How a Chinese see John Mearsheimer. 我的角度看 约翰·米尔斯海默 If you like my content, please support me through buy me a coffee, will help alot! buymeacoffee.com/windspiritz
As a Russian, I am often amazed how similar we and the Chinese think, despite our cultures coming from so different places. We really should learn more about each other
@@heinzriemann3213 Well, there is something to it. We live in similar circumstances, scale, responsibilities and relationships between a citizen and the state. Small European countries on the other hand hardly decide much about their own fate, therefore are prone to detached phantasies. And Anglo-Saxons have always had a sea-protected piece of land just for themselves, on which they could experiment with whatever social arrangements they could come up with.
Russia is mostly in Asia and consequently think like an Asian. The recent provocation by the west in Ukraine, clearly is a message to the Russians that they are not considered Europeans. Though a bit propagandistic, I believe that Putin is correct that the Ukrainians are using neo Nazis and they’re elite military force. Hitler learned the hard way that his alleged “Aryan” military was superior to the Russians based upon race. The irony is that the Russians are Eurasian much more European than Turkey.
Very true. One of his tricks is to often pretend to be honest or candid, so that audience would tend to be more receptive to his hidden theme. He is a weasel-like extremist.
Well spotted and 100% realist. JM is just as brainwashed as most other Americans - even if he did get he Ukrainian conflict right. He still refers to China as a "threat". Dead giveaway. China is an opportunity, never a threat,
John Mearsheimer is correct and just in his anti-war assessment btwn USA/NATO vs Russia but he's dead wrong about his pro-war stance of USA/NATO vs China.
To John Russian is his fellow "european" whereas we Chinese are not. And we chinese is the first non-european in say....300-400 years to looked them in the eye and tell them to go get...you know:)
he is stuck in the last century. not that i blame him for that considering hia age. and he is honest about his own surroundings. thats more than we could ask from many younger people around here in the west...
The basic idea of Mearsheimer is "alliance with Russia to contain China", the exact opposite to the U.S. stance in 1972. He has two video clips titled "Can China rise peacefully" (2013) and "Why China cannot rise peacefully" (2012), essentially the same speech lectured at different time and place. You can hear he said in the videos that "America likes to roam into others' backyard but doesn't like others to roam into its backyard." Judged from the way he said it, I think he believed that was something natural. There was nothing wrong with it. He might even have been proud of it. Yes. He was and is honest. He has this "hegemon theory" that every great power will act exactly the same way. He gave the examples of the U.S. grabbed lands from Mexico (Texas, California, Nevada, etc.) and believed China would do the same, expanding its territory. He didn't study Chinese history and failed to recognized that the term Chosen had appeared in Chinese book some 2,000 years ago and it's still an independent country today. No Chinese today would dream of annexing Korea. I totally disagree with his mindset in this regard.
He loves saying America has tossed 5 peer competitors on the scrap heap of history and goes on to name the British empire, imperial Germany, nazi germany, imperial Japan, and the USSR. He thinks like an American, someone from a country with 248 years of history. Chinese don’t think like that. We have 2245 years of unified history as of 2024. We know we have outlasted the Roman, the Ottoman, the Spanish, the Dutch the Napoleonic and the British empires. We will outlast the USA. Long after they have fragmented, we will still be THE lasting civilisation. We don’t wish that on anyone, we don’t cause it to happen, we just endure. We have fragmented ourselves, we have even been conquered, but we come back, reform and we endure.
Hi Richard, I accidentally ran across your channel and thank the algorithm that connected me with your site. I concur with your views and would like to add some points. Most educated Chinese learn history and geography, in addition to philosophy, while Western people tend to be ignorant and self centered. I know it’s not political correct to denigrate others, but I am sure your survey would confirm that. Your anecdote of your Finnish friends concurs; for Americans it’s probably 10 times worse. As for Mearsheimer, he is correct on Ukraine, but I am sure you know he considers China as a bigger threat and U.S. and Russia should be allies against China. He is correct that China is a bigger threat, but he neglects the tide of history, in that sense his realism is limited and doomed to failure.
I think this is a recent issue, ruling elite control over major media outlet, including here on CZcams is just too strong. China US issue is very complicated, China has grew too large to be managed under US unipolar world. Countries will naturally gravitate towards China which will automatically weaken US's position as a hegemon. Rough decade ahead
Same (algorithm found me 2vids ago) & professor jeffrey sachs is a betta source of information on how/wen Ukraine started (early 90's then flared in '14 wen Victoria Nuland wz caught (on tape) planning the ovathrough of the Ukrainian government (which came2 pass weeks l8a) Bcause they were neutral. Sidenote: u hold ur age well Richard 👍
100%^100 concur with you on everything you've written. Mearsheimer's take on China strikes me as one with a sound, impregnable, analysis but the conclusion (on China's threat) comes out of nowhere and totally disjointed and incongruous with the entire analysis that came before it. I'd call it bizarre if only it wasn't such a serious matter considering it comes from no less a person than Mearsheimer (who's taken very seriously by a lot of thinking people). I have many Asian friends who unreservedly support his views for the simple fact that he comes across as anti-western imperialism or simply anti-imperialism. But this view that the US's real threat is China is a real curve ball and gives me a great deal of caution in how I look at Mearsheimer. The cynical side of me says that he may in fact be surreptitiously rallying people in the moderate, ambivalent middleground against China. The jury is out. For now, I'm not convinced by him. And I'm not sure Richard has mulled over this topic (of what exactly Mearsheimer's agenda is) long enough.
John Mearsheimer is REALIST in case of Russia if go realist way or rational way YOU get same ANS, but in case of China if go realist way you get one ANS but if go rational way you will get anther ANS that is the problem with John Mearsheimer if I go realist way I can see China doing or behaving in same way as that USA but rational way China can't will not do same.
@@kindfaceI wonder if his conclusion is a kind of right of passage, put forward to appease a certain part of American political class, so as to not get cancelled.
his cold-war, post WWII mil academy background is one of the things that kept him from going full academia like fukuyama and the sorts...look at todays westpoint graduates. they are living in some version of top gun.
One thing i dont like about John Mearsheimer is his promotion of US-China war as if that will solve his country's woes! I am a Filipino and am annoyed of the decades long US provocations of China in South China Sea. And that our present self-preserving leader is entertaining the idea more than his predecessors is more worrying.
John don't really believe things that never happened. And what happened on this planet is 400 years of western imperialism. Hope we human being can find a peaceful path forward.
China is the aggressor in South China Sea, India, and soon against Russia. China is the oppressor in Xinjiang. China is the promoter of debt diplomacy in the Belt and Road. Han Chinese are some of the most racist on earth. Chinese think that if they can disseminate lies, this will make those lies true? CZcams is invaded more and more frequently by this kind of Chinese propaganda, which never contains any facts, just “nobody loves us, you should love us because of Western Imperialism.” Well Western Imperialism has ended. Stop promoting Chinese imperialism which is the only meaning behind the militarized islands in South China Sea. Note how there are no facts presented to justify the opinion that the West is responsible for war in Ukraine. Russia is committing horrible war crimes and destroying Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure. The only important fact is, China has no free internet because public opinion depends on the dissemination of Chinese Communist Party lies. As long as China controls its internet, we can believe absolutely nothing out of China.
Philippines must not be a pawn like Ukraine to fight a proxy war. China last 6 years has helped Philippines economically, putting in money and helping with building infrastructures, which has generated high GDP growth. Japan cannot do what China has done, and these few days summit in US together with Japan will slow the economy. The yearly growth would fall to 5, 4, 3, 1 then negative. China can ask for the 5 billion USD loan, selling the shareholdings of the major conglomerates eg telecoms etc. etc. Money outflow is going to make philippinos facing high inflation and unemployment. Be careful. China disputes with other ASEAN countries on claims in South China seas has minor diplomatic protests but affecting nothing. Philippines aggressive stand and forming alliances against China is unwarranted. US soldier will not die for Philippines, except US will supply arms for philippinos to die.
You have to understand present president has billions $in USA, he has to listen to American. And those army officers have bank accounts in the west??? If so easily to be accused corrupt.
He said nothing new. His view on international politics as an inevitable 'survival of the fittest' is the same conclusion that the German General Staff came to by the end of the 19th century.
May be it's the experience that the US left Vietnam, that he have such bad impression on China. He was may one of the pilots ehom bombed Vietnam with like 388,000 tons of napalm bombs.
Those background facts are important . People like to think they arrive at their intellectual positions through objective analysis of “ facts “, But I find very often there are emotions ( experiences) That came first and then the intellectual justification came after . Organically growing into that emotional environment. It explains a lot of the indefensible bias in most people’s positions
@WindSpiritZ regarding both Ukraine Russia war and US China problems I much prefer the late Stephen Cohen who had been warning the world for a long time and also in my view the most sane American on the planet ,Jeffrey Sachs who lived the fall of the Soviet Union on the inside as an advisor to Russian governments ,but he got out when he realised that the CIA/ Neocons held nothing but hate and contempt for the citizens of Russia, the man had also a huge insight into the workings and governance of China, as I said if JS was on MSM more instead of ex Military MIC grifters we might have a better world
They have to be hawkish towards somebody. Either Russia or China. Or Iran, but that's becoming less popular. Point is they're not the West and don't do what the West wants.
I was born and lived in Serbia but i moved when i was 15 years old in Slovenia (former republic of Yugoslavia) that is in EU. When you look at the map considering geographical distance and common history these 2 countries had in that Yugoslavia project 1945-1991 and also they belonging to same South slavic group (officially) you would think these 2 nations are similar in the way people think and their mentality. But you are wrong. People mentality in Slovenia and values are much closer to Germany or Scandinavian countries then any Balkan country. My take on that is the propaganda and cultural influence central Europe had on them for very long time. Reading Serbian history books for primary and secondary school and then Slovenian history books for that same educational period made me realize propaganda is not just what we currently see in media or hear from other people. The strongest propaganda is how people develop their relationship with anything starting since they were born. Funny thing for me was these 2 different educational schools both Serbia and Slovenia didnt lie. They were both writing the truth most of the time. But in the way that truth was presented was the key. For example any of my friends in Serbia knew every capital city in the Balkans and Europe at the age of 13, they had no choice in Serbia they had to learn this. Also by the end of the primary school my schoolmates in Serbia knew almost as much about the world as they knew about their recent history in Yugoslavia. But in Slovenia at the secondary school half my schoolmates wrote in the exam mistaking Belgrade for capital of Bosnia, and at the end of primary school history book of 250 pages had only last 5 about Yugoslavia, their most recent history and 150 pages about USA and France civil wars. Yeah. Thats why then you can tell lies and shit in media and everyone will believe you here in Slovenia because they know nothing about their southern neighbours and thats how it is with everyone everywhere. Even more so in the west then the rest of the world because they sleep on this narrative "we are the smart ones" and what happens really is they just hyper focus on some subject they really get good at while knowing about the world very little. Also money runs everything so as long as you serve the lobby you will get paid and your books will be printed, but if you dont, well good luck finding publisher. So this is in my opinion how stuff work, you are born somewhere and you get 1 way ticket to the cirkus show. We who travel and live in different places observe it all and figure how stupid and self centered everyone is and all they can observe is that you are arrogant...
hmm interesting reply you gave them. Was traveling around Belgrade and Kotor 2 years ago. I hope there won't be another war in the Balkans. thanks for your reply. hope we can find a peaceful way forward
@@WindSpiritZ I figured no one will read such long comment, but special few. We all hope as our parents hoped war will not come, but yet it did. Because only few take time to read and the rest just ride the wave no matter where it takes. And btw your mission is noble, and yet so impossible.
What makes John Mearsheimer unique is that his thinking is not distorted by any ideology. He has basic common sense and a deep understanding of human nature.
Thank you for taking the time to speak on this (in my language, since I am a typical american and have no others). Trying to understand the world differently from Kansas City USA. Cheers
Hi, Kansas City. I was born in Texas but have spent more than half my 60+ years outside America. In Australian, Japan and Indonesia. I feel so lucky to have been able to see the way others view the USA. Even with all my time outside, I don't think I really ditched the US brainwashing until I finally decided that success does not have to be exclusively defined by career or wealth. Mearsheimer shows the ceiling of American ability to think strategically and is the very definition of why the USA should NOT be in charge of running the world. Keep seeking wisdom and compassion for ALL people on Earth.
It’s a pleasure to find your channel and perspectives on John Mearsheimer’s scholarship and interpretation of the unfolding conflict between Russia and NATO over Ukraine is a great place to start exploring cultural and intellectual bubbles. I am American, born in Washington DC in 1964. My father worked in the Justice Department, Housing & Urban Development and then he was a section chief at The American Enterprise Institute. I was fortunate to go to a public school with excellent teachers. Mrs Hendry was a very insightful history and economics instructor I had in my teens who lived in China in the post-WWII years. She was in Beijing when the capital capitulated to Mao’s forces. Her focus on East Asian Civilization will forever inform me. I was also fortunate as young man to travel and live abroad. More specifically I lived in Berlin Germany both before and after the fall of the Berlin Wall. I lived with Germans, Argentines and Russians there and lived in heavily Turkish and Muslim neighborhoods. I worked with East and West Germans, Americans, Serbs, Croatians, Brits, Dutch, Poles and other mostly European nationalities. I’ve been fortunate to travel in Japan, Vietnam, Thailand, New Zealand, Mexico, Spain, Ireland and the UK. I believe this allowed me some ability to see beyond my own cultural/national circle and consider geopolitical events from varying perspectives. My later degree in History and Political Science helped preserve an ongoing concern for world history and geopolitics and I like to think that I can shift between conventional and unconventional American perspectives on world events, though I know that I am only thinly aware of perspectives from beyond my current circle. All that said, while I agree very closely with professor Mearsheimer’s views on the origin of the war in Ukraine my perspective is not only not shared by the vast majority of Americans whom I interact with or hear from, but it is in fact entirely anathema to them. So crushing is the narrative of Russian irrationality, Putin as the second Hitler and the benevolence and needed expansion of NATO and the EU as well as the narrative of post 2013 Ukraine as a brilliant light of freedom and democracy that suggesting at any point a more skeptical view casts one as being of deeply suspect intellect, sanity or loyalty. There are pockets on the margins of the American left and right that are willing to engage more tendentiously with the subject, but the uniformity and enormity of intellectual convention in the states is beyond the norm for most any conflict in my lifetime save our backing of the Mujahideen in Afghanistan during the Soviet presence throughout the 1980s. There was backing for NATO intervention in Yugoslavia, but not so vehemently and dedicatedly. My perspective on why this near absolutism of American opinion is in place is also intensely rejected by the vast majority of my peers. It is all very stultifying and offers primarily only alienation from friends and family to venture any real difference of opinion.
Thank you for your long reply and sharing your personal experience. I watched a Taiwan philosophy professor's podcast several months ago. He said in his 20+ years of teaching master degree political philosophy class, only about 10% of his students are capable of forming their own perseptive through constructive logical thinking. Most of the students just nod to whatever he says or written in the book. These are not random people walking down the street he refer to, we would expect higher % from students who decide to sit through a subject like that 🤣. My point is that me and you can probably sit down through multi dinners and discuss sensitive topics long into the evenings, but most others will just finish eating and leave, or just sit there swipping tiktok. Rough time ahead of us.😕
It can be very issue-specific I believe. There are many friends of mine who are traveled and compassionate people with the ability to have great empathy of others and who do not carry an impenetrable surety of their own national or cultural take on other cultures and people, but While they are open to data and new analysis on some subjects they are quite closed to new insights on other issues. Countering larger narrative sweeps is most daunting.
Agree. If you have a bit of time, would you mind commenting on the Chinese Economist video I put up on my channel. I mention the term financial harvesting, and I'm not able to find a single person in real life who understand what it means here in US or in Europe. But among Chinese today, it is very popular narrative. And we see that as the biggest driving factor of US aggression around the world. @@Clarkchapin
I was most interested to hear your perspective on the world. In fact, I saved this whole Awakening video to listen to again and refect on how I must be careful not to get attached to my own perspective.
Thank you for your support. Never used a camera or edited a video in my life. Spoke in front of thousands of people in real life but still feel weird speaking to a camera...
I'm afraid that Mearsheimer's methodology applies more appropriately to European cultures than Asian. He has a generalized world view generated by centuries of European imperialism and so called "statecraft" which led to two world wars, which he applies to all cultures universally. He believes this is "human nature." Not surprising coming from the University of Chicago. Therefore, his position on Ukraine and Russia is based on what he calls "realism," but is really Machiavellianism. The struggle for hegemony is natural and universal and is what drives world history in his view. Thus he believes that the US must be the hegemon in Asia, supporting the view of the US militarist faction that prefers war against China to war against Russia.
However, almost everything he gets involved in is Western. There just is not much reason to deal with the far east considering how little really has happened there. I am not sure that his thoughts do not also apply to Japan which has had a long history of Imperialism. What are your thoughts on Japan. Chinese mindset seems to be heavily influenced by Confucianism. In many respects the Chinese operate very much as Mearsheimer would recommend, and this seems to go along with Sun Tsu. Think Sun Tsu would very much agree with Mearsheimer.
