Could it happen? Some think so. Even as soon as TWO YEARS from now … in 2025!
OK … yes. It’s a disturbing thought. And I don’t mean to make light of such a possibility, but …
Putting aside for the moment the actual foreboding of such an occurrence, let’s take a more humorous look.
(If possible.)
Should the U.S. and China actually go to fisticuffs (slang for armed warfare), what would happen when the citizenry of this country needed to buy …
- Clothing or shoes
- A new computer or TV
- Trashcan, bedding, power tool, kitchen cookware
- Sunglasses, cell phone, backpack, clock
- Wood chipper, air fryer, jigsaw puzzle
- Dog or cat toy
- Other numerous items …
O.M.G.! The shelves would be empty!
And what happens if your car battery goes dead? Or you need new windshield wipers?
And what will you do if your druggist no longer has a container for your heart pills? Or you need to replace your hearing aids or eyeglasses?
In other words … can you imagine a world in which the supplier of nearly everything we buy or own suddenly became our enemy? Would we … COULD we survive?
Your tongue-in-cheek comments are invited.
ADDENDUM: This post, although referencing a possible/potential event, was NOT meant to be taken seriously (Note the “Category” I used). It was written more as sarcasm in that practically everything we use in our daily lives is “Made in China.” From the responses thus far, it seems I failed in getting that point across.
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Image by Nina Garman from Pixabay
Nan's Notebook 
Seeing as we are already buying these products as if they were made in North America, despite the difference in labour costs, we might as well start producing them in North America, and maybe start charging the correct prices as if they were made in China. Isn’t the free market supposed to correct itself?
War with China is worse than war in Vietnam. Americans cannot win — though the whole world might lose…
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I agree — the entire world would suffer with such a war.
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Frankly that general needs to be busted down to latrine cleaner 3rd class for making statements like that in public. All he’s doing is ramping up the already dangerous level of tension going on between the US and China.
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The Colonel of The Urinal. Good idea, farmer.
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Some general shooting off his mouth. Big deal. From what I know about the military, the bigger the brass, the bigger the BS.
War with China? The corporations that run this country will never let something like that happen.
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The second part of your comment was closer to the point of my post than anyone else thus far (see my post Addendum).
And you’re spot-on. If U.S. companies/corporations had to start making their own products, they’d go berserk.
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“Gut feeling”, was the reason this general gave for his prediction. I can not help the “gut feeling” of how this reminds me of the airforce general in the Dr. Strangelove. There is a thin line between being ready for all eventualities and insane alarmism. It also reminds me of the plan proposed by general McArthur to win the war in Korea by 22 atom bombs, two of wich he suggested be dropped on Beijing. I guess he was in a desperate mood after his promise of “home by christmas” went horribly wrong.
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The country of China is roughly the same size as the USA. However, the population is huge by comparison, currently over 1.4 BILLION. Taiwan is only 100 miles away from China, but 7,600 miles away from the USA. I would like to hear the logistics argument of how such a war could possibly be waged without massive use of nuclear weapons.
Best wishes, Pete.
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How would you suppose the nukes would be used? Both USA and China launch their ICBMs – end of story, and civilization, possibly human life?
I am guessing in conventional warfare the US would rely on naval supremacy, to move troops to Taiwan and China would not have to, because it could bombard Taiwan to stone age from mainland China. Both economies would be ruined, both countries would feel the nasty consequeces of the rise in nationalist sentiment. Shareholders of Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Raytheon and Chinese Communist Party INC. benefited, but everybody else suffered. A worldwide economic crisis would make life for the middle-classes hard and unmitigated hell for the poor, but the rich could discuss how they are gratefull for their lives becoming “simpler” and how they have returned to the “basics” in their lives.
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All valid points of course. Any use of nuclear weapons would be an unmitigated diaster for the planet, but fighting any remotely conventional war against such a huge population might be unmanageable.
Best wishes, Pete.
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A ‘little war’ is good for the economy: steel production for main battle tanks, aircraft, aircraft carriers, fossil fuels to drive energy, textiles, and farm production.
A war between superpowers must always be by proxy; otherwise…
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It’s always about money and profit. Follow the money, and you will find the reasoning.
Best wishes, Pete.
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I am inclined to think, that because an actual war would be devastating to economy, it will not be engaged. Then again, beating the drum will excuse further spending on military industry and works as a perfect distraction to why the public taxpayer money was spent on private military industry and not on the actual benefit of the people like healthcare, or education. It is perfect, because military protection is necessary and there is no way to define what is enough. If you ask the professionals, the officers could always have more. The trouble with it all comes when the expectations created by the propaganda start to drive the policy.
The US appears to have two aims in foreign policy that justify war, one is the protection of allies (how ever regressive they are, like the Saudis and Israel) and the second is to “protect the interrests abroad” of US Capitalists. China and Russia have different goals in that they do not easily wage war unless their governments can excuse it by the territory being attacked as somehow being part of the empire and within “natural borders”. How are those then defined? Ultimately, even such authoritarian states, just like Western democracies, are the prisoners of the public sentiment distracted from domestic problems and inequality by propaganda toward nationalism, that gives unity and purpose to the tribalist human mind, but also leads to segragation, conflict and war.
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When we vote, we intend to send our best representation to Congress. We must assume that Republicans do the same. Maybe their choices for the 118 Congress were the best they had. Their desire for chaos and dysfunction is now realized with our primate cousins in charge.
