WORLD ECONOMY LONG THREAD
That’s a good chart @DavidInglesTV

Let’s deepen our understanding by ZOOMING OUT:

from a 50-year-view (1970-2020) —>

to a 2000-year-view (1 CE to 2020 CE) https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="👇🏻" title="Rückhand Zeigefinger nach unten (heller Hautton)" aria-label="Emoji: Rückhand Zeigefinger nach unten (heller Hautton)">

1/12
https://twitter.com/davidinglestv/status/1270957103427928064?s=21">https://twitter.com/davidingl... https://twitter.com/davidinglestv/status/1270957103427928064">https://twitter.com/davidingl...

RETURN TO THE NORM
China https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🇨🇳" title="Flagge von China" aria-label="Emoji: Flagge von China"> & India https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🇮🇳" title="Flagge von Indien" aria-label="Emoji: Flagge von Indien"> have been THE WORLD’S TWO LARGEST ECONOMIES for THOUSANDS OF YEARS!

THIS *IS* THE NORM.

During the last 180 years (1840-2020) there’s been a blip, and now a RETURN TO THE NORM.

2/12

THE 180-YEAR BLIP
= Rise of the West

Western Europe https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🇪🇺" title="Flagge der Europäischen Union" aria-label="Emoji: Flagge der Europäischen Union"> (esp Britain https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🇬🇧" title="Flagge des Vereinigten Königreiches" aria-label="Emoji: Flagge des Vereinigten Königreiches">),
followed by America https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🇺🇸" title="Flagge der Vereinigten Staaten" aria-label="Emoji: Flagge der Vereinigten Staaten"> ,
has been LEADING THE WORLD ECONOMY, during this 180-year blip (1840-2020)

3/12

INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION
Our history books teach us that the blip — Rise of the West (1840-2020) — was MAINLY due to:
- Western economic miracle of “The Industrial Revolution” (1760 CE to ~1830 CE)

This is only PARTIALLY TRUE.

4/12

COLONISATION & CONQUEST
WHAT ELSE funded the Rise of the West?

- RICHES FROM CHINA https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🇨🇳" title="Flagge von China" aria-label="Emoji: Flagge von China">: during “Century of Humiliation”
- RICHES FROM INDIA https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🇮🇳" title="Flagge von Indien" aria-label="Emoji: Flagge von Indien">: via colonisation
- LABOUR & GDP FROM COLONIES: in India, Africa (remember slavery?), SE Asia, China, etc

5/12

CENTURY OF HUMILIATION
= what China calls the period of 1840-1949.

Instead of paying for CN goods (ie. tea, silk, porcelain), Foreign powers (UK https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🇬🇧" title="Flagge des Vereinigten Königreiches" aria-label="Emoji: Flagge des Vereinigten Königreiches"> , US https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🇺🇸" title="Flagge der Vereinigten Staaten" aria-label="Emoji: Flagge der Vereinigten Staaten"> , FR https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🇫🇷" title="Flagge von Frankreich" aria-label="Emoji: Flagge von Frankreich"> , JP https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🇯🇵" title="Flagge von Japan" aria-label="Emoji: Flagge von Japan"> , RU https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🇷🇺" title="Flagge von Russland" aria-label="Emoji: Flagge von Russland"> ) decided they’ll take them BY FORCE—divide CN’s pie amongst themselves

6/12

OPIUM WARS
How? Using GUNBOAT DIPLOMACY https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="💣" title="Bombe" aria-label="Emoji: Bombe">:

1. Starting TWO OPIUM WARS to continue + legalise the unethical but lucrative Opium trade from UK to China
- First Opium War 1839-1842 https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🇬🇧" title="Flagge des Vereinigten Königreiches" aria-label="Emoji: Flagge des Vereinigten Königreiches">
- Second Opium War 1856-1860 https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🇬🇧" title="Flagge des Vereinigten Königreiches" aria-label="Emoji: Flagge des Vereinigten Königreiches"> https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🇫🇷" title="Flagge von Frankreich" aria-label="Emoji: Flagge von Frankreich">

7/12

2. Seizing ports & territories via UNEQUAL TREATIES post-war, incl:
⁃ Hong Kong https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🇭🇰" title="Flagge von Hongkong" aria-label="Emoji: Flagge von Hongkong"> by UK https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🇬🇧" title="Flagge des Vereinigten Königreiches" aria-label="Emoji: Flagge des Vereinigten Königreiches"> (1842 Treaty of Nanking, 1860 Convention of Peking),
⁃ Macau https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🇲🇴" title="Flagge von Macau" aria-label="Emoji: Flagge von Macau"> by Portugal https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🇵🇹" title="Flagge von Portugal" aria-label="Emoji: Flagge von Portugal"> (1887 Sino-Portuguese Treaty of Peking)

3. Huge post-war reparations to Western powers

8/12

“GIFT” OF WESTERN WISDOM
During colonisation, Asia has silently observed & learnt MANY VALUABLE ECONOMIC LESSONS from the West, incl:
- Market economy
- Meritocracy
- Rule of law
- Western biomedicine & science
- Industrialisation
- Caring for nature

9/12

RETURN OF THE JEDI (ASIA)

And now ASIA IS RISING again,
⁃ led by China https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🇨🇳" title="Flagge von China" aria-label="Emoji: Flagge von China"> currently, and
⁃ likely followed by India https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🇮🇳" title="Flagge von Indien" aria-label="Emoji: Flagge von Indien">.

The 21st Century = The Asian Century

This is a RETURN TO THE NORM — THE NORM of the last 2000 years of human history.

10/12

A NEW HOPE, IN A MULTIPOLAR WORLD

THANK YOU for reading this long thread.

Let’s end this on a HOPEFUL note for our future.

I love this quote by @thecyrusjanssen:
“When the United States & China work together,
the entire world wins.” https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="❤️" title="Rotes Herz" aria-label="Emoji: Rotes Herz">

11/12

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

H/t to
⁃ @SolTaiyang for the 2000-year chart, some of his wordshttps://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="👇🏻" title="Rückhand Zeigefinger nach unten (heller Hautton)" aria-label="Emoji: Rückhand Zeigefinger nach unten (heller Hautton)">
⁃ @mahbubani_k’s 2018 book “Has The West Lost It: A Provocation”
⁃ @thecyrusjanssen

12/12
https://twitter.com/soltaiyang/status/1246785380017246208?s=21">https://twitter.com/soltaiyan...