intellectual framework of the 2010's of "rules based international order" and "democracy v. liberalism" is dead, and there is a lot of chaos to figure out what will replace it.

This is an issue across the US. No one is brave enough to explain that Obama is never coming back. The Democrats have limited options: 1) Become more right wing to appeal to the middle, especially men who are angry over feminism. 2) Become even more left, as seen with NYC, Sanders, and others, but this risks alienating average Americans more. 3) Stick to being George Bush Lite... which has totally fallen out of favor with most everyone except Wall Street.

@Mobilegames2020 @michaelxpettis @YashengHuang @vshih2 @adam_tooze The thing about @YashengHuang is that he strikes me as an "east coast liberal" type of person that dislikes both Xi and Trump, and probably worships Obama. The trouble is that Obamaism doesn't work.

@joequant Also, this is your best post. I've been thinking about this a lot, too.

just admit that the US has some serious problems and over the last decade, China got more things right than the US (and the US is better off than Europe.)

@davidzhang137 @DanielOlimac By TaiyangGong

@Mobilegames2020 @DanielOlimac Is this at a mall in Wangfujing?

A Playstation store in Beijing selling a Nintendo Switch. I took this photo a few weeks ago to remind myself to look into it. Turns out, @DanielOlimac already wrote a Substack on this last autumn. Here are some key points: "It's important to understand that retail physical gaming stores in China are extremely rare, compared to the overall sales volume of games in the country. The vast majority of game sales happen online, both for digital and physical games. This PlayStation store is therefore a sort of boutique. It's easy to see that almost every game sold in this store is either from Japan, Hong-Kong, Taiwan, or the US. They are imports, and not originally meant to be sold in Mainland China. Most of these games do not have a required publishing license for distribution in this market, and therefore are not officially available. While stores like these are not directly operated by Sony/PlayStation, Sony and others will support on fixtures and furniture. The stores themselves are all managed by either distributors or retailers, so there's no way to limit them to a single brand, as is fairly standard practice in retail worldwide, regardless of products/industry." Link: danielcamilo.substack.com/p/playstation-…