By Thomas P. M. Barnett

(Readers of this blog know my affinity for the writings of this man. For me, he has an ability to synthesize complex global ideas in a way that makes so much sense, I have to wonder why its not obvious to everyone. If you listen to the political pundits, never mind the clowns who would have you believe they could run this country for four years, you often come away with the fear that China will simply swamp us. Not so, says Tom Barnett. Here is the first para of this recent article in World Politics Review.)

Much of what drives America’s current phobias regarding China stems from the dual — and fantastically linear — assumptions of America’s terminal decline and China’s perpetual ascension. We are thus led to believe that China no longer needs the United States and that America, in turn, can do nothing — short of increasing military pressure — to constrain the Middle Kingdom’s rise to global hegemony. On all scores, nothing could be further from the truth. China and the United States suffer a level of strategic interdependency that is vast and shows no signs of reduction. Simply put, America cannot stay rich without China, and China cannot get rich without America.

Read the rest of it HERE