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I prefer not to pathologize evil. Grandly executing your enemies in front of their families is perfectly rational for a man who has no fear of God and maintains a position of great power through fear.
What The Actual F*ck?
- Thread starter phork
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I prefer not to pathologize evil. Grandly executing your enemies in front of their families is perfectly rational for a man who has no fear of God and maintains a position of great power through fear.
Redbar
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"Geopolitics is not simply a pretentious way of saying “international rela*tions.” It is a method for thinking about the world and forecasting what will happen down the road. Economists talk about an invisible hand, in which the self-interested, short-term activities of people lead to what Adam Smith called “the wealth of nations.” Geopolitics applies the concept of the invisi* ble hand to the behavior of nations and other international actors. The pur*suit of short-term self-interest by nations and by their leaders leads, if not to the wealth of nations, then at least to predictable behavior and, therefore, the ability to forecast the shape of the future international system.
Geopolitics and economics both assume that the players are rational, at least in the sense of knowing their own short-term self-interest. As rational actors, reality provides them with limited choices. It is assumed that, on the whole, people and nations will pursue their self-interest, if not flawlessly, then at least not randomly. Think of a chess game. On the surface, it ap* pears that each player has twenty potential opening moves. In fact, there are many fewer because most of these moves are so bad that they quickly lead to defeat. The better you are at chess, the more clearly you see your options, and the fewer moves there actually are available. The better the player, the more predictable the moves. The grandmaster plays with absolute pre*dictable precision—until that one brilliant, unexpected stroke."-Friedman, The Next 100 Years
George Friedman and I agree with Whiskey, we may not understand his machinations, but in his world they are rational.
Geopolitics and economics both assume that the players are rational, at least in the sense of knowing their own short-term self-interest. As rational actors, reality provides them with limited choices. It is assumed that, on the whole, people and nations will pursue their self-interest, if not flawlessly, then at least not randomly. Think of a chess game. On the surface, it ap* pears that each player has twenty potential opening moves. In fact, there are many fewer because most of these moves are so bad that they quickly lead to defeat. The better you are at chess, the more clearly you see your options, and the fewer moves there actually are available. The better the player, the more predictable the moves. The grandmaster plays with absolute pre*dictable precision—until that one brilliant, unexpected stroke."-Friedman, The Next 100 Years
George Friedman and I agree with Whiskey, we may not understand his machinations, but in his world they are rational.
Greenore
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Bringing this tread back to life as it has become increasingly relevant again.
If NK is "bluffing" about launching their nukes it appears that most of the world is calling. I think the response by the Chinese is fairly measured and responsible if they allow the U.S. (and hopefully others) to respond to any aggression. I can only imagine that some sort of NK aggression will draw the Chinese into the fray as well.
So the question I ask is how does Kim save face in this mess? Particularly in his own country? Has he painted himself into a corner and how does he get out? Cheers and God help us all!
If NK is "bluffing" about launching their nukes it appears that most of the world is calling. I think the response by the Chinese is fairly measured and responsible if they allow the U.S. (and hopefully others) to respond to any aggression. I can only imagine that some sort of NK aggression will draw the Chinese into the fray as well.
So the question I ask is how does Kim save face in this mess? Particularly in his own country? Has he painted himself into a corner and how does he get out? Cheers and God help us all!