He's at least not infected with the sort of Orientalism towards Russia that most of these professors or whatever are. Which is refreshing. But if he advocates empire and hegemony over multipolarism and an evolution of human society then he has understood nothing.
In what way has japan had a long history of imperialism? Their imperialism only happened as a result of industrialisation and playing catch up with the europeans. They learnt the European way of thinking as an existenial response to commodore perry sailed up and demanded trade or war. Japan has a long history of isolationism not imperialism. If you think Japan has a long history of imperialism you probably haven't been here or studied the history.
Hi. I accidentally watched one of your videos and got interested. Then I watched this video and let me share where I stand on Mearsheimer. I’m Russian but I lived in US for 7 years 2003 - 2010. When war with Ukraine started I was in total shock. I didn’t even know that something like that was happening because I didn’t watch the news. My personal life was more of an interest to me. But when it all happened I became stressed and maybe a little depressed even. I was against it. But then when emotions died down a little I started asking questions like what was the reason for invasion. I’ve read a lot I’ve watch a lot and one of the guys I watched was Mearsheimer. I watched several his lectures. And to me he sounds logical on Russia vs Ukraine war. I’m not sure about his opinion on China as a big threat to the US though. It was very interesting to get to know opinion on this conflict from Chinese people. I thought it would be different. I’m glad that Chinese see it this way. Keep it up I think we need a sort of bridge between these different perspectives. Thank you
Yeah all that stuff happened with me too, I'm also Russian and live in Russia. Mearsheimer - Smearsheimer. Don't let anyone drive a wedge between Russia and its allies with soothing words.
Haha, YT algorithm is surfing your video up quite well. Your views are in the minority in the West. John Mearsheimer is a Western scholar who is a patriot of his country. His opinion on Ukraine and geopolitics is, pragmatically speaking, accurate, as we can clearly see. But make no mistake, he is a pro-American scholar. That is why his opinion on that China, rather than Russia, is the bigger threat to the US hegemony. As an American, naturally John Mearsheimer favors his own country and its ideologies. His advice to American politicians are to not spend time and resources on the lesser important matters, such as the Ukraine war, but rather to focus on the more important task, competing with China. By the way, I find that the educated people in China are the most unbiased in the world. Perhaps it has something to do with that the Chinese society is science driven vs religion or ideology driven, and the State media is just plain reporting facts, not an ounce of entertainment, it's as boring as hell. Lol.
Well at least John is honest about it, and not sugar coating it with democracy or freedom. I think there's alot of people who know China better than I do, they just can't speak English. Let's see if I can learn more from them and share on this channel
@@WindSpiritZ I completely agree. His honesty is much appreciated and needed. Misunderstanding is dangerous and sharing your experience here is very important if we want to keep peace. I appreciate your videos.🙏
Mearsheimer is NOT arguing to compete with China. He agrees with CONTAINING China. Since the US is unable and unwilling to invest in trade and political competition, it's strategy is to halt and reverse China's growth by any means necessary, including military threats and encroachment, sanctions, technology ban, directed tariffs, threat propaganda, terrorism against Chinese projects, regime change Chinese trade partners. China is managing all these attacks. The US will violate the One China policy to cross China's final red line which will spark direct military confrontation. Mearsheimer knows all of this and said this should be done for the US to maintain global hegemony.
@@WindSpiritZ Finland is only geographically eastern europe. But it has the mentality of the west, so when speaking politically you should consider it "western" europe.
@@chickenlover657 Russia (or USSR) has never invaded Western Europe, whereas Finland through out its history has been invaded, fought and lost territory to Russia/USSR as recent as WW2. So I can understand this Finnish psyche awakened to a nightmarish act by Russian to its neighbor, again.
@@crtteng That's a gross simplification. Anyway, the nordics are a breed of their own. They certainly do not fit into the classic "eastern european" mind set.
@@chickenlover657 what I’m saying: Finn’s reaction has nothing to do w/ Western European mindset; it has everything to do with its own history of repeatedly fending off Russian/USSR aggression throughout Finland’s history.
He is most definitely NOT an exceptionalist, he is a realist, he just points out Russia is not a peer adversary to the US, but china is, russia is mostly formidable in their military capacity but China is a formidable adversary in the technological industrial world and the US is stil hegemonic in their culture penetration, their language, etc. that is what great powers do, Exceptionalists believe the USA is the indispensable nation, they are choosen by god to help the world achieve democracy and the alike, Prof. John Mearsheimer never said anything remotely like this, that is deeply moralistic language, prof mearsheimer operates more in the philosophy of realism and materialism i think
I agree. The phrase “American Exceptionalist” does not include positive or negative. Even when he thinks American is bad he think America is exceptionally bad. And his fans ignore the fact “American Exceptionalist” does not include the positive/negative aspect and shout he is not.
I think the difference in cultures can explain the difference in opinion between Chinese and Europeans. Chinese are taught (perhaps by Confucius) to respect others and don't do unto others what you don't want done unto you. While the Europeans like the Americans, have the mindset that every individual is free to do whatever they want, in other words, very passionate in individualism. The latter believes NATO and Ukraine can do whatever they want without considering how the Russians feel. I'm a Malaysian Chinese btw. 😂
good thinking. I don't think individuals think all that much to begin with, media narrative teaches them how to think. thanks for watching. may we find peace forward
Mearsheimer is well known and respected in China. He has travelled there. He explained why he believes he is so well liked in China despite being a self-described China-Hawk. Chinese people appreciate 2 things about him. First, he speaks honestly about the US, its faults and its motivations. Second, he takes China seriously. People have short memories and forget how unusual this used to be. Nowadays, everyone likes to talk about the China threat, but forget that before 2016, everyone was talking about the imminent collapse of China. Famously the Economist was known to publish an article every year predicting the collapse of the Chinese economy. The focus among experts was to predict the collapse so they could deal with the fallout, so every issue was looked at with the question "how will this cause China's collapse?" The one child policy, adoption of the internet, a growing middle class, air pollution, overbuilding infrastructure, corruption, hollywood movies, the list goes on. Everything was supposed to cause collapse, and if anyone said that China was gaining strength at a rapid pace and needed to be thought about seriously, they were called a "Panda Hugger"
He's a Western supremacist and the only difference between him and the others is one of strategy. The rest of them want to crush Russia, whereas Mearsheimer would prefer detente with Russia and to thus deal with China in isolation.
@@simonschneider5913 you must have not been paying attention. He's been advocating that Russia was always just an unnecessary distraction, when China is the true threat to American hegemony, so USA should more logically and immediately switch its focus to take China down in all ways, while it still can. It's the core of his argument regarding Great Power real politics. He also believes in the inevitability of the thucydides trap
@@Blinky.Catttt i listen to him regularly and i think he never made that point as his own opinion, but rather described one faction of US foreign policy. the thucydides trap has been sprung already. in the red sea. and its not just the US thats stuck in it. so is western europe, even more so id argue.
Hi - glad to have found this channel. I live in Australia and China gets a bad rap here - through the media and our 'deputy Dan' role that we play re the US. I follow some English speaking people who live in China - for balance - now glad to have your perspective too re the West - really the US/UK. I have a high regard for Prof John Mearsheimer as a man who explains the geopolitical powerplays between the dominant powers - East West - North South. I am not enamoured of the belligerence expressed by the Western powers as they find themselves uncertain of their uni polar hegemony enjoyed since the fall of the USSR. I am impressed by the return of China to being an increasingly powerful presence on the world stage - particularly given the trials off the last century and more. I look forward to listening to more of your videos.
I think in order to think critically about something you need to know history, even your own, because it gives context. In order to think critically you have to step back and look at the situation from an onlooker not a participant. In order to think critically you have to be able to identify others opinions from facts from popular narratives in the form of propaganda. If you ask 100 Cubans, from their experience suffering extreme economic hardships, they will tell you Communism is the sole reason for their poverty, not the more than half century of US economic blockade. Just because someone lives through something doesn’t necessarily mean they understand why it’s happening. Propaganda is a powerful tool. That’s why it’s a discipline in and of itself.
Iran was a secular, democratic country too, until the UK and US overthrew its government and installed a brutal dictator in order to control Iran's oil. After the Iranian revolution, US sanctions against Iran and war using Iraq could not put Iran on its knees. With Russian and Chinese partners, Iran will break its chains from the Empire.
@@Pythoner A.Mercouris is one of the best out there at the moment! and brian berletic! and they are very close to mearsheimer in their views. i dont get where mearsheimer is supposed to have said all this nonsense..?
I am a finn and because my father was leftish we had positive attitude towards SU during cold war and i visited SU first time when i was some 11 years old :) and many times since, because it was and is facinanting, hearthful place. The world changed when you crossed the border and i never had any bad experiences there. When the war started 2/2022, i knew that there must be some understandable reason behind it because i knew russians are peaceful people and they would not go to war in vain. So i started to find out what it is all about. I read and watched videos as you. I found out that it was "understandable", even many western high-ranking officials and politicians had warned about taking nato to Ukraine as you know. But most of finns didn't have that need (and time) to find out what that war was all about. They were prejudiced towards Russia even before the war and MSM war propaganda was enough for them. I am happy on the day the peace comes. I couldn't have guessed how strong prejudices might be even today and how ready people are to judge strongly even though they know so little about the subject.
It's important to be vigilant and aware of your bigger neighbour, but it is also necessary to stay rational and inform. Best luck to the FInnish people. Thanks for watching! May we find peace forward.
"russians are peaceful people" - the people maybe like every where else, but explain why these peaceful people invaded Finland during the Russian-Finnish war?
@@igorgitelstain8621 I do not know what do you mean with this Ru-Fi war? There would not be have been war between Russia and Finland, if there would not have been Hitler. Hitler was the problem, not Soviet Union.
From your point of view, the USSR wasn't the aggressor. Finland turned to Hitler because he was the real power that could support them against Russia. It wasn't a war between Hitler and Stalin. It was war of Russia against Finland.
I'm a Finnish person and still live here in Finland. I agree with Mearsheimer's analysis although scholars like Michael Hudson and Radhika Desai have an even better analysis IMO. However in Finland only like 6 percent of the population think about this conflict in this way i.e. a US proxy war against Russia using Ukraine to bleed and weaken Russia, to try to achieve regime change in Russia etc. (also a US war against Europe to separate Europe from Russia, to separate German technological power from Russian natural resources, specifically Russian natural gas; to vassallize Europe and a war against China to sabotage China's BRI project that would have gone through Ukraine to Europe). Thinking in Finland and much of Europe is so out of touch with reality that I have decided to move out of Finland as soon as possible (unfortunately will be few more years that I can do that). Finland used to be a great country with a smart foreign policy. Nato membership, the bilateral defence and cooperation agreement with the US as well as sanctions against Russia, closing the border with Russia and ending diplomacy are a disaster for us - worst case scenario is war, but even best case scenario is that our economy will be in terrible condition for a long time thanks to these policies. China, Russia and the Global South are rising, BRICS is rising and Finland - a country that was neutral during the cold war - has decided to be on the losing side of the dying and declining US empire and western hegemony. Makes no sense, but it is how it is...
As a Swede, I find that very odd. It would be interesting to know how the Finish people could miss the NATO maneuvering for war against Russia over two decades. I noticed that long before the 2014 coup, and have followed the events in real time. I didn't need Mearsheimer's video to know what's happening in Ukraine. And he's not any favorite of mine. Too much US hegemonic for me, perhaps. But I'm only cursory aquinted with his videos. In my view, and that of Sweden before the relentless war propaganda, Russia wanted peacefull business relations with the EU before NATO became too aggressive. Both Sweden and Finland seems to have lost their minds now! That have now been made impossible!
@@WindSpiritZ I have been working in tech in many fields,it’s not the equipment,some people just can’t handle more then one thing at a time. I see and hear your ☯️
I totaly agree with you. I as Russian who was born and lived majority of my life in Kiev, can see all this situation from inside. People here just decided to join western civilization project, thinking it is the best stake. After making the decision everything else lost the matter. It is very convinient just to by a ticket, sit in chair and trust driver instead of being pathfinder himself. About the perception of this war in Europe. Keep in mind that in European culture lies (even to themself) is not good or bad. It is just a tool. Yes, they believe in honour but only when they interact with humans. But deeply in their subcoucion they do not consider rival civilizations as humans. I had period in my life when I traveled a lot aroud the world by my job. When I worked two months in Viena I have met one guy whose family move from Iran after the muslim revolution. He attended French school, now he study in Austrian university. We set and talked about modern history for two or three hours and have found that or view is almost identical. But when I tried to talk in same manner with native europeans, (maybe except of Irishs) they built a mind wall between us, protecting official western opinion.It is all because they truly belive that West will manage globalization and mount the world to rule. All they have to do - support the concept and gain benefits from it. About potential Chinese invasion into Russia from western prospective: they measure China in their standards of logic. I mean if they were Chines elite class they would consider such invasion because flourish of western world is based on piracy as a concept of success. Avoiding invasion to Taiwan shows to the world attitude of China to war in whole. But world refuses to see that. Thank you for sharing your thoughts. I am very interesting in what Chinise people think, but unfortunatelly I do not know the language. Maybe yet :)
thank you for your in depth reply. I love Austria, spent a few weeks there, Graz Vienna Salzburg. This is a big moment in human history, hard to see what the outcome will be. I hope you enjoy my other videos as well.
I heard your video and it made me remember of a Finnish guy I know, who generally sounded to me (before) as sane of mind, who went completely nuts on that issue. I was asking him, what do Finland and Sweden have to gain by losing their neutral positions? Why do you have to expand a conflict that from day one appeared to be super dangerous for the entire Europe, avoidable and stoppable, precisely by going back to the Minsk agreements, that were about Ukrainian neutrality and the autonomy of Donbass regions, through the Istambul talks in March 2022, whose ratification would have saved hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians, kept Ukraine intact rather than the amass of ruins it has become, and avoid European recession, inflation, and economic and social crisis? I'm not Chinese but I think most people in the West are ill- or uninformed, and careless, which makes them pretty stupid; and many are still into this European ideology supposing that, despite all the disasters and injustice created by Europeans and their Amerivan offspring through the last centuries, we still would be superior and more civilized than the rest of the world. Which also led to the disaster in the Middle East. Finally the rest of the people (the sane of mind and better informed ones) just want to avoid the war; but many are afraid to do anything because they felt the direction the wind was and is blowing. Mearsheimer in this regard did his best to alert and diminish the pervasive suicidal stupidity of the collective West
I think there's alot of media distortion and bias. It is diffiuclt for me or anyone to know exactly how the rest of the world think. I try to be as truthful and honest as I can on my channel, even if it means to step on someone's toes. Thanks for watching! May we find peace together forward
Watching your video the first time. Excited to watch more of your content. I’m a Chinese (Or Taiwanese depending on your political spectrum) American myself and the goal of your channel to step out of our own circle really resonates for someone who grew up Chinese and spent most of his adult life in the US
It is typically believed in Eastern Europe that if the US had not expanded NATO into eastern Europe, Russia would still want to annex and conquer their countries back anyway once it recovered from the collapse of the Soviet Union, so they tend to be grateful for the US influence in the region, which they view as vastly preferable. In fact there is probably no more pro-USA region on earth than Eastern Europe, at least in some of the countries there. This is why almost every country in that region very strongly tried to join NATO, including now even formally neutral countries like Finland and Sweden. I am not surprised that Russia views this development unfavorably, or that they were not willing to tolerate it in the case of Ukraine, the largest and most similar of the former Soviet States which has been part of the Russian political entity for most of the last several centuries. However in western countries for the most part it is believed that Russia is fully to blame and is acting immorally and unreasonably. I do not think that it is likely that a return to business as usual between Russia and the west is likely to occur for decades at the least at this point.
It would be excellent to bring on experts from China and translate in English for us ! A Chinese perspective is what’s lacking in the discussion! Everyone looks at the western mindset and narrative as the correct version we need more debate and a different perspective!
There's a ton of videos here on YT of Chinese experts and scholars, that are translated to English, or interviewed in English. Eric Li is one of many great listens.
The real discussion would be if you bring in experts from everywhere else other than Russia, China and the USA because according to Mearsheimer only those three countries matter and everyone else is supposed to live in servitude to them.
What a beautiful, clear presentation of perspective on the world view. You are totally accurate in your logical approach. Thank you for sharing. I have been an avid listener of J. Mearsheimer and see him as being very brave to share his views.
Beware of guy that speaks half truth. That's what John is. Very often I caught him narrates western narratives without telling the whole picture. When he spoke about Taiwan, he totally left out the treaty signed and one-China policy voted and recognized by UN.
One China policy is interpreted differently by CCP, Taiwan and the rest of the world, that’s what the UN recognized. Try invading Taiwan and see what the UN will say. Talk is cheap. Get out ur red passport before trying to get into Taiwan and u’ll find its not the same country. The CCP would have to take it by force if you think otherwise, because no one outside of China agrees with you, and Taiwan just voted the most anti-unity president in, and that’s fact.
