#140 We Do Need Education 🎧

<strong>India Policy Watch: Chinese Checkers</strong><br/><br/><em>Insights on burning policy issues in India</em><br/><br/>- <em>RSJ</em><br/><br/>We often write about China here. And we make three points:<br/><br/>China is a model of authoritarian state-driven capitalism. There should be no illusion anymore it will turn into a liberal democracy as its citizens gain greater economic freedom. The Party will find new market demons to slay to send out a convincing message to the people that only it can usher in a stable and prosperous society. It will continue to undermine liberal democracy and it is ready to mount an ideological and economic challenge to G7. (<a target="_blank" href="https://publicpolicy.substack.com/p/132-a-non-manchurian-candidate-"><strong>Edition #132</strong></a>) <br/><br/>Most analysts often overestimate China’s long-term thinking or strategic acumen. Pranay has written about this in a few editions. People tend to get taken in by civilisational mumbo-jumbo and Confucianism that China spouts about their national objectives. This has given rise to a cottage industry of experts who scour through Chinese history to (over)interpret the words and actions of its current regime. We believe this is unnecessary. China makes its usual quota of strategic errors in geopolitics. There is too much made about it being a rational actor of the highest order. (<a target="_blank" href="https://publicpolicy.substack.com/p/136-xi-is-unfriending-big-tech"><strong>Edition #136</strong></a>)<br/><br/>China is a very different kind of threat to the western liberal order. It is deeply enmeshed in global trade and economy. Decoupling from it is easier said than done. It has grown at the expense of Europe in the past three decades and now Europe cannot imagine its economy without the Chinese supply base or its markets. It is open to learning from the West (it sends the most students to western universities) while it selectively blocks global information platforms at home to ‘manage’ its society. This asymmetry lets it