It’s good to hear the swords banging on the shields again.
Books that have failed to impress American society:
Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand
Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell
The Winds of War by Herman Wouk
The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin
How The South Won The Civil War by Heather cox Richardson
American Psychosis by David Corn
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What possible connection does this comment have to the subject of the post??? Please enlighten me.
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With the addendum, I now see myself like an Easter Island statue staring into the sky. Maybe at the sun.
You cited a Republican Texas representative who may be qualified to make such calls, but has no authority. I have noticed they, Republican legislators, have been hammering on our relationship with China for quite a while. Maybe you saw Gym Jordon and Klueless Kevin doing the Sunday shows, showing their lack of preparedness for governance.
For some reason, I saw this announcement, which is otherwise out of order and useless, as a distraction for those idiots. Who or whatever the memo was aimed at had no place in the public. Flashbangs, rabbit holes, and shiny objects are as close as the GOP gets to policy. If the State Department makes such announcements, we should pay attention. Otherwise, look around to see what is going on in other areas they wish we didn’t see, such as Social Security, Medicare, healthcare, voting rights, LGBTQ+ rights, women’s rights, freedom from religious persecution, and anything that is of benefit to the public.
Considering the caliber of your followers, I thought my little reading list would serve as a reminder of some of the things we have gone through in my lifetime. I believe they may have read them all, certainly, some of them. In school, I was given Tom Sawyer and Uncle Tom’s Cabin. I had to find Frederick Douglas, W. E. B. DuBoisse, Maya Angelou. Epicurus, and Darwin on my own.
H. C. Richardson and David Corn published books in the last year or two that shed lots of light on the Republican lies, misinformation, and use of the foulest and kookiest elements of their religious and fascist elements. Now, that practice has caught up with them and the people they used to dismiss after they got their votes, are now in charge of the whole party. Chaos will reign for the next couple of years, at least.
Crisis is the rallying cry of the tyrant.
James Madison
“It is certain, in any case, that ignorance, allied with power, is the most ferocious enemy justice can have.”
– James Baldwin
“What refuge is there for the victim who is oppressed with the feeling that there are a thousand new books he ought to read, while life is only long enough for him to attempt to read a hundred?” – Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr.
I apologize to you and all those who comment here, that I’m not educated enough to express myself clearly, and above all, concisely. Bloviation and a high verb count are not my intentions.
I will not attempt Haiku.
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Maybe I should have capped my previous reading list with One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey. Maybe all these are banned by now, except Ayn Rand. I feel like America doesn’t pay attention to itself.
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I used to want to go to war with Canada, myself. But, then I realized, if we went to war with Canada, what would happen to Canadian bacon with my Sunday morning breakfast!? So, I changed my mind and am now completely against war with other countries–even those were people speak with funny accents or don’t even speak ‘Murican at all. War with China?! HA!! Were would I get my Asian martial arts movies from?! I’d be stuck with Stephen Seagal movies only!!! AAAAAHHHH!!!
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While war and all its antecedents are anything but funny, globalism has created complexities for either serious or humorous consideration.
But funny story. Back in the day, I had targets for nuclear bombs in said country. I asked what a target was. I was told that it was a fertilizer factory. I said, “You mean we’re nuking shit?”
But why war? Is it because they will no longer accept our plastics for recycling? MacArthur does not want to invade China any longer, right?
Maybe we can get Japan to do a proxy war for us. They whupped up on them a few years back.
But, not to worry. This would be numero uno on every ‘merican’s mind: “O.M.G.! The shelves would be empty!” 🙂
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Their Army is bigger than we are.
Traditionally we’ve thought of Russia as the Bear of the East (or North) but China is geographically “The East” … I’ve wondered for some time how they fit into the End Times, there just doesn’t seem to be any mention of them in The Book. If we get in a tussle with China does Jesus float down out of the sky on a floating rainbow unicorn with thousands of ‘helpers’ on floating rainbow unicorns and carry the faithful away to paradise?
If you read Sun Tzu’s Art of War enough you’ll see it’s the Art of Peace, managing the peace after letting your opponent kick his own ass …
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Ten Bears: It’s interesting that a semi-Christian cult led to one of the absolutely most devastating, apocalyptic wars-the Taiping Rebellion. “The bloodiest civil war in history” with 20 million dead. 😦
Maybe we can just send some of our wackier televangelists over there to stir up trouble? How many people would pink-haired Kat Kerr get killed?
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It could be argued it’s what led them to where they are today, but I’m really just a novice at Asian history and culture. Can only gain so much reading the Histories (and you really want to stay away from the Farmer’s Daughter;)). Not unlike WWI as the catalyst for WWII, the Versailles Treaty generating the failed Weimar the Boxer generated such poverty and repression it led to the rebellion, which in turn and after its’ own poverties and repression led to the quasi-capitalist communist-democratic state it is today.
It’s fascinating to ponder where they might have gone if they hadn’t started smoking dope … oh, wait
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Hi Nan. Isn’t there enough to keep everyone busy just keeping the damn economy going? For the inflated prices these days, US companies might be able to make a profit by making the stuff here. But, where do we get the workers? China cannot invade Taiwan, which seems the focus of the present situation. I don’t blame China for getting upset, after all the US is trying to contain China and damage their economy. Let’s see who holds the moral high ground over the next few years. The US should get off the war mongering economy, take care of the troubles at home and try to save the planet. GROG
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