Richard I love your content & hope you pursue the more philosophical side of your investigation more fully. Peculiarly it is even more difficult for us Westerners to communicate with people adhering to mainstream opinion than it is for you (at lest they will accept that you are a foreigner & entitled to different information). The breakdown in the culture of debate is probably more severe here than anywhere else! Please keep posting.
Mesh thinks that every modern government are ruthless as US, forgetting that China is one of the oldest civilization in the world influenced by Confucius teachings till in this modern era. Suggest him to study history of Chinese civilization and how China policies are align with Confucius teachings.
I agreed mostly. But China ceased productive innovation culturally due to an overemphasis on Confucius in my observations. However it’s clear the changes they have observed put them in a position to dominate the future. Whether it’s enough to deal the fastest aging population in history will require impressive progress in ai and productivity. But they seem to be on the cusp. With no nation in position to challenge their industrial might in the near future, it is clearly possible. But outside observers while impressed with much, still are confused that the amount of ghost cities built was so large. Perhaps it was needed for employment realities not obvious from afar.
@@johnlaing8637 WTF does "productive innovation culturally" mean? I think China is just embracing Confucius more now because of the challenges and stress of a rapidly developing nation. This helps to balance the drive for wealth and power with family and community responsibility instead of destructive mindset of western capitalists. China has lot of problems and lots of plans to address them. They plan and execute long term strategies instead of oscillating between election cycles. While outsiders fail to understand China and think it has peak and face a decline, the CPC knows that they are only at 60% which leaves a lot more growth ahead. With BRICS, there's prosperity to be shared with the non-G7 countries.
@@litesp one of the assumptions was that China could not innovate because it had been a while since they invented anything. Working a civilization back up the supply chain from centuries of poverty is a unique proposition. Their was a belief that the most complex chips could not be achieved without certain other technologies. To be blunt, just like we thought Russia had been beaten down and with sanctions would not be galvanized effectively. We certainly assumed that with out stealing technology the Chinese could not find the creativity not shown in centuries. That is to be innovative in ways that would require a breakthrough only great civilizations produce. Between the cultural revolution and centuries of poverty, the thought was it would be easy to keep China down. The behavior of Yellin and Blinken clearly shows the iterations from a different source who doesn’t understand that what they assumed was wrong. This entire macro scheme to continue American hegemony is so clueless, it is clearly being done by someone who is sociopathic and in incapable of empathy. Both Yellin and Blinken cannot be as comedically clueless as the threats they gave. Biden is capable of being an amazing idiot, but the reactions to the plans failures and the words his Secretary of treasury and State uttered are those of a tyrant unfamiliar, uncaring and ignorant of the idea for a need for adjustment when facing a complete defeat. Much like Mike Tyson biting off an ear, the idea that humility is required and that a defeat might need to be absorbed is mentally unimaginable. It’s such a mammoth undertaking as well, that steering the ship and reversing course and admitting your wrong is an impossibility. Like Hitler saying, “ok. It’s off WWII is off. Russia killed most of my army and this was a bad idea. Sorry. I’ll hold and give France back”
China is the only great empire that didn’t continue expansion for expansions sake when easy. When that occurred it had been a while. Spiritually and philosophically it’s easy to see why China would do prove capable of bucking the idea. But Realism believes great powers expand because they fear other great powers, China is expanding, they just realize Americas financial capitalism is destructive and that to do a Flash Gordon strategy is simply wiser. (Unite the planet’s people against the tyrant with respect for others and a shared interest in the planet)
At the beginning of the war Finland signed a 281 billion contract with the USA to supply LNG to Finland, and renting Finland ,s offshore storage facility which is one of the largest in the world. Also the US will pay 128 million rent per year for the offshore storage, it was in Finland national interest to join NATO for their GDP. John tells the truth about the situation. We in the west have lost our nationality, culture and spirituality in the pursuit of money. Looking from Ireland I see how China and Russia in their revolutions have come through modernity, the west hasn't yet. Great analysis, thanks.
The truth is akin to a diamond, with myriad facets, each representing a different perspective. The challenge arises when individuals mistake their own facet for the entirety of the diamond. It’s not about being right; rather, it’s about collectively pursuing truth, recognizing that we need one another to gain a comprehensive understanding. An allegory from the Indian Vedas vividly illustrates this point: six blind men encountering an elephant. Each one, based on their limited perspective, describes the elephant differently-one feels the tail and perceives it as a rope, another touches a leg and sees it as a tree, and so forth. This allegory underscores the importance of humility and collaboration in our search for truth. By acknowledging our limitations and embracing diverse perspectives, we can strive towards a more holistic understanding of reality. In a world where truth is often obscured by individual biases and partial viewpoints, fostering open dialogue and mutual respect is essential for navigating the complexities of our shared existence.
As a Brazilian who wasted all his teenage years in New Jersey, I have to admit it is still nearly impossible to understand wtf is happening, and is quite a shock to hear what you confirmed with your European acquaintances, morever, I nearly fell off the chair with the "Chinese mobilization" theory. I mean, my personal experience in one of their high school was to erudition what 8 clowns in a tiny car is to serious discourse, but I guess I still imagined a portion of the well-to-do were shielded from it. In a similar vein, I must add that many Brazilians have unshakeable faith that the USA will somehow be able to work some miracle, and it never really occurs to them to ask if such a miracle is for good or for ill. I'll go on a limb here and say that most South Americans accept moronic American interventions in their own countries just as a force of nature, and will only stir much grumblings when GDP deletion reaches around 50%. At least for me, it is a glimmer of hope that the Chinese seem to prefer fundamentals over faith-based over-financialization. May whatever force there be take pity on us who wants our species to continue without a masssive die-off.
very insightful reply, hope you enjoy my other videos as well and find something useful in them. Wish South America the best. Thank you for watching! May we find peace forward.
Your exactly right. John Mearsheimer is a wonderful lovely person. He is very empathetic and looks at the world from different peoples point of view. We do need many more people like him and they are the ones that can bring peace to the world if they were given the chance. The very troubling truth though is that those in power have other things going on. The world is corrupted by a lust for power and riches and a paranoia of being taken over and being replaced.
Perceptive, insightful and very interestingly related. Well done young man. Keep up the good work. Do cover how the West views China and how Chinese view China and the West and an interesting twist would be how Taiwanese and Hongkongers view China and other way round also. So much of noise, propaganda and misunderstandings around this topic of China.
Thank you my friend, will try to do my best. China and the west need to work with each other, not against. Please feel free to leave comments, suggestions and questions in my videos, will try my best to answer them.
Hi, Richard. You have a good channel. I'm from Russia. I would like to know more about China and its political structure. Even in Russian there is very little good information about this. What channels or resources would you recommend?
Hmm... if you go to this video: czcams.com/video/6yK6P4jtEJY/video.html there's some suggestions in the comment section. Thanks watching! May we find peace forward.
Finland has a lot of cultural trauma regarding Russia which is easily triggered during regional conflict. Finland appealed to the US and Europe for help fighting Stalin when they were attacked before WWII, and were refused. As a result, Finland created a limited agreement with Hitler for support, and Finland actually beat back Russia. Finland has much in common with local Russians and even some business ventures across the border, but when a conflict between Europe and Russia seems to be escalating, Finland is desperately afraid of becoming part of Russia.
Realists like to explain their analyses are based on geopolitical configurations, or what they called structural analyses. As such the weakness of the realists is in their ignoring cultural differences and also ignoring historical records. Thus they would discount entirely the chinese lack of colonial ambition and records. Likewise, they will entirely discount Chinese philosophy on state crafts, be it the Confucian School, or the Legalist School. They will thus grossly misjudge China or any other civilizations. Samuel Huntington’s Clash of Civilizations will thus be highly likely due to the western centric and realist perspectives.
100% agreed. Viewing China as a threat from a western lens - because we and our allies (Britain, France, Germany, Spain) were/are aggressive imperialists, China must be too.
Thank you, Richard. I'm glad that you appeared in my CZcams recommendations. The idea of China's invasion of Russia in 2023 - beyond understanding. Are these people aware of what nuclear weapons are? Unfortunately a lot of people in Russia think about China as a threat, really projecting their own ideology to China. Fortunately enough I had a course (it was optional social course in technical university) in my university about China as civilization. And I realized that it's really different civilization and which expanded through economical and cultural ties rather than through a war (unlike all European countries and the USA). I still know very little about chinese civilization and have never been there though I now understand that I should. I enjoyed a lot your idea about that to judge, to understand somebody you have to be in their shoes - I think that even living in the same country is not always enough (if it's about domestic issues, e.g. there is always a difference between capital and province). You need to get through 1990s in Russia to understand while majority supports Putin. I think in China you went through similar things. Also when people talk about Russian imperalism they need to know... and not just know, you need to feel that what happened in WWII, what was the price which soviet people paid to defeat nazism. And it was not the first time we were attacked by europeans. It's true that Russian empire was basically empire and attempted to conquer neighbours, but it's not true that it was absolutely the same with the soviet union. Again, you need to know that a lot of former USSR republics became who they became during USSR period, I mean factroies, schools, universities were built at that time, local leaders were ruling these territories. Now in Georgia and Ukraine there are musems of "USSR occupation", while Stalin was ethnic georgian, Khrushev was born in Ukraine.. There are so many nuances which people don't understand, don't bother themselves to understand. Finally, people have to undestand that it's not necessarily to formally declare war and shoot to effectively kill people and make them suffer. When chinese (formerly) or now vietnamise or bangladesh of african people work for 1$ /day while corporations took enormous surpluses from that - it's also a crime, in my opinion. Anyway thank you for your effort and would be glad to talk to you more on amy of these subjects.
thank you for watching my video. I need to be very careful of what I say in my channel here as YT is known for being picky lately. In majority of the western world, espeically in Eastern Europe, it is consider inacceptable to have a fair discussion regarding the ongoing event, similar to war time media censorship. I will love to have someone like you to comment on my future video on different topics. Love to receive alternative opinions. Again thank you for your in-depth reply.
@@WindSpiritZ I see that in comments section you're a little bit more radical than in videos themselves. Interesting to know - why do you prefer to live in the US and not in China? Asking without any sarcasm or offence.
How refreshing to hear your intelligent analysis.I also appreciate I Meirsheimers discourse..British people mostly only listen to the mainstream medis.The cost of living crisis is affecting most of the population. They don't have time to worry about global politics. The balance of power is shifting .USA and the West are in decline.Keep going please.We need to hear more Chinese voices.
Thank for this video. I like your style, which quite shows Chinese culture and attitude, as far as I can tell with my limited experience. I also like the commentators around here, the circles definitely overlap with mine 😉.
I suggest to watch his more recent interview by Lex Fridman. Mearsheimer is an academic scholar but his loyalty and bias remains in favour of the U$ and western dominance. Sach's is another distinguished scholar more well travelled than Mearsheimer, embraces other cultures and offers more rational insights.
@@WindSpiritZ I disagree. It’s not ok to be biased and hypocritical. (Ok for me but not for thee. Ok for me, the western world to develop but not for you Chinese, how dare you.) Mearsheimer says what he says about China based on projection. He looks at them through western eyes and clearly tinged with racist intolerance.
WindSpiritZ, you are a very wise young man. How did you become so humble and objective? Yes, objectively considering another persons ideas is VERY rare. As for John, well he did predict the events that are happing. Years before they occurred. That does not necessarily mean that he truly understands the reasons for them. But, it is evidence that he does. Now, he also predicts that Ukraine cannot win. We will see. Unfortunately, it will not answer the question: “Who is at fault?”
I had predicted conflict in Middle-East when Putin decided to go semi-mobilization after Ukraine Kharkiv counteroffensive> And to me it had become a certainty when China repaired relationship between Iran and Saudi. Things are heating up very fast around China as well, if Yellen is still unable to convenience China to purchase US bond, the chance of war around South China Sea will increase dramatically as well. I have a set of theories, mainly build around the global monetary system, to predict global conflict and future. Things are not looking good, and I will try my best to explain my thoughts in my channel.
@@WindSpiritZ Regarding the risk of war is South China Sea, I think the risk is very low. The bickering party in SCS is only China and Philippines disputing some random island. My understanding (someone correct me if Im wrong), only Philippines elite and military lean toward USA. Other Filipino are neutral or dislike USA. ASEAN will not back Philippines to fight over the island. Bear in mind, there is no war in SE Asia in last 40 years. Its not because we are lucky. Its because of ASEAN leaders working behind the scene.
hey man! i am a norwegian (of chinese - indnoesian dwcent ) but i had the same experience here. but me i am curious about what chinese think.. Where can i find chineses news in english? i am so curious because off course the west now wnat to make china the next enemy.. if you by chance read this give me a comment back bro!!!
2 points about Mearshimer. Forget realist, he’s a con artist using rhetorical tricks to fool people. 1. Instead of the mainstream practice to portray the US as the good guy, Mearshimer tells the US is a badass. 2. But he also insist that every one else is the same. Therefore China must desire to take over the US empire and dominate the world. The US is entitled to do everything to stop China’s rise, however despicable it maybe, including war. Actually these positions must be very close to those of US hawks and generals. Like Pompeo said in CIA training session: we lie we cheat we steal, we have a whole training course for them. Mearshimer is popular being pushed by socialism media algorithms because he is helping the military business big time. There is good chance they are paying him good money. The debate of Mearshimer and Mahbubani 3 years ago is a good reference. Mearshimer is no longer invited to CGTN talks.
Thanks of your input. I think he actually thinks that way, not pretending. On China hmmm.... I don't blame him, 400 years of Western centric world, it is easy to think that's the only way in this world.
Meirsheimer being a realist means he says it as he sees and he may agree or not agree with it but that's the reality (as he sees it). you are misunderstanding his point, his personal preference does not have to do with anything he says, it has all to do the reality as he sees it. 1 & 2. About the US, he may or may not agree with the US government is not the point but the way he sees it, the reality is the US is the hegemony right now and the US will do anything to preserve it, and...the greatest threat to the US hegemony is China. It doesn't matter if China really has any intention of supplanting the US, but the US considers China as its greatest threat. PERIOD.
Kind of. But his ideas are based on game theory. The basic premisis: you can't trust the other person. If one side escalates the other has to follow as the side that deescalte will lose as the other wide will continue to escalate. Look up "escalation" phenomenon - lol - Mahbubani approach is to look at the siutation rationally and for the mutual benifit for all which is childish - lol
John is Jewish, one of the elder zion, if you watch his debate in Australia very anti communist. Now for his pocket, he has toned down a bit to accept someother station Interviews
I don't know what you mean by anti communist but Mearsheimer is loved in Russia and China because his philosophy of Polar Powers justifies the autocratic acts of Putin and Xi.
I am very shocked by so many westerners are loving labeling people. I as a Chinese, after heard John meersheimer talking about using N bombs to Chinese military, are still willing to hear what he says, I am confident of myself for not absorbing bullshit part in his speeches, and only learning the educational part from him.
Interesting observations, WindSpiritZ. What I've learnt through my years of observations and learning is that when it comes to humankind, it's complex. Most people can't grasp different viewpoints; maybe it's due to culture, maybe it's due to the education they received, and maybe other factors. I found this video "How you are encouraged to be nasty by western political philosophy" by Thinkers Forum explaining why the west thinks and behaves as it has rather plausible. Happenstances are rarely simply right or wrong cases. There's much to learn. I'll go through your vids slowly as I'm interested in your thoughts.
Thank you. There's this political philosophy professor, teaches philosophy is a master degree class in Taiwan. He once said during a podcast that roughly 10-15% of his students over 20 years time, show the ability of logical thinking and constructive analytical skill towards dissecting a topic/problem, and through that form their own perspective. For a master degree philosophy class, you would thought the percentage will be higher. End up that higher* thinking is not common among us human being.
Funny, I am in Oulu Finland and just watched your video! :) I knew of John Mearsheimer and have watched most if not all of his lectures & speeches that are on CZcams, including his famous video from 2015, predicting how Ukraine would get wrecked if it continued on its path towards Nato membership. I agree with John Mearsheimer's viewpoints. It does make watching news and reading newspapers quite hard, living here. I rarely even try and usually just skim through the headlines. Us joining Nato will be a disaster for us. It will just take its own time to become apparent. :(
oh God, I just can't find a single Finnish I can talk to normally...... it gives me headache. Every Finn i talked to hate alexander stubb, and somehow he became president. Sanna Marin joinning Tony Blair foundation after retirement????????? I'm a lost of word.....
I think that what moves John Mearsheimer is the monetization on youtube and other social media. He is a smart manipulator and excellent demagogue. He says many true things, but adds to them some lies. In a proportion that the left-wing viewers in US will like.
Ridiculous statements. Give me a break ! A demagogue is someone who manipulates people by appealing emotionally to their prejudices. Mearsheimer is the farthest from that kind of person. He is rational, logical in his arguments and is a geopolitics realist. He is anything but manipulative.
John Mearsheimer is one of the wisest political scients in the US. About Finland, they are emotionally involved in Ukraine Russia war because they had terrible war in the past against Russians and Finland lost territory. For me, from South America, Russia was a friends of my country during the infamous decade of US-instigated dictatorships in Latin America
@@WindSpiritZ no dictatorships in South America now. But the US continues its work of destabilizing governments that do not support its foreign policy or its interests.
John Mearsheimer claims Realism as a universal thesis because he's a courtier of the ruling-class. An unambiguous expression of the thesis of Realism would be Thomas Hobbes: “a war of each against all”. It's hard to imagine anyone but a psychopath attempting to construct either a society or international relations on the basis of Realism: a war of each against all.
Dr. Eric X Li speaks English and has very different but equally compelling views about Sino-Western relations than Mearsheimer, both of which I greatly respect. Mearsheimer’s view of great power politics assumes that human nature is universal; hence, all leaders will behave the same. Li simply asks us to look at history and outcomes. China, for example, has been at peace with its neighbors (of which it has eleven immediate ones) for half a century, whereas the West has been in continuous and protracted wars for every one of those 50 years. While human nature may be broadly universal, human cultures clearly are not.
Have you seen the one he lectures Australians about picking a side in Australia. I think that's like 2013 or 2014. If you haven't you should watch that.
Hey Roger, Thanks for the great videos - from post soviet eastern bloc nation here and it is really interesting for us what Chinese people think about the conflict - Chinese support wasn't a given for Russia in this conflict. I think that most post soviet countries can put the pieces together because we all lived through the hundreds of years of Balkanization that took place at the hands of the west here - however I think its hard to understand for Chinese people that alot of us are no longer concerned with the greater good of our people/race/religion/ethnicity and more focused on our individual opportunities. It's kind of like an overcompensation that came about as we tried to integrate into the western markets and become capitalist nations.... but honestly if you look at the statistics it hasn't worked out that way.... alot of eastern Europe gained entry into the EU.... currently however we make less than the average Chinese wage - the lowest wages in Europe. Yugoslavia, Romania and Bulgaria were economic powerhouses during the soviet days - they were quickly developing and actually creating products that were sought after in the west. I was absolutely shocked when this conflict was portrayed as an actual challenge for Russia - people forget history so fast, Russia spent 30 years stockpiling weapons during the cold war - where they were essentially punished for helping less developed nations industrialize, this came packaged with communism but communism is more relevant to the vast majority of the worlds population at that time - and in a way was necessary to centralize the resources of these nations and modernize them after centuries of imperialist exploitation. I have a theory that this Ukraine war essentially boils down to a culture conflict - the globalized multi-ethnic libertarian west vs the ethnically homogenized conservative East. BRICS is in a way a herald of this - My father also watches your videos and when we discussed this the question of Japan came up - I know that Japan, China and Korea have a strained relationship historically with no love lost and territorial disputes/occupations/genocides etc on the record but Japan will have the 3rd largest army by end of 2025, they produce all their equipment domestically and are circumventing the limitations the US imposed on them after WW2. If it were to come to drawing lines in the sand and picking alignment - I think that Japan CULTURALLY has far more in common with the East than with the US and could be a potential member of BRICS if things continue going downhill for the US propaganda machine. Do you think this is possible from the Chinese perspective or is the divide too deep and Japan will either be isolated or lean towards the US as an ally potentially? Thanks for reading! Looking forward to more videos :)
thank you so much for watching and your detail reply. It is good to keep open mind to alternative opinion, we need to find peaceful ways forward, we cannot afford another great war. I will answer your question in another video, I think you have some good thinking there
Thank you very much for your important talk! Definitely, I encourage you to invite Mearsheimer on your show.. with or without a Chinese academic counterpart. Also UN diplomatic advisor, Prof Jeffrey Sachs.. We must conscientiously collaborate against MIC. Your wise initiative is deeply appreciated
Thanks for the video. Before watching your video. I have to constantly remind myself not to fall into my own "awareness bubble". It is actually almost impossible as we probably all have some sort of knee jerk reactions towards information, which we will receive that does not suit our preferred world view. It is a very difficult practice, and yes, I think we at least have to practice this way of thinking constantly to remind ourselves. We are no different.
I'm ukrainian and most time i agree with mr. Mearsheimer. I'm not pro-russian but not pro-NATO and USA, i always saw Ukraine as neutral country and some sort of a bridge between RF and EU. But our incredibly corrupted politicians just sold entire country to US, like cheap PMC. And now we have this endless and hopeless war, thousands and thousands of killed people and ugly dictatorship government. Economics just erased. But i understand why some people in Europe look at Russia as threat. War in Ukraine is brutal and Eastern Europe remember times of Soviet occupation, they fear Putin can try rebuild this system. But i personally don't believe in this. To bad - people in Ukraine is heavily indoctrinated by non-stop propaganda and many of them blinded by hate and anger. I don't see any solution for this situation, my country probably will be destroyed, many people dies and many - and i myself - already refugees. All because of this war, what never must even start. Never ever trust americans. Never.
I'm so sorry about your country. I met many Ukrainians and Russians in Montenegro after the war living peacefully together. Was living next to a whole family of Ukrainians, who drove 9 hours from Kiev. Thanks for watching, may we find a peaceful way forward
@@WindSpiritZ Thank you. Hope for this. But i think my country will have very hard times next years...When i think about how many lives just lost for nothing...it's incredibly stupid.
Fully agree 👍💯 just like my Taiwanese friends believe they must fight China till the end, which i find it so ridiculous to think such. Totally different perspective of thinking 🤔😢
A very interesting video. I would add that just like in every other country (including China) Americans hold very diverse opinions and backgrounds. During this video we're frequently told what percentage of Chinese might hold a particular view and that it's never everyone, that's great. Mearsheimer represents a small fraction of Americans in that he is interested in foreign policy. It's safe to assume most of the viewers of this channel share Mearsheimer's interest. Sadly the Europeans referenced in the video lack the education and experiences that made their grandparents smart and forward thinking. Keep up the good work!
Putting the social circle and world view aside, professor Mearsheimer developed one of the best theories in social sciences so far. Of course it can't explain everything, but it's unmatched in unfolding how great powers think.
Nice presentation Richard. Mearsheimer has done so much to explain events in Ukraine in a clear logical manner. Its great to hear the voice of reason with an American accent. Mearsheimer is a student of history and especially conflict. Your astonishment that many people don't believe or understand him, is just a case of their conditioning and susceptibility to the media. Most people cannot think for themselves.
The people of the Americas (most of whom are Christians), including the USA, have been divided and ruled over by outsiders for centuries. Because it is easier to divide people based on personal differences, than it is to unite them, based on what they have in common. Strategically ambiguous rulers make use of this, for own advantages. In the era of European Imperialism, first Spain and Portugal entered the Americas, employing the divide and rule technique of top-down power, then after 1900 as European colonial powers' influence decreased, the role of divider was simply taken over by Washington DC (the entire world was the playground after around 1900). *Today, it is the globalists who employ imperialist tools to play divide and rule games on their neighbors.* Now the intention is simply to avoid unity in the Americas, in order to rule over the dissent which is classical divide and rule. Today, their leaders are too weak to unite. Endless wars on anything and everything from "drugs" to "terror", constant dissent. Insert levers of lies, mistrust... Create favorites: favoritism... Point the finger, everywhere else... Divide and Rule. Oldest trick in the book... In February 1948, George F. Kennan's Policy Planning Staff said: "[W]e have about 50% of the world's wealth but only 6.3% of its population. ... Our real task in the coming period is to devise a pattern of relationships which will permit us to maintain this position of disparity." [end of] And _that_ is what they did. America's friends and self-proclaimed default rivals in Europe are still being burnt to ensure this disparity continues. *Set up European and Eurasian nations (including the MENA region) against each other.* It is how divide and rule is implemented. The imperialist playbook of Great Britain and the USA for more than 100 years. Read Halford Mackinder (Pivot of History, 1904) and Zbigniew Brzezinski (Grand Chessboard, 1997) regarding Eurasia. Who wields the POWER? Who has had (in all historical cases in the ME/Levant) the GEOGRAPHICAL ADVANTAGE of being able to reach all the other little buck catchers (tools, and other Roman-era style instruments of POWER), but could not be reached itself, because of a geographical-, technological-, organizational-, military-, strategic-, political advantage at any given point of a historical timeline? *War is a great "divider."* It goes straight through the heads of millions and billions of people from the very top tiers, right down to the individual level. War divides alignments and alliances, goes straight through organizations, divides political parties, tears through peace movements and other families of humanity, and finally at the very bottom tier, goes straight through individual hearts and minds as individuals struggle with _themselves._ "Most of the great problems we face are caused by politicians creating solutions to problems they created in the first place." - Walter E. Williams That is what empires have always done. Create the *default rival/enemy.* It is usually the power most likely to succeed which is determined as the *default rival/enemy.* Notice how, as soon as a rival starts mass-producing products high up in the value chain of capitalism, and starts vying for markets, and becomes successful, it *immediately* becomes the systemic rival, and is then geopolitically encircled by the greater empire. It happened around 1900, as Germany started building high-value products, and it happened around 2000, as China started moving away from building cheap toys and labor intensive kitchen appliances... The games start on the home turf. The first victims are their own people.
You made an excellent point of using historical empathy as the basis of political analysis. thought exercises of what a total life experience would be for a person anyplace in the world at any point in history.
This John Mearsheimer video is actually the first video I made. Didn't expect it to get so many views, was trying to figure out editing tools and gears... Thanks for watching!
The Chinese welcomingly invite John Mearsheimer to talk about China-US tension even though John is a strong advocator of US policy pivot towards China as the main rival. John even himself mentioned this in an interview with Lex Fridman and said that he felt Chinese are more rational and willing to listen to his viewpoints from a potentially rival country than Americans from his homeland. This is an interesting part about Chinese opinions about Prof. JM.
I would suggest Brian Berletic of The New Atlas who has a complete understanding of both historical and current relations with China. As an ex Marine fully explains the military implications
When JM speaks of the “China threat” to America, that threat = threat to American Primacy, that’s all. As an American, he acknowledges that he advocates for continued AP. I wish people would explore this bias in a serious way during question and answer sections after his lectures.
@@WindSpiritZ i am a huge fan of JM. I heard him say that he is treated like a rock star in China. Would you be able to point me to some Chinese videos of him in conversation with Chinese experts with the views of experts you highlight in your vids?
Excellent. Stories. Yuval pointed out the importance of stories, and cultures have their own stories that its citizens are enmeshed in. The problem though, is stories, like ‘history’ is a certain perspective. I heard recently, ‘history is not the same as the past’. History is the telling of a series of causal factors that lead up to a point, while the past is a billion events bumping against one another moving things from one state to the next. Chaos. The story teller/historian has to choose the events that from their perspective, lead from A to where ever we are now.
Totally agree. It's great to find your channel! I live in Germany and I listen so many crazy things that I, as a Latina, don't see. And I'm also a Mearsheimer reader. I still don't understand Western thinking. Before the war, I thought that speaking the language and relating to this world made me able to understand it. Now I can say no. I think, adhoc and only in a preliminary way, what is in this thought a set of variables: historical hallucinations, ancient myths, viceral fear of the non-Western world and white supremacism and, without a doubt, great impact of a unique thought. All this forms a uniform and uncritical cocktail.
People don’t get the very fundamentals of Mearsheimer’s perspectives. He is a realist, meaning he tries very hard to be in someone else’s shoes and see from their perspective and think/act accordingly. Ironically, he is “empathic” and not necessarily hawkish. He often recognizes that his perspectives are not necessarily aligned with his morals. Another key point people often miss.
Thanks for your attention. I live in Mexico, understand in full your opinion about people's perspectives. Every change starts by a few. I hope your channel grows exponentially for WE DO NOT WANT A THIRD WORLD WAR .
You obviously have not listened to what JohnM' s view of China and merica, and why one is the enemy of his country. (I am assuming you are a Chinese since you are talking about your father in China. Or you could be merican like JohnM and therefore share his view why it is the enemy?)
Reason I asked was because Finland and Russia had a long history of peaceful coexistence. Regardless of your friends’ sentiments, the situation is, if Putin wants to invade Finland, Russia can probably do it in a week. If your friends think the US will come to Finland’s aid, think again. Kissinger once said it is dangerous to be America’s enemy and fatal to be America’s friend.
Regardless of one’s views of Putin, the fact is Russia is a superpower with nuclear weapons, NATO is losing in Ukraine, good chance US may leave NATO if Trump gets elected. Why would one get onto a sinking ship when neutrality has served you well historically?
Richard , I am very pleased to find you and to listen to your thoughts. I am german , living in Spain now for over 30 years. So I am one of the category who has a certain understanding of spanish and german culture I am 63 now. The standart european brain has a simple mindset. Democracy is good , Dictatorship is bad. I have learned that the world is not as simple as that. The european countries in fact are not democracies , they are oligarchies dressed as democracies. In Europe the only country which leans a bit more to democracy is Switzerland . Money makes the world go round , not some small bits of paper stuffed into a box by everyone who are counted afterwards to make the people believe that they have decided something. For me a system is good or bad not by its label , but by the good or bad decisions the man or group of man at the top make in benefit for the people they are responsible under their rule.
As a Russian, I am often amazed how similar we and the Chinese think, despite our cultures coming from so different places. We really should learn more about each other
may we find peace and prosperity in future. Love RUssia
That's just being based. 😊
@@heinzriemann3213 Well, there is something to it. We live in similar circumstances, scale, responsibilities and relationships between a citizen and the state.
Small European countries on the other hand hardly decide much about their own fate, therefore are prone to detached phantasies.
And Anglo-Saxons have always had a sea-protected piece of land just for themselves, on which they could experiment with whatever social arrangements they could come up with.
@@iMetmor very good points. 🙏
Russia is mostly in Asia and consequently think like an Asian. The recent provocation by the west in Ukraine, clearly is a message to the Russians that they are not considered Europeans. Though a bit propagandistic, I believe that Putin is correct that the Ukrainians are using neo Nazis and they’re elite military force. Hitler learned the hard way that his alleged “Aryan” military was superior to the Russians based upon race. The irony is that the Russians are Eurasian much more European than Turkey.
Mearsheimer remains an American hegemonist. The difference is that he's a hegemonist who's looked reality in the face....
yup tree. at least he's relatively honest
exactly. I don't watch him anymore, just a waste of time for me.
Very true. One of his tricks is to often pretend to be honest or candid, so that audience would tend to be more receptive to his hidden theme. He is a weasel-like extremist.
Well spotted and 100% realist. JM is just as brainwashed as most other Americans - even if he did get he Ukrainian conflict right. He still refers to China as a "threat". Dead giveaway. China is an opportunity, never a threat,
Well said. But I wonder if he thinks a bi- tri- or quad- polar could be better?
John Mearsheimer is correct and just in his anti-war assessment btwn USA/NATO vs Russia but he's dead wrong about his pro-war stance of USA/NATO vs China.
He's at least honest open about it. But I agree with you
To John Russian is his fellow "european" whereas we Chinese are not. And we chinese is the first non-european in say....300-400 years to looked them in the eye and tell them to go get...you know:)
@@Thinkofwhat Oh right, the Japanese Empire wasn't a threat at all, certainly not a threat to China. Right?
he is stuck in the last century. not that i blame him for that considering hia age. and he is honest about his own surroundings. thats more than we could ask from many younger people around here in the west...
He’s thinks Chinese will behave like the Anglo Saxons. But actually the Chinese are not.
Never forget what John Mearsheimer said: "America doesn't like peer competitors."
he's at least being honest
@@WindSpiritZ yup honestly evil
The basic idea of Mearsheimer is "alliance with Russia to contain China", the exact opposite to the U.S. stance in 1972.
He has two video clips titled "Can China rise peacefully" (2013) and "Why China cannot rise peacefully" (2012), essentially the same speech lectured at different time and place. You can hear he said in the videos that "America likes to roam into others' backyard but doesn't like others to roam into its backyard." Judged from the way he said it, I think he believed that was something natural. There was nothing wrong with it. He might even have been proud of it. Yes. He was and is honest.
He has this "hegemon theory" that every great power will act exactly the same way. He gave the examples of the U.S. grabbed lands from Mexico (Texas, California, Nevada, etc.) and believed China would do the same, expanding its territory. He didn't study Chinese history and failed to recognized that the term Chosen had appeared in Chinese book some 2,000 years ago and it's still an independent country today. No Chinese today would dream of annexing Korea. I totally disagree with his mindset in this regard.
@@John-.-Smith111 he's being honest open about it，not sugar coat it with democracy etc
He loves saying America has tossed 5 peer competitors on the scrap heap of history and goes on to name the British empire, imperial Germany, nazi germany, imperial Japan, and the USSR. He thinks like an American, someone from a country with 248 years of history. Chinese don’t think like that. We have 2245 years of unified history as of 2024. We know we have outlasted the Roman, the Ottoman, the Spanish, the Dutch the Napoleonic and the British empires. We will outlast the USA. Long after they have fragmented, we will still be THE lasting civilisation. We don’t wish that on anyone, we don’t cause it to happen, we just endure. We have fragmented ourselves, we have even been conquered, but we come back, reform and we endure.
Hi Richard, I accidentally ran across your channel and thank the algorithm that connected me with your site. I concur with your views and would like to add some points. Most educated Chinese learn history and geography, in addition to philosophy, while Western people tend to be ignorant and self centered. I know it’s not political correct to denigrate others, but I am sure your survey would confirm that. Your anecdote of your Finnish friends concurs; for Americans it’s probably 10 times worse.
As for Mearsheimer, he is correct on Ukraine, but I am sure you know he considers China as a bigger threat and U.S. and Russia should be allies against China. He is correct that China is a bigger threat, but he neglects the tide of history, in that sense his realism is limited and doomed to failure.
I think this is a recent issue, ruling elite control over major media outlet, including here on CZcams is just too strong. China US issue is very complicated, China has grew too large to be managed under US unipolar world. Countries will naturally gravitate towards China which will automatically weaken US's position as a hegemon. Rough decade ahead
Same (algorithm found me 2vids ago) & professor jeffrey sachs is a betta source of information on how/wen Ukraine started (early 90's then flared in '14 wen Victoria Nuland wz caught (on tape) planning the ovathrough of the Ukrainian government (which came2 pass weeks l8a) Bcause they were neutral.
Sidenote: u hold ur age well Richard 👍
100%^100 concur with you on everything you've written.
Mearsheimer's take on China strikes me as one with a sound, impregnable, analysis but the conclusion (on China's threat) comes out of nowhere and totally disjointed and incongruous with the entire analysis that came before it. I'd call it bizarre if only it wasn't such a serious matter considering it comes from no less a person than Mearsheimer (who's taken very seriously by a lot of thinking people). I have many Asian friends who unreservedly support his views for the simple fact that he comes across as anti-western imperialism or simply anti-imperialism. But this view that the US's real threat is China is a real curve ball and gives me a great deal of caution in how I look at Mearsheimer. The cynical side of me says that he may in fact be surreptitiously rallying people in the moderate, ambivalent middleground against China. The jury is out. For now, I'm not convinced by him. And I'm not sure Richard has mulled over this topic (of what exactly Mearsheimer's agenda is) long enough.
John Mearsheimer is REALIST
in case of Russia
if go realist way or rational way YOU get same ANS,
but in case of China
if go realist way you get one ANS
but if go rational way you will get anther ANS
that is the problem with John Mearsheimer
if I go realist way I can see China doing or behaving in same way as that USA
but rational way China can't will not do same.
@@kindfaceI wonder if his conclusion is a kind of right of passage, put forward to appease a certain part of American political class, so as to not get cancelled.
Mearsheimer graduated from West Point (BS), and served in the USAF. This background also plays large role in his hawkish view towards China.
he seems honest with his opinion in most time
@@WindSpiritZadded his military background, because you (unknowingly?) left it out. incomplete set of info could be misleading.
He is over rated.
his cold-war, post WWII mil academy background is one of the things that kept him from going full academia like fukuyama and the sorts...look at todays westpoint graduates. they are living in some version of top gun.
@@9064peterpanPossibly, but he was very accurate in predicting the Ukraine war.
One thing i dont like about John Mearsheimer is his promotion of US-China war as if that will solve his country's woes! I am a Filipino and am annoyed of the decades long US provocations of China in South China Sea. And that our present self-preserving leader is entertaining the idea more than his predecessors is more worrying.
John don't really believe things that never happened. And what happened on this planet is 400 years of western imperialism. Hope we human being can find a peaceful path forward.
China is the aggressor in South China Sea, India, and soon against Russia. China is the oppressor in Xinjiang. China is the promoter of debt diplomacy in the Belt and Road. Han Chinese are some of the most racist on earth. Chinese think that if they can disseminate lies, this will make those lies true? CZcams is invaded more and more frequently by this kind of Chinese propaganda, which never contains any facts, just “nobody loves us, you should love us because of Western Imperialism.” Well Western Imperialism has ended. Stop promoting Chinese imperialism which is the only meaning behind the militarized islands in South China Sea. Note how there are no facts presented to justify the opinion that the West is responsible for war in Ukraine. Russia is committing horrible war crimes and destroying Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure. The only important fact is, China has no free internet because public opinion depends on the dissemination of Chinese Communist Party lies. As long as China controls its internet, we can believe absolutely nothing out of China.
Mabuhay ka
Philippines must not be a pawn like Ukraine to fight a proxy war. China last 6 years has helped Philippines economically, putting in money and helping with building infrastructures, which has generated high GDP growth. Japan cannot do what China has done, and these few days summit in US together with Japan will slow the economy.
The yearly growth would fall to 5, 4, 3, 1 then negative.
China can ask for the 5 billion USD loan, selling the shareholdings of the major conglomerates eg telecoms etc. etc. Money outflow is going to make philippinos facing high inflation and unemployment.
Be careful.
China disputes with other ASEAN countries on claims in South China seas has minor diplomatic protests but affecting nothing.
Philippines aggressive stand and forming alliances against China is unwarranted. US soldier will not die for Philippines, except US will supply arms for philippinos to die.
You have to understand present president has billions $in USA, he has to listen to American. And those army officers have bank accounts in the west??? If so easily to be accused corrupt.
Mearsheimer was also a soldier in Vietnam during the war. His experience informed his view of great power politics
He said nothing new. His view on international politics as an inevitable 'survival of the fittest' is the same conclusion that the German General Staff came to by the end of the 19th century.
thank you for your inform. Was kinda referring to longer than just military deployment. But he could be a sharp one
May be it's the experience that the US left Vietnam, that he have such bad impression on China.
He was may one of the pilots ehom bombed Vietnam with like 388,000 tons of napalm bombs.
Those background facts are important .
People like to think they arrive at their intellectual positions through objective analysis of “ facts “,
But I find very often there are emotions ( experiences)
That came first and then the intellectual justification came after . Organically growing into that emotional environment.
It explains a lot of the indefensible bias in most people’s positions
@@GardenerGeorge very true words right there.
My main problem with Mearsheimer is that he seems hawkish toward china
There's actually logic behind it, maybe in another video
@WindSpiritZ regarding both Ukraine Russia war and US China problems I much prefer the late Stephen Cohen who had been warning the world for a long time and also in my view the most sane American on the planet ,Jeffrey Sachs who lived the fall of the Soviet Union on the inside as an advisor to Russian governments ,but he got out when he realised that the CIA/ Neocons held nothing but hate and contempt for the citizens of Russia, the man had also a huge insight into the workings and governance of China, as I said if JS was on MSM more instead of ex Military MIC grifters we might have a better world
They have to be hawkish towards somebody. Either Russia or China. Or Iran, but that's becoming less popular. Point is they're not the West and don't do what the West wants.
he is an imperialist at heart.
He's a liberal imperialist through and through.
I was born and lived in Serbia but i moved when i was 15 years old in Slovenia (former republic of Yugoslavia) that is in EU. When you look at the map considering geographical distance and common history these 2 countries had in that Yugoslavia project 1945-1991 and also they belonging to same South slavic group (officially) you would think these 2 nations are similar in the way people think and their mentality. But you are wrong. People mentality in Slovenia and values are much closer to Germany or Scandinavian countries then any Balkan country. My take on that is the propaganda and cultural influence central Europe had on them for very long time. Reading Serbian history books for primary and secondary school and then Slovenian history books for that same educational period made me realize propaganda is not just what we currently see in media or hear from other people. The strongest propaganda is how people develop their relationship with anything starting since they were born. Funny thing for me was these 2 different educational schools both Serbia and Slovenia didnt lie. They were both writing the truth most of the time. But in the way that truth was presented was the key. For example any of my friends in Serbia knew every capital city in the Balkans and Europe at the age of 13, they had no choice in Serbia they had to learn this. Also by the end of the primary school my schoolmates in Serbia knew almost as much about the world as they knew about their recent history in Yugoslavia. But in Slovenia at the secondary school half my schoolmates wrote in the exam mistaking Belgrade for capital of Bosnia, and at the end of primary school history book of 250 pages had only last 5 about Yugoslavia, their most recent history and 150 pages about USA and France civil wars. Yeah. Thats why then you can tell lies and shit in media and everyone will believe you here in Slovenia because they know nothing about their southern neighbours and thats how it is with everyone everywhere. Even more so in the west then the rest of the world because they sleep on this narrative "we are the smart ones" and what happens really is they just hyper focus on some subject they really get good at while knowing about the world very little. Also money runs everything so as long as you serve the lobby you will get paid and your books will be printed, but if you dont, well good luck finding publisher. So this is in my opinion how stuff work, you are born somewhere and you get 1 way ticket to the cirkus show. We who travel and live in different places observe it all and figure how stupid and self centered everyone is and all they can observe is that you are arrogant...
hmm interesting reply you gave them. Was traveling around Belgrade and Kotor 2 years ago. I hope there won't be another war in the Balkans. thanks for your reply. hope we can find a peaceful way forward
@@WindSpiritZ I figured no one will read such long comment, but special few. We all hope as our parents hoped war will not come, but yet it did. Because only few take time to read and the rest just ride the wave no matter where it takes. And btw your mission is noble, and yet so impossible.
@@salonez91 buckle your seat belt! going to be a rollercoaster ride
Very true. Noone really knows everything, not even politicians. Plus we all get brainwashed at some point.
What makes John Mearsheimer unique is that his thinking is not distorted by any ideology. He has basic common sense and a deep understanding of human nature.
totally agree.
Also note he is sorry the Country to which he belongs and loves is making such big political blunders.
Thank you for taking the time to speak on this (in my language, since I am a typical american and have no others). Trying to understand the world differently from Kansas City USA. Cheers
thank you for watching! may we find peace forward
Hi, Kansas City. I was born in Texas but have spent more than half my 60+ years outside America. In Australian, Japan and Indonesia. I feel so lucky to have been able to see the way others view the USA. Even with all my time outside, I don't think I really ditched the US brainwashing until I finally decided that success does not have to be exclusively defined by career or wealth. Mearsheimer shows the ceiling of American ability to think strategically and is the very definition of why the USA should NOT be in charge of running the world. Keep seeking wisdom and compassion for ALL people on Earth.
It’s a pleasure to find your channel and perspectives on John Mearsheimer’s scholarship and interpretation of the unfolding conflict between Russia and NATO over Ukraine is a great place to start exploring cultural and intellectual bubbles. I am American, born in Washington DC in 1964. My father worked in the Justice Department, Housing & Urban Development and then he was a section chief at The American Enterprise Institute. I was fortunate to go to a public school with excellent teachers. Mrs Hendry was a very insightful history and economics instructor I had in my teens who lived in China in the post-WWII years. She was in Beijing when the capital capitulated to Mao’s forces. Her focus on East Asian Civilization will forever inform me. I was also fortunate as young man to travel and live abroad.
More specifically I lived in Berlin Germany both before and after the fall of the Berlin Wall. I lived with Germans, Argentines and Russians there and lived in heavily Turkish and Muslim neighborhoods. I worked with East and West Germans, Americans, Serbs, Croatians, Brits, Dutch, Poles and other mostly European nationalities. I’ve been fortunate to travel in Japan, Vietnam, Thailand, New Zealand, Mexico, Spain, Ireland and the UK. I believe this allowed me some ability to see beyond my own cultural/national circle and consider geopolitical events from varying perspectives. My later degree in History and Political Science helped preserve an ongoing concern for world history and geopolitics and I like to think that I can shift between conventional and unconventional American perspectives on world events, though I know that I am only thinly aware of perspectives from beyond my current circle.
All that said, while I agree very closely with professor Mearsheimer’s views on the origin of the war in Ukraine my perspective is not only not shared by the vast majority of Americans whom I interact with or hear from, but it is in fact entirely anathema to them. So crushing is the narrative of Russian irrationality, Putin as the second Hitler and the benevolence and needed expansion of NATO and the EU as well as the narrative of post 2013 Ukraine as a brilliant light of freedom and democracy that suggesting at any point a more skeptical view casts one as being of deeply suspect intellect, sanity or loyalty.
There are pockets on the margins of the American left and right that are willing to engage more tendentiously with the subject, but the uniformity and enormity of intellectual convention in the states is beyond the norm for most any conflict in my lifetime save our backing of the Mujahideen in Afghanistan during the Soviet presence throughout the 1980s. There was backing for NATO intervention in Yugoslavia, but not so vehemently and dedicatedly.
My perspective on why this near absolutism of American opinion is in place is also intensely rejected by the vast majority of my peers. It is all very stultifying and offers primarily only alienation from friends and family to venture any real difference of opinion.
Thank you for your long reply and sharing your personal experience.
I watched a Taiwan philosophy professor's podcast several months ago. He said in his 20+ years of teaching master degree political philosophy class, only about 10% of his students are capable of forming their own perseptive through constructive logical thinking. Most of the students just nod to whatever he says or written in the book. These are not random people walking down the street he refer to, we would expect higher % from students who decide to sit through a subject like that 🤣. My point is that me and you can probably sit down through multi dinners and discuss sensitive topics long into the evenings, but most others will just finish eating and leave, or just sit there swipping tiktok.
Rough time ahead of us.😕
It can be very issue-specific I believe. There are many friends of mine who are traveled and compassionate people with the ability to have great empathy of others and who do not carry an impenetrable surety of their own national or cultural take on other cultures and people, but While they are open to data and new analysis on some subjects they are quite closed to new insights on other issues. Countering larger narrative sweeps is most daunting.
Agree. If you have a bit of time, would you mind commenting on the Chinese Economist video I put up on my channel. I mention the term financial harvesting, and I'm not able to find a single person in real life who understand what it means here in US or in Europe. But among Chinese today, it is very popular narrative. And we see that as the biggest driving factor of US aggression around the world. @@Clarkchapin
I was most interested to hear your perspective on the world.
In fact, I saved this whole Awakening video to listen to again and refect on how I must be careful not to get attached to my own perspective.
@@trekpac2 blaming others ma be thrilling, but engaging in self-reflection is far more challenging
Keep doing this sort of video. Thank you.
Thank you for your support. Never used a camera or edited a video in my life. Spoke in front of thousands of people in real life but still feel weird speaking to a camera...
I'm afraid that Mearsheimer's methodology applies more appropriately to European cultures than Asian. He has a generalized world view generated by centuries of European imperialism and so called "statecraft" which led to two world wars, which he applies to all cultures universally. He believes this is "human nature." Not surprising coming from the University of Chicago. Therefore, his position on Ukraine and Russia is based on what he calls "realism," but is really Machiavellianism. The struggle for hegemony is natural and universal and is what drives world history in his view. Thus he believes that the US must be the hegemon in Asia, supporting the view of the US militarist faction that prefers war against China to war against Russia.
Yea totally agree. I don't blame him though, US and China is still set on collision course, hope that won't happen, but John don't believe in hope.
However, almost everything he gets involved in is Western. There just is not much reason to deal with the far east considering how little really has happened there. I am not sure that his thoughts do not also apply to Japan which has had a long history of Imperialism. What are your thoughts on Japan. Chinese mindset seems to be heavily influenced by Confucianism. In many respects the Chinese operate very much as Mearsheimer would recommend, and this seems to go along with Sun Tsu. Think Sun Tsu would very much agree with Mearsheimer.
He's at least not infected with the sort of Orientalism towards Russia that most of these professors or whatever are. Which is refreshing. But if he advocates empire and hegemony over multipolarism and an evolution of human society then he has understood nothing.
In what way has japan had a long history of imperialism? Their imperialism only happened as a result of industrialisation and playing catch up with the europeans. They learnt the European way of thinking as an existenial response to commodore perry sailed up and demanded trade or war. Japan has a long history of isolationism not imperialism. If you think Japan has a long history of imperialism you probably haven't been here or studied the history.
He blatantly shows he's incapable to understand the Chinese mindset (just like most westerners are).
Hi. I accidentally watched one of your videos and got interested. Then I watched this video and let me share where I stand on Mearsheimer. I’m Russian but I lived in US for 7 years 2003 - 2010. When war with Ukraine started I was in total shock. I didn’t even know that something like that was happening because I didn’t watch the news. My personal life was more of an interest to me. But when it all happened I became stressed and maybe a little depressed even. I was against it. But then when emotions died down a little I started asking questions like what was the reason for invasion. I’ve read a lot I’ve watch a lot and one of the guys I watched was Mearsheimer. I watched several his lectures. And to me he sounds logical on Russia vs Ukraine war. I’m not sure about his opinion on China as a big threat to the US though. It was very interesting to get to know opinion on this conflict from Chinese people. I thought it would be different. I’m glad that Chinese see it this way. Keep it up I think we need a sort of bridge between these different perspectives. Thank you
Yeah all that stuff happened with me too, I'm also Russian and live in Russia.
Mearsheimer - Smearsheimer. Don't let anyone drive a wedge between Russia and its allies with soothing words.
china is a clear present danger even if benevolent in intention. Even though Russia is only upcoming
Haha, YT algorithm is surfing your video up quite well. Your views are in the minority in the West. John Mearsheimer is a Western scholar who is a patriot of his country. His opinion on Ukraine and geopolitics is, pragmatically speaking, accurate, as we can clearly see. But make no mistake, he is a pro-American scholar. That is why his opinion on that China, rather than Russia, is the bigger threat to the US hegemony. As an American, naturally John Mearsheimer favors his own country and its ideologies. His advice to American politicians are to not spend time and resources on the lesser important matters, such as the Ukraine war, but rather to focus on the more important task, competing with China. By the way, I find that the educated people in China are the most unbiased in the world. Perhaps it has something to do with that the Chinese society is science driven vs religion or ideology driven, and the State media is just plain reporting facts, not an ounce of entertainment, it's as boring as hell. Lol.
Well at least John is honest about it, and not sugar coating it with democracy or freedom. I think there's alot of people who know China better than I do, they just can't speak English. Let's see if I can learn more from them and share on this channel
@@WindSpiritZ I completely agree. His honesty is much appreciated and needed. Misunderstanding is dangerous and sharing your experience here is very important if we want to keep peace. I appreciate your videos.🙏
@@riceballlegend7757 peace to the world
Mearsheimer is NOT arguing to compete with China. He agrees with CONTAINING China. Since the US is unable and unwilling to invest in trade and political competition, it's strategy is to halt and reverse China's growth by any means necessary, including military threats and encroachment, sanctions, technology ban, directed tariffs, threat propaganda, terrorism against Chinese projects, regime change Chinese trade partners. China is managing all these attacks. The US will violate the One China policy to cross China's final red line which will spark direct military confrontation. Mearsheimer knows all of this and said this should be done for the US to maintain global hegemony.
i'm shocked that Finns are that naive.
kinda the whole eastern europe in my book. soviet experience is too recent.
@@WindSpiritZ Finland is only geographically eastern europe. But it has the mentality of the west, so when speaking politically you should consider it "western" europe.
@@chickenlover657 Russia (or USSR) has never invaded Western Europe, whereas Finland through out its history has been invaded, fought and lost territory to Russia/USSR as recent as WW2. So I can understand this Finnish psyche awakened to a nightmarish act by Russian to its neighbor, again.
@@crtteng That's a gross simplification.
Anyway, the nordics are a breed of their own. They certainly do not fit into the classic "eastern european" mind set.
@@chickenlover657 what I’m saying: Finn’s reaction has nothing to do w/ Western European mindset; it has everything to do with its own history of repeatedly fending off Russian/USSR aggression throughout Finland’s history.
mear is an American Exceptionalist. His opposition on the Ukraine War and killings in Gaza is because USA is in the wrong wars
He is most definitely NOT an exceptionalist, he is a realist, he just points out Russia is not a peer adversary to the US, but china is, russia is mostly formidable in their military capacity but China is a formidable adversary in the technological industrial world and the US is stil hegemonic in their culture penetration, their language, etc. that is what great powers do, Exceptionalists believe the USA is the indispensable nation, they are choosen by god to help the world achieve democracy and the alike, Prof. John Mearsheimer never said anything remotely like this, that is deeply moralistic language, prof mearsheimer operates more in the philosophy of realism and materialism i think
I agree. The phrase “American Exceptionalist” does not include positive or negative. Even when he thinks American is bad he think America is exceptionally bad. And his fans ignore the fact “American Exceptionalist” does not include the positive/negative aspect and shout he is not.
He is pro-America. Looking at the Biden administration I doubt he think there is anything exceptional about America
I think the difference in cultures can explain the difference in opinion between Chinese and Europeans. Chinese are taught (perhaps by Confucius) to respect others and don't do unto others what you don't want done unto you. While the Europeans like the Americans, have the mindset that every individual is free to do whatever they want, in other words, very passionate in individualism. The latter believes NATO and Ukraine can do whatever they want without considering how the Russians feel. I'm a Malaysian Chinese btw. 😂
good thinking. I don't think individuals think all that much to begin with, media narrative teaches them how to think. thanks for watching. may we find peace forward
Mearsheimer is well known and respected in China. He has travelled there. He explained why he believes he is so well liked in China despite being a self-described China-Hawk. Chinese people appreciate 2 things about him. First, he speaks honestly about the US, its faults and its motivations. Second, he takes China seriously. People have short memories and forget how unusual this used to be. Nowadays, everyone likes to talk about the China threat, but forget that before 2016, everyone was talking about the imminent collapse of China. Famously the Economist was known to publish an article every year predicting the collapse of the Chinese economy. The focus among experts was to predict the collapse so they could deal with the fallout, so every issue was looked at with the question "how will this cause China's collapse?" The one child policy, adoption of the internet, a growing middle class, air pollution, overbuilding infrastructure, corruption, hollywood movies, the list goes on. Everything was supposed to cause collapse, and if anyone said that China was gaining strength at a rapid pace and needed to be thought about seriously, they were called a "Panda Hugger"
Yes Meersheimer takes China seriously -- as the biggest threat to America. And we are all getting tired of his attitude towards China.
He's a Western supremacist and the only difference between him and the others is one of strategy. The rest of them want to crush Russia, whereas Mearsheimer would prefer detente with Russia and to thus deal with China in isolation.
i never heard john say a single word indicating that he is advocating tensions with china! what did I miss?
@@simonschneider5913 you must have not been paying attention. He's been advocating that Russia was always just an unnecessary distraction, when China is the true threat to American hegemony, so USA should more logically and immediately switch its focus to take China down in all ways, while it still can. It's the core of his argument regarding Great Power real politics. He also believes in the inevitability of the thucydides trap
@@Blinky.Catttt i listen to him regularly and i think he never made that point as his own opinion, but rather described one faction of US foreign policy.
the thucydides trap has been sprung already. in the red sea. and its not just the US thats stuck in it. so is western europe, even more so id argue.
Hi - glad to have found this channel. I live in Australia and China gets a bad rap here - through the media and our 'deputy Dan' role that we play re the US. I follow some English speaking people who live in China - for balance - now glad to have your perspective too re the West - really the US/UK. I have a high regard for Prof John Mearsheimer as a man who explains the geopolitical powerplays between the dominant powers - East West - North South. I am not enamoured of the belligerence expressed by the Western powers as they find themselves uncertain of their uni polar hegemony enjoyed since the fall of the USSR. I am impressed by the return of China to being an increasingly powerful presence on the world stage - particularly given the trials off the last century and more. I look forward to listening to more of your videos.
Love Australia ! I follow Kevin rudd and paul keating. Thanks for watching! May we find peace forward.
I think in order to think critically about something you need to know history, even your own, because it gives context.
In order to think critically you have to step back and look at the situation from an onlooker not a participant.
In order to think critically you have to be able to identify others opinions from facts from popular narratives in the form of propaganda.
If you ask 100 Cubans, from their experience suffering extreme economic hardships, they will tell you Communism is the sole reason for their poverty, not the more than half century of US economic blockade.
Just because someone lives through something doesn’t necessarily mean they understand why it’s happening.
Propaganda is a powerful tool. That’s why it’s a discipline in and of itself.
good point, i will remember that
Iran was a secular, democratic country too, until the UK and US overthrew its government and installed a brutal dictator in order to control Iran's oil. After the Iranian revolution, US sanctions against Iran and war using Iraq could not put Iran on its knees. With Russian and Chinese partners, Iran will break its chains from the Empire.
I'm from Australia. I started with Mearsheimer too. And it made perfect sense. Others followed like Sachs, Ritter, Macgregor, the gray zone etc.
You need to get Kevin Rudd or Paul Keating back man.
Watch Alexander Mercouris, he has most of them as guests on his shows anyway and he does a program everyday analysing the latest events.
@@Pythoner John Mearsheimer, Alexander Mercouris and Glenn Diesen just did a discussion together...
@@Pythoner A.Mercouris is one of the best out there at the moment! and brian berletic! and they are very close to mearsheimer in their views. i dont get where mearsheimer is supposed to have said all this nonsense..?
It’s very disappointing that peer media figures turn a blind eye to his neoliberal hegemonic positions
I am a finn and because my father was leftish we had positive attitude towards SU during cold war and i visited SU first time when i was some 11 years old :) and many times since, because it was and is facinanting, hearthful place. The world changed when you crossed the border and i never had any bad experiences there. When the war started 2/2022, i knew that there must be some understandable reason behind it because i knew russians are peaceful people and they would not go to war in vain. So i started to find out what it is all about. I read and watched videos as you. I found out that it was "understandable", even many western high-ranking officials and politicians had warned about taking nato to Ukraine as you know. But most of finns didn't have that need (and time) to find out what that war was all about. They were prejudiced towards Russia even before the war and MSM war propaganda was enough for them. I am happy on the day the peace comes. I couldn't have guessed how strong prejudices might be even today and how ready people are to judge strongly even though they know so little about the subject.
It's important to be vigilant and aware of your bigger neighbour, but it is also necessary to stay rational and inform. Best luck to the FInnish people. Thanks for watching! May we find peace forward.
"russians are peaceful people" - the people maybe like every where else, but explain why these peaceful people invaded Finland during the Russian-Finnish war?
@@igorgitelstain8621 I do not know what do you mean with this Ru-Fi war? There would not be have been war between Russia and Finland, if there would not have been Hitler. Hitler was the problem, not Soviet Union.
From your point of view, the USSR wasn't the aggressor. Finland turned to Hitler because he was the real power that could support them against Russia. It wasn't a war between Hitler and Stalin. It was war of Russia against Finland.
I'm a Finnish person and still live here in Finland. I agree with Mearsheimer's analysis although scholars like Michael Hudson and Radhika Desai have an even better analysis IMO. However in Finland only like 6 percent of the population think about this conflict in this way i.e. a US proxy war against Russia using Ukraine to bleed and weaken Russia, to try to achieve regime change in Russia etc. (also a US war against Europe to separate Europe from Russia, to separate German technological power from Russian natural resources, specifically Russian natural gas; to vassallize Europe and a war against China to sabotage China's BRI project that would have gone through Ukraine to Europe).
Thinking in Finland and much of Europe is so out of touch with reality that I have decided to move out of Finland as soon as possible (unfortunately will be few more years that I can do that). Finland used to be a great country with a smart foreign policy. Nato membership, the bilateral defence and cooperation agreement with the US as well as sanctions against Russia, closing the border with Russia and ending diplomacy are a disaster for us - worst case scenario is war, but even best case scenario is that our economy will be in terrible condition for a long time thanks to these policies. China, Russia and the Global South are rising, BRICS is rising and Finland - a country that was neutral during the cold war - has decided to be on the losing side of the dying and declining US empire and western hegemony. Makes no sense, but it is how it is...
hmm tough situation.... I hope Finland come out fine. Thank for watching! May we find peace forward.
@@WindSpiritZ Thank you! This was quite an interesting video
As a Swede, I find that very odd. It would be interesting to know how the Finish people could miss the NATO maneuvering for war against Russia over two decades. I noticed that long before the 2014 coup, and have followed the events in real time.
I didn't need Mearsheimer's video to know what's happening in Ukraine. And he's not any favorite of mine. Too much US hegemonic for me, perhaps. But I'm only cursory aquinted with his videos.
In my view, and that of Sweden before the relentless war propaganda, Russia wanted peacefull business relations with the EU before NATO became too aggressive. Both Sweden and Finland seems to have lost their minds now!
That have now been made impossible!
I am very pleased to have discovered your channel Richard. Most insightful.
This is one of the most thought-provoking videos I have seen in a long time. Thanks for posting it!
Thanks for watching! Peace
Please reduce the background music volume in order to stop the distraction to your program conversation! Thanks! 👍🙏
Noted!
Nothing wrong with the music
@@ebonytv3414 I think this is due to different audio equipment, I will lower it slightly.
@@WindSpiritZ I have been working in tech in many fields,it’s not the equipment,some people just can’t handle more then one thing at a time.
I see and hear your ☯️
Do you know of other podcasts with background music? If I want background music I will provide my own!
I totaly agree with you. I as Russian who was born and lived majority of my life in Kiev, can see all this situation from inside. People here just decided to join western civilization project, thinking it is the best stake. After making the decision everything else lost the matter. It is very convinient just to by a ticket, sit in chair and trust driver instead of being pathfinder himself.
About the perception of this war in Europe. Keep in mind that in European culture lies (even to themself) is not good or bad. It is just a tool. Yes, they believe in honour but only when they interact with humans. But deeply in their subcoucion they do not consider rival civilizations as humans.
I had period in my life when I traveled a lot aroud the world by my job. When I worked two months in Viena I have met one guy whose family move from Iran after the muslim revolution. He attended French school, now he study in Austrian university. We set and talked about modern history for two or three hours and have found that or view is almost identical. But when I tried to talk in same manner with native europeans, (maybe except of Irishs) they built a mind wall between us, protecting official western opinion.It is all because they truly belive that West will manage globalization and mount the world to rule. All they have to do - support the concept and gain benefits from it.
About potential Chinese invasion into Russia from western prospective: they measure China in their standards of logic. I mean if they were Chines elite class they would consider such invasion because flourish of western world is based on piracy as a concept of success. Avoiding invasion to Taiwan shows to the world attitude of China to war in whole. But world refuses to see that.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts. I am very interesting in what Chinise people think, but unfortunatelly I do not know the language. Maybe yet :)
thank you for your in depth reply. I love Austria, spent a few weeks there, Graz Vienna Salzburg. This is a big moment in human history, hard to see what the outcome will be. I hope you enjoy my other videos as well.
I heard your video and it made me remember of a Finnish guy I know, who generally sounded to me (before) as sane of mind, who went completely nuts on that issue. I was asking him, what do Finland and Sweden have to gain by losing their neutral positions? Why do you have to expand a conflict that from day one appeared to be super dangerous for the entire Europe, avoidable and stoppable, precisely by going back to the Minsk agreements, that were about Ukrainian neutrality and the autonomy of Donbass regions, through the Istambul talks in March 2022, whose ratification would have saved hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians, kept Ukraine intact rather than the amass of ruins it has become, and avoid European recession, inflation, and economic and social crisis?
I'm not Chinese but I think most people in the West are ill- or uninformed, and careless, which makes them pretty stupid; and many are still into this European ideology supposing that, despite all the disasters and injustice created by Europeans and their Amerivan offspring through the last centuries, we still would be superior and more civilized than the rest of the world. Which also led to the disaster in the Middle East. Finally the rest of the people (the sane of mind and better informed ones) just want to avoid the war; but many are afraid to do anything because they felt the direction the wind was and is blowing. Mearsheimer in this regard did his best to alert and diminish the pervasive suicidal stupidity of the collective West
I think there's alot of media distortion and bias. It is diffiuclt for me or anyone to know exactly how the rest of the world think. I try to be as truthful and honest as I can on my channel, even if it means to step on someone's toes. Thanks for watching! May we find peace together forward
Watching your video the first time. Excited to watch more of your content. I’m a Chinese (Or Taiwanese depending on your political spectrum) American myself and the goal of your channel to step out of our own circle really resonates for someone who grew up Chinese and spent most of his adult life in the US
Thanks for watching! May we find peace
It is typically believed in Eastern Europe that if the US had not expanded NATO into eastern Europe, Russia would still want to annex and conquer their countries back anyway once it recovered from the collapse of the Soviet Union, so they tend to be grateful for the US influence in the region, which they view as vastly preferable. In fact there is probably no more pro-USA region on earth than Eastern Europe, at least in some of the countries there. This is why almost every country in that region very strongly tried to join NATO, including now even formally neutral countries like Finland and Sweden.
I am not surprised that Russia views this development unfavorably, or that they were not willing to tolerate it in the case of Ukraine, the largest and most similar of the former Soviet States which has been part of the Russian political entity for most of the last several centuries. However in western countries for the most part it is believed that Russia is fully to blame and is acting immorally and unreasonably. I do not think that it is likely that a return to business as usual between Russia and the west is likely to occur for decades at the least at this point.
agree with your evaluation. It will hurt Euro too much and European will have to work extra hard to run a trade balance. May there be peace
It would be excellent to bring on experts from China and translate in English for us ! A Chinese perspective is what’s lacking in the discussion! Everyone looks at the western mindset and narrative as the correct version we need more debate and a different perspective!
will try my best. thank you for your support.
There's a ton of videos here on YT of Chinese experts and scholars, that are translated to English, or interviewed in English. Eric Li is one of many great listens.
The real discussion would be if you bring in experts from everywhere else other than Russia, China and the USA because according to Mearsheimer only those three countries matter and everyone else is supposed to live in servitude to them.
What a beautiful, clear presentation of perspective on the world view. You are totally accurate in your logical approach. Thank you for sharing. I have been an avid listener of J. Mearsheimer and see him as being very brave to share his views.
Thank you for watching! May we find a peaceful way forward.
I am French living in Australia, but I think like you on this subject.
cheers. Thanks for watching.
I’m French living in France and I agree with you on this subject too
Beware of guy that speaks half truth. That's what John is. Very often I caught him narrates western narratives without telling the whole picture. When he spoke about Taiwan, he totally left out the treaty signed and one-China policy voted and recognized by UN.
good advise
@@WindSpiritZ Yes, like I've been saying: Mearsheimer is not trustworthy.
One China policy is interpreted differently by CCP, Taiwan and the rest of the world, that’s what the UN recognized. Try invading Taiwan and see what the UN will say. Talk is cheap. Get out ur red passport before trying to get into Taiwan and u’ll find its not the same country. The CCP would have to take it by force if you think otherwise, because no one outside of China agrees with you, and Taiwan just voted the most anti-unity president in, and that’s fact.
Hi, Richard! Congratulation for your video. For me you did a very good analysis. Best regards Joseph
thank you for your support
Fascinating. Thank you for this!
thank you for watching! may we find peace forward
Richard I love your content & hope you pursue the more philosophical side of your investigation more fully. Peculiarly it is even more difficult for us Westerners to communicate with people adhering to mainstream opinion than it is for you (at lest they will accept that you are a foreigner & entitled to different information). The breakdown in the culture of debate is probably more severe here than anywhere else! Please keep posting.
thank you for your support. I will do my best
Mesh thinks that every modern government are ruthless as US, forgetting that China is one of the oldest civilization in the world influenced by Confucius teachings till in this modern era. Suggest him to study history of Chinese civilization and how China policies are align with Confucius teachings.
I agreed mostly. But China ceased productive innovation culturally due to an overemphasis on Confucius in my observations. However it’s clear the changes they have observed put them in a position to dominate the future. Whether it’s enough to deal the fastest aging population in history will require impressive progress in ai and productivity. But they seem to be on the cusp. With no nation in position to challenge their industrial might in the near future, it is clearly possible. But outside observers while impressed with much, still are confused that the amount of ghost cities built was so large. Perhaps it was needed for employment realities not obvious from afar.
@@johnlaing8637 WTF does "productive innovation culturally" mean? I think China is just embracing Confucius more now because of the challenges and stress of a rapidly developing nation. This helps to balance the drive for wealth and power with family and community responsibility instead of destructive mindset of western capitalists. China has lot of problems and lots of plans to address them. They plan and execute long term strategies instead of oscillating between election cycles. While outsiders fail to understand China and think it has peak and face a decline, the CPC knows that they are only at 60% which leaves a lot more growth ahead. With BRICS, there's prosperity to be shared with the non-G7 countries.
@@litesp one of the assumptions was that China could not innovate because it had been a while since they invented anything. Working a civilization back up the supply chain from centuries of poverty is a unique proposition. Their was a belief that the most complex chips could not be achieved without certain other technologies. To be blunt, just like we thought Russia had been beaten down and with sanctions would not be galvanized effectively. We certainly assumed that with out stealing technology the Chinese could not find the creativity not shown in centuries. That is to be innovative in ways that would require a breakthrough only great civilizations produce. Between the cultural revolution and centuries of poverty, the thought was it would be easy to keep China down. The behavior of Yellin and Blinken clearly shows the iterations from a different source who doesn’t understand that what they assumed was wrong. This entire macro scheme to continue American hegemony is so clueless, it is clearly being done by someone who is sociopathic and in incapable of empathy. Both Yellin and Blinken cannot be as comedically clueless as the threats they gave. Biden is capable of being an amazing idiot, but the reactions to the plans failures and the words his Secretary of treasury and State uttered are those of a tyrant unfamiliar, uncaring and ignorant of the idea for a need for adjustment when facing a complete defeat. Much like Mike Tyson biting off an ear, the idea that humility is required and that a defeat might need to be absorbed is mentally unimaginable. It’s such a mammoth undertaking as well, that steering the ship and reversing course and admitting your wrong is an impossibility. Like Hitler saying, “ok. It’s off WWII is off. Russia killed most of my army and this was a bad idea. Sorry. I’ll hold and give France back”
China is the only great empire that didn’t continue expansion for expansions sake when easy. When that occurred it had been a while. Spiritually and philosophically it’s easy to see why China would do prove capable of bucking the idea. But Realism believes great powers expand because they fear other great powers, China is expanding, they just realize Americas financial capitalism is destructive and that to do a Flash Gordon strategy is simply wiser. (Unite the planet’s people against the tyrant with respect for others and a shared interest in the planet)
You miss his point that history and culture don't matter, only that power makes right and China has plenty of it
At the beginning of the war Finland signed a 281 billion contract with the USA to supply LNG to Finland, and renting Finland ,s offshore storage facility which is one of the largest in the world. Also the US will pay 128 million rent per year for the offshore storage, it was in Finland national interest to join NATO for their GDP. John tells the truth about the situation. We in the west have lost our nationality, culture and spirituality in the pursuit of money. Looking from Ireland I see how China and Russia in their revolutions have come through modernity, the west hasn't yet. Great analysis, thanks.
thanks for your support. I hope Finland won't get into deeper trouble
And how's that going? The Finnish GDP?
No more cheap Russian gas, oil, electricity, timber, tourism and usage of transport waterways.
@@Pythoner going all right, just have to get on with it. No more buying out of the US that's if I can help it, buy local.
@@PythonerFinns will say that’s a win, they’re that brainwashed 😂
how is China and Russia modern when one guy runs the show in the whole country?
The truth is akin to a diamond, with myriad facets, each representing a different perspective. The challenge arises when individuals mistake their own facet for the entirety of the diamond. It’s not about being right; rather, it’s about collectively pursuing truth, recognizing that we need one another to gain a comprehensive understanding. An allegory from the Indian Vedas vividly illustrates this point: six blind men encountering an elephant. Each one, based on their limited perspective, describes the elephant differently-one feels the tail and perceives it as a rope, another touches a leg and sees it as a tree, and so forth. This allegory underscores the importance of humility and collaboration in our search for truth. By acknowledging our limitations and embracing diverse perspectives, we can strive towards a more holistic understanding of reality. In a world where truth is often obscured by individual biases and partial viewpoints, fostering open dialogue and mutual respect is essential for navigating the complexities of our shared existence.
Thanks for watching! May we find peace forward.
As a Brazilian who wasted all his teenage years in New Jersey, I have to admit it is still nearly impossible to understand wtf is happening, and is quite a shock to hear what you confirmed with your European acquaintances, morever, I nearly fell off the chair with the "Chinese mobilization" theory. I mean, my personal experience in one of their high school was to erudition what 8 clowns in a tiny car is to serious discourse, but I guess I still imagined a portion of the well-to-do were shielded from it. In a similar vein, I must add that many Brazilians have unshakeable faith that the USA will somehow be able to work some miracle, and it never really occurs to them to ask if such a miracle is for good or for ill. I'll go on a limb here and say that most South Americans accept moronic American interventions in their own countries just as a force of nature, and will only stir much grumblings when GDP deletion reaches around 50%. At least for me, it is a glimmer of hope that the Chinese seem to prefer fundamentals over faith-based over-financialization. May whatever force there be take pity on us who wants our species to continue without a masssive die-off.
very insightful reply, hope you enjoy my other videos as well and find something useful in them. Wish South America the best. Thank you for watching! May we find peace forward.
Your exactly right. John Mearsheimer is a wonderful lovely person. He is very empathetic and looks at the world from different peoples point of view. We do need many more people like him and they are the ones that can bring peace to the world if they were given the chance. The very troubling truth though is that those in power have other things going on. The world is corrupted by a lust for power and riches and a paranoia of being taken over and being replaced.
Thanks for watching! May we find peace moving forward.
Perceptive, insightful and very interestingly related.
Well done young man. Keep up the good work.
Do cover how the West views China and how Chinese view China and the West and an interesting twist would be how Taiwanese and Hongkongers view China and other way round also.
So much of noise, propaganda and misunderstandings around this topic of China.
Thank you my friend, will try to do my best. China and the west need to work with each other, not against. Please feel free to leave comments, suggestions and questions in my videos, will try my best to answer them.
Hi, Richard. You have a good channel. I'm from Russia. I would like to know more about China and its political structure. Even in Russian there is very little good information about this. What channels or resources would you recommend?
Hmm... if you go to this video:
czcams.com/video/6yK6P4jtEJY/video.html
there's some suggestions in the comment section.
Thanks watching! May we find peace forward.
Finland has a lot of cultural trauma regarding Russia which is easily triggered during regional conflict. Finland appealed to the US and Europe for help fighting Stalin when they were attacked before WWII, and were refused. As a result, Finland created a limited agreement with Hitler for support, and Finland actually beat back Russia.
Finland has much in common with local Russians and even some business ventures across the border, but when a conflict between Europe and Russia seems to be escalating, Finland is desperately afraid of becoming part of Russia.
Realists like to explain their analyses are based on geopolitical configurations, or what they called structural analyses. As such the weakness of the realists is in their ignoring cultural differences and also ignoring historical records. Thus they would discount entirely the chinese lack of colonial ambition and records. Likewise, they will entirely discount Chinese philosophy on state crafts, be it the Confucian School, or the Legalist School. They will thus grossly misjudge China or any other civilizations. Samuel Huntington’s Clash of Civilizations will thus be highly likely due to the western centric and realist perspectives.
Totally agree, China strategy is staying conceal and just grow. We are a bit too big now however, no mountain big enough for us to hide behind.
100% agreed. Viewing China as a threat from a western lens - because we and our allies (Britain, France, Germany, Spain) were/are aggressive imperialists, China must be too.
Thank you, Richard. I'm glad that you appeared in my CZcams recommendations.
The idea of China's invasion of Russia in 2023 - beyond understanding. Are these people aware of what nuclear weapons are?
Unfortunately a lot of people in Russia think about China as a threat, really projecting their own ideology to China. Fortunately enough I had a course (it was optional social course in technical university) in my university about China as civilization. And I realized that it's really different civilization and which expanded through economical and cultural ties rather than through a war (unlike all European countries and the USA).
I still know very little about chinese civilization and have never been there though I now understand that I should.
I enjoyed a lot your idea about that to judge, to understand somebody you have to be in their shoes - I think that even living in the same country is not always enough (if it's about domestic issues, e.g. there is always a difference between capital and province). You need to get through 1990s in Russia to understand while majority supports Putin. I think in China you went through similar things.
Also when people talk about Russian imperalism they need to know... and not just know, you need to feel that what happened in WWII, what was the price which soviet people paid to defeat nazism. And it was not the first time we were attacked by europeans. It's true that Russian empire was basically empire and attempted to conquer neighbours, but it's not true that it was absolutely the same with the soviet union. Again, you need to know that a lot of former USSR republics became who they became during USSR period, I mean factroies, schools, universities were built at that time, local leaders were ruling these territories. Now in Georgia and Ukraine there are musems of "USSR occupation", while Stalin was ethnic georgian, Khrushev was born in Ukraine.. There are so many nuances which people don't understand, don't bother themselves to understand.
Finally, people have to undestand that it's not necessarily to formally declare war and shoot to effectively kill people and make them suffer. When chinese (formerly) or now vietnamise or bangladesh of african people work for 1$ /day while corporations took enormous surpluses from that - it's also a crime, in my opinion.
Anyway thank you for your effort and would be glad to talk to you more on amy of these subjects.
thank you for watching my video. I need to be very careful of what I say in my channel here as YT is known for being picky lately. In majority of the western world, espeically in Eastern Europe, it is consider inacceptable to have a fair discussion regarding the ongoing event, similar to war time media censorship.
I will love to have someone like you to comment on my future video on different topics. Love to receive alternative opinions. Again thank you for your in-depth reply.
@@WindSpiritZ I see that in comments section you're a little bit more radical than in videos themselves. Interesting to know - why do you prefer to live in the US and not in China? Asking without any sarcasm or offence.
@@sergeypavlov9488 Kids were born here, wife still likes it here. But things can change very quickly, I'm totally fine living in China.
How refreshing to hear your intelligent analysis.I also appreciate I Meirsheimers discourse..British people mostly only listen to the mainstream medis.The cost of living crisis is affecting most of the population. They don't have time to worry about global politics. The balance of power is shifting .USA and the West are in decline.Keep going please.We need to hear more Chinese voices.
Thanks for watching! May we find peace
Thank for this video. I like your style, which quite shows Chinese culture and attitude, as far as I can tell with my limited experience. I also like the commentators around here, the circles definitely overlap with mine 😉.
thank you for watching!
I suggest to watch his more recent interview by Lex Fridman.
Mearsheimer is an academic scholar but his loyalty and bias remains in favour of the U$ and western dominance.
Sach's is another distinguished scholar more well travelled than Mearsheimer, embraces other cultures and offers more rational insights.
love both of them. It's ok to be bias. Hope we can find peace forward.
@@WindSpiritZ it is not up to the majority to find peace apparently.
@@WindSpiritZ I disagree. It’s not ok to be biased and hypocritical. (Ok for me but not for thee. Ok for me, the western world to develop but not for you Chinese, how dare you.) Mearsheimer says what he says about China based on projection. He looks at them through western eyes and clearly tinged with racist intolerance.
@@palmpalm5131 respect your PoV. At least i like him being relatively honest, not sugarcoat everything with democracy
@@palmpalm5131 isn't that somewhat engrained in our DNA (especially that of the colonialist mindset) to preserve racial dominance?
WindSpiritZ, you are a very wise young man. How did you become so humble and objective? Yes, objectively considering another persons ideas is VERY rare.
As for John, well he did predict the events that are happing. Years before they occurred. That does not necessarily mean that he truly understands the reasons for them. But, it is evidence that he does. Now, he also predicts that Ukraine cannot win. We will see. Unfortunately, it will not answer the question: “Who is at fault?”
I had predicted conflict in Middle-East when Putin decided to go semi-mobilization after Ukraine Kharkiv counteroffensive> And to me it had become a certainty when China repaired relationship between Iran and Saudi.
Things are heating up very fast around China as well, if Yellen is still unable to convenience China to purchase US bond, the chance of war around South China Sea will increase dramatically as well.
I have a set of theories, mainly build around the global monetary system, to predict global conflict and future. Things are not looking good, and I will try my best to explain my thoughts in my channel.
One needs to read only a little to know who is at fault.
Thank you for your reply. Rough water ahead.. remember to like and subscript@@LusoPatriot77
@@WindSpiritZ Regarding the risk of war is South China Sea, I think the risk is very low. The bickering party in SCS is only China and Philippines disputing some random island. My understanding (someone correct me if Im wrong), only Philippines elite and military lean toward USA. Other Filipino are neutral or dislike USA. ASEAN will not back Philippines to fight over the island. Bear in mind, there is no war in SE Asia in last 40 years. Its not because we are lucky. Its because of ASEAN leaders working behind the scene.
@@CattleFarmer667 hope you are right
Good job! Thanks, Richard.
You are welcome! thanks for watching, hope we can find peace forward
hey man! i am a norwegian (of chinese - indnoesian dwcent ) but i had the same experience here. but me i am curious about what chinese think.. Where can i find chineses news in english? i am so curious because off course the west now wnat to make china the next enemy.. if you by chance read this give me a comment back bro!!!
hmmm Chinese News in English? Maybe Global TIme? You can read that. Thanks for watching! May we find peace moving forward.
2 points about Mearshimer. Forget realist, he’s a con artist using rhetorical tricks to fool people. 1. Instead of the mainstream practice to portray the US as the good guy, Mearshimer tells the US is a badass. 2. But he also insist that every one else is the same. Therefore China must desire to take over the US empire and dominate the world. The US is entitled to do everything to stop China’s rise, however despicable it maybe, including war.
Actually these positions must be very close to those of US hawks and generals. Like Pompeo said in CIA training session: we lie we cheat we steal, we have a whole training course for them.
Mearshimer is popular being pushed by socialism media algorithms because he is helping the military business big time. There is good chance they are paying him good money.
The debate of Mearshimer and Mahbubani 3 years ago is a good reference. Mearshimer is no longer invited to CGTN talks.
Thanks of your input. I think he actually thinks that way, not pretending. On China hmmm.... I don't blame him, 400 years of Western centric world, it is easy to think that's the only way in this world.
Have not bothered to listen to his crappy biased ideas and speech long time ago.
Meirsheimer being a realist means he says it as he sees and he may agree or not agree with it but that's the reality (as he sees it). you are misunderstanding his point, his personal preference does not have to do with anything he says, it has all to do the reality as he sees it.
1 & 2. About the US, he may or may not agree with the US government is not the point but the way he sees it, the reality is the US is the hegemony right now and the US will do anything to preserve it, and...the greatest threat to the US hegemony is China. It doesn't matter if China really has any intention of supplanting the US, but the US considers China as its greatest threat. PERIOD.
Kind of. But his ideas are based on game theory. The basic premisis: you can't trust the other person. If one side escalates the other has to follow as the side that deescalte will lose as the other wide will continue to escalate. Look up "escalation" phenomenon - lol - Mahbubani approach is to look at the siutation rationally and for the mutual benifit for all which is childish - lol
@@michaeltse321 I think John is at least honest
John is Jewish, one of the elder zion, if you watch his debate in Australia very anti communist. Now for his pocket, he has toned down a bit to accept someother station Interviews
I don't know what you mean by anti communist but Mearsheimer is loved in Russia and China because his philosophy of Polar Powers justifies the autocratic acts of Putin and Xi.
I am very shocked by so many westerners are loving labeling people.
I as a Chinese, after heard John meersheimer talking about using N bombs to Chinese military, are still willing to hear what he says, I am confident of myself for not absorbing bullshit part in his speeches, and only learning the educational part from him.
Thank you for introducing me to John Mearsheimer. Are you familiar with Noam Chomsky?
Yes I am! I recommend his Manufacture consent to many people
Interesting observations, WindSpiritZ. What I've learnt through my years of observations and learning is that when it comes to humankind, it's complex. Most people can't grasp different viewpoints; maybe it's due to culture, maybe it's due to the education they received, and maybe other factors. I found this video "How you are encouraged to be nasty by western political philosophy" by Thinkers Forum explaining why the west thinks and behaves as it has rather plausible. Happenstances are rarely simply right or wrong cases.
There's much to learn. I'll go through your vids slowly as I'm interested in your thoughts.
Thank you. There's this political philosophy professor, teaches philosophy is a master degree class in Taiwan. He once said during a podcast that roughly 10-15% of his students over 20 years time, show the ability of logical thinking and constructive analytical skill towards dissecting a topic/problem, and through that form their own perspective. For a master degree philosophy class, you would thought the percentage will be higher. End up that higher* thinking is not common among us human being.
Funny, I am in Oulu Finland and just watched your video! :)
I knew of John Mearsheimer and have watched most if not all of his lectures & speeches that are on CZcams, including his famous video from 2015, predicting how Ukraine would get wrecked if it continued on its path towards Nato membership.
I agree with John Mearsheimer's viewpoints. It does make watching news and reading newspapers quite hard, living here. I rarely even try and usually just skim through the headlines. Us joining Nato will be a disaster for us. It will just take its own time to become apparent. :(
oh God, I just can't find a single Finnish I can talk to normally...... it gives me headache. Every Finn i talked to hate alexander stubb, and somehow he became president. Sanna Marin joinning Tony Blair foundation after retirement????????? I'm a lost of word.....
I think that what moves John Mearsheimer is the monetization on youtube and other social media. He is a smart manipulator and excellent demagogue. He says many true things, but adds to them some lies. In a proportion that the left-wing viewers in US will like.
That I can agree as well, he appears on many different shows lately.
You seem to be one of the brainwashed Europeans he talks about...😂
@@WindSpiritZ because he is an alternative opinion. To call him a manipulator is ridiculous
Can you give us an example of his lies?
Ridiculous statements.
Give me a break !
A demagogue is someone who manipulates people by appealing emotionally to their prejudices.
Mearsheimer is the farthest from that kind of person. He is rational, logical in his arguments and is a geopolitics realist. He is anything but manipulative.
John Mearsheimer is one of the wisest political scients in the US.
About Finland, they are emotionally involved in Ukraine Russia war because they had terrible war in the past against Russians and Finland lost territory.
For me, from South America, Russia was a friends of my country during the infamous decade of US-instigated dictatorships in Latin America
is South America still being dictated today?
@@WindSpiritZ no dictatorships in South America now. But the US continues its work of destabilizing governments that do not support its foreign policy or its interests.
such an important video.. thank you!
You're so welcome! Thanks for watching, may we find a peaceful way forward
Can you give 1-2 names of Chinese Mearsheimers?
He's currently the closet person: 金灿荣.
Wonderful insight!
I like your channel. Refreshing.
I appreciate that!
John Mearsheimer claims Realism as a universal thesis because he's a courtier of the ruling-class.
An unambiguous expression of the thesis of Realism would be Thomas Hobbes: “a war of each against all”.
It's hard to imagine anyone but a psychopath attempting to construct either a society or international relations on the basis of Realism: a war of each against all.
hmm something to think about. Thanks for your reply
Mearsheimer didn't just "leave school, go to University & become a Professor" he spent 10yrs in the military during the Vietnam war for starters.
noted. Thanks for watching! May we find peace.
Dr. Eric X Li speaks English and has very different but equally compelling views about Sino-Western relations than Mearsheimer, both of which I greatly respect. Mearsheimer’s view of great power politics assumes that human nature is universal; hence, all leaders will behave the same. Li simply asks us to look at history and outcomes. China, for example, has been at peace with its neighbors (of which it has eleven immediate ones) for half a century, whereas the West has been in continuous and protracted wars for every one of those 50 years. While human nature may be broadly universal, human cultures clearly are not.
Very good points. Thanks for watching! May we find peace forward.
Very Nice Video, good on every level from content to presentation....easy to listen to.
Thanks for watching! May we find peace.
Have you seen the one he lectures Australians about picking a side in Australia. I think that's like 2013 or 2014. If you haven't you should watch that.
Hey Roger, Thanks for the great videos - from post soviet eastern bloc nation here and it is really interesting for us what Chinese people think about the conflict - Chinese support wasn't a given for Russia in this conflict. I think that most post soviet countries can put the pieces together because we all lived through the hundreds of years of Balkanization that took place at the hands of the west here - however I think its hard to understand for Chinese people that alot of us are no longer concerned with the greater good of our people/race/religion/ethnicity and more focused on our individual opportunities. It's kind of like an overcompensation that came about as we tried to integrate into the western markets and become capitalist nations.... but honestly if you look at the statistics it hasn't worked out that way.... alot of eastern Europe gained entry into the EU.... currently however we make less than the average Chinese wage - the lowest wages in Europe. Yugoslavia, Romania and Bulgaria were economic powerhouses during the soviet days - they were quickly developing and actually creating products that were sought after in the west.
I was absolutely shocked when this conflict was portrayed as an actual challenge for Russia - people forget history so fast, Russia spent 30 years stockpiling weapons during the cold war - where they were essentially punished for helping less developed nations industrialize, this came packaged with communism but communism is more relevant to the vast majority of the worlds population at that time - and in a way was necessary to centralize the resources of these nations and modernize them after centuries of imperialist exploitation.
I have a theory that this Ukraine war essentially boils down to a culture conflict - the globalized multi-ethnic libertarian west vs the ethnically homogenized conservative East. BRICS is in a way a herald of this - My father also watches your videos and when we discussed this the question of Japan came up - I know that Japan, China and Korea have a strained relationship historically with no love lost and territorial disputes/occupations/genocides etc on the record but Japan will have the 3rd largest army by end of 2025, they produce all their equipment domestically and are circumventing the limitations the US imposed on them after WW2. If it were to come to drawing lines in the sand and picking alignment - I think that Japan CULTURALLY has far more in common with the East than with the US and could be a potential member of BRICS if things continue going downhill for the US propaganda machine. Do you think this is possible from the Chinese perspective or is the divide too deep and Japan will either be isolated or lean towards the US as an ally potentially?
Thanks for reading! Looking forward to more videos :)
thank you so much for watching and your detail reply. It is good to keep open mind to alternative opinion, we need to find peaceful ways forward, we cannot afford another great war. I will answer your question in another video, I think you have some good thinking there
@@WindSpiritZ Thanks Roger - looking forward to it!
Thank you very much for your important talk!
Definitely, I encourage you to invite Mearsheimer on your show.. with or without a Chinese academic counterpart.
Also UN diplomatic advisor, Prof Jeffrey Sachs.. We must conscientiously collaborate against MIC.
Your wise initiative is deeply appreciated
I respect both of them. Thanks for watching! May we find peace.
Thanks for the video. Before watching your video. I have to constantly remind myself not to fall into my own "awareness bubble". It is actually almost impossible as we probably all have some sort of knee jerk reactions towards information, which we will receive that does not suit our preferred world view. It is a very difficult practice, and yes, I think we at least have to practice this way of thinking constantly to remind ourselves. We are no different.
very true. thanks for watching
Actually it's very easy, provided you can do two things: renounce vanity and study LOTS of history.
Highly informative. Would like you're perspective on Mearsheimer's position on great power competition vis-a-vis China.
I think he's reasonable, but I think he's missing some angles, which I will explain in tomorrow's video.
I'm ukrainian and most time i agree with mr. Mearsheimer. I'm not pro-russian but not pro-NATO and USA, i always saw Ukraine as neutral country and some sort of a bridge between RF and EU. But our incredibly corrupted politicians just sold entire country to US, like cheap PMC. And now we have this endless and hopeless war, thousands and thousands of killed people and ugly dictatorship government. Economics just erased. But i understand why some people in Europe look at Russia as threat. War in Ukraine is brutal and Eastern Europe remember times of Soviet occupation, they fear Putin can try rebuild this system. But i personally don't believe in this. To bad - people in Ukraine is heavily indoctrinated by non-stop propaganda and many of them blinded by hate and anger. I don't see any solution for this situation, my country probably will be destroyed, many people dies and many - and i myself - already refugees. All because of this war, what never must even start. Never ever trust americans. Never.
I'm so sorry about your country. I met many Ukrainians and Russians in Montenegro after the war living peacefully together. Was living next to a whole family of Ukrainians, who drove 9 hours from Kiev. Thanks for watching, may we find a peaceful way forward
@@WindSpiritZ Thank you. Hope for this. But i think my country will have very hard times next years...When i think about how many lives just lost for nothing...it's incredibly stupid.
Fully agree 👍💯 just like my Taiwanese friends believe they must fight China till the end, which i find it so ridiculous to think such. Totally different perspective of thinking 🤔😢
Thank you again, well done!
Thank you so much for watching! May we find peace forward
A very interesting video. I would add that just like in every other country (including China) Americans hold very diverse opinions and backgrounds. During this video we're frequently told what percentage of Chinese might hold a particular view and that it's never everyone, that's great. Mearsheimer represents a small fraction of Americans in that he is interested in foreign policy. It's safe to assume most of the viewers of this channel share Mearsheimer's interest. Sadly the Europeans referenced in the video lack the education and experiences that made their grandparents smart and forward thinking. Keep up the good work!
geopolitics are very complicated issue. There's no right or wrong, we all have to make the best out of what we have
True, true! Europeans understand neither the Chinease nor us, Russians, as well as all other nations.
Going to make a video on Europe. Thanks for watching! May we find peace forward
Putting the social circle and world view aside, professor Mearsheimer developed one of the best theories in social sciences so far. Of course it can't explain everything, but it's unmatched in unfolding how great powers think.
Thanks for watching! May we find peace forward.
Nice presentation Richard. Mearsheimer has done so much to explain events in Ukraine in a clear logical manner. Its great to hear the voice of reason with an American accent. Mearsheimer is a student of history and especially conflict. Your astonishment that many people don't believe or understand him, is just a case of their conditioning and susceptibility to the media. Most people cannot think for themselves.
totally agree with your points here. Thanks for watching! May we find peace.
The people of the Americas (most of whom are Christians), including the USA, have been divided and ruled over by outsiders for centuries.
Because it is easier to divide people based on personal differences, than it is to unite them, based on what they have in common.
Strategically ambiguous rulers make use of this, for own advantages. In the era of European Imperialism, first Spain and Portugal entered the Americas, employing the divide and rule technique of top-down power, then after 1900 as European colonial powers' influence decreased, the role of divider was simply taken over by Washington DC (the entire world was the playground after around 1900).
*Today, it is the globalists who employ imperialist tools to play divide and rule games on their neighbors.*
Now the intention is simply to avoid unity in the Americas, in order to rule over the dissent which is classical divide and rule.
Today, their leaders are too weak to unite.
Endless wars on anything and everything from "drugs" to "terror", constant dissent.
Insert levers of lies, mistrust...
Create favorites: favoritism...
Point the finger, everywhere else...
Divide and Rule.
Oldest trick in the book...
In February 1948, George F. Kennan's Policy Planning Staff said: "[W]e have about 50% of the world's wealth but only 6.3% of its population. ... Our real task in the coming period is to devise a pattern of relationships which will permit us to maintain this position of disparity." [end of]
And _that_ is what they did.
America's friends and self-proclaimed default rivals in Europe are still being burnt to ensure this disparity continues.
*Set up European and Eurasian nations (including the MENA region) against each other.*
It is how divide and rule is implemented.
The imperialist playbook of Great Britain and the USA for more than 100 years. Read Halford Mackinder (Pivot of History, 1904) and Zbigniew Brzezinski (Grand Chessboard, 1997) regarding Eurasia. Who wields the POWER? Who has had (in all historical cases in the ME/Levant) the GEOGRAPHICAL ADVANTAGE of being able to reach all the other little buck catchers (tools, and other Roman-era style instruments of POWER), but could not be reached itself, because of a geographical-, technological-, organizational-, military-, strategic-, political advantage at any given point of a historical timeline?
*War is a great "divider."* It goes straight through the heads of millions and billions of people from the very top tiers, right down to the individual level. War divides alignments and alliances, goes straight through organizations, divides political parties, tears through peace movements and other families of humanity, and finally at the very bottom tier, goes straight through individual hearts and minds as individuals struggle with _themselves._
"Most of the great problems we face are caused by politicians creating solutions to problems they created in the first place." - Walter E. Williams
That is what empires have always done.
Create the *default rival/enemy.*
It is usually the power most likely to succeed which is determined as the *default rival/enemy.*
Notice how, as soon as a rival starts mass-producing products high up in the value chain of capitalism, and starts vying for markets, and becomes successful, it *immediately* becomes the systemic rival, and is then geopolitically encircled by the greater empire. It happened around 1900, as Germany started building high-value products, and it happened around 2000, as China started moving away from building cheap toys and labor intensive kitchen appliances...
The games start on the home turf. The first victims are their own people.
at the 22 minute mark, you described Mearsheimer's very point. Great powers will donas they please. So if one sees an ppportunity they will take it
You made an excellent point of using historical empathy as the basis of political analysis. thought exercises of what a total life experience would be for a person anyplace in the world at any point in history.
This John Mearsheimer video is actually the first video I made. Didn't expect it to get so many views, was trying to figure out editing tools and gears... Thanks for watching!
The Chinese welcomingly invite John Mearsheimer to talk about China-US tension even though John is a strong advocator of US policy pivot towards China as the main rival. John even himself mentioned this in an interview with Lex Fridman and said that he felt Chinese are more rational and willing to listen to his viewpoints from a potentially rival country than Americans from his homeland. This is an interesting part about Chinese opinions about Prof. JM.
Thanks for watching! May we find peace forward.
I would suggest Brian Berletic of The New Atlas who has a complete understanding of both historical and current relations with China. As an ex Marine fully explains the military implications
Thanks for watching! May we find peace forward.
When JM speaks of the “China threat” to America, that threat = threat to American Primacy, that’s all. As an American, he acknowledges that he advocates for continued AP. I wish people would explore this bias in a serious way during question and answer sections after his lectures.
hmm.... he's actually well respected in China and in Taiwan. I guess we see him as relatively honest? Thanks for watching! May we find peace.
@@WindSpiritZ i am a huge fan of JM. I heard him say that he is treated like a rock star in China. Would you be able to point me to some Chinese videos of him in conversation with Chinese experts with the views of experts you highlight in your vids?
Excellent. Stories. Yuval pointed out the importance of stories, and cultures have their own stories that its citizens are enmeshed in. The problem though, is stories, like ‘history’ is a certain perspective. I heard recently, ‘history is not the same as the past’. History is the telling of a series of causal factors that lead up to a point, while the past is a billion events bumping against one another moving things from one state to the next. Chaos. The story teller/historian has to choose the events that from their perspective, lead from A to where ever we are now.
good points. Thanks for watching! May we find peace
🎉❤ great video! 😅. Thank you
thank you for watching! may we find peace forward
Totally agree. It's great to find your channel! I live in Germany and I listen so many crazy things that I, as a Latina, don't see. And I'm also a Mearsheimer reader. I still don't understand Western thinking. Before the war, I thought that speaking the language and relating to this world made me able to understand it. Now I can say no. I think, adhoc and only in a preliminary way, what is in this thought a set of variables: historical hallucinations, ancient myths, viceral fear of the non-Western world and white supremacism and, without a doubt, great impact of a unique thought. All this forms a uniform and uncritical cocktail.
Thanks for watching! May we find peace forward.
People don’t get the very fundamentals of Mearsheimer’s perspectives. He is a realist, meaning he tries very hard to be in someone else’s shoes and see from their perspective and think/act accordingly. Ironically, he is “empathic” and not necessarily hawkish. He often recognizes that his perspectives are not necessarily aligned with his morals. Another key point people often miss.
agree with you Thanks for watching! May we find peace.
Brilliant. Thank you
Thanks for watching! May we find peace forward.
Thanks for your attention. I live in Mexico, understand in full your opinion about people's perspectives. Every change starts by a few. I hope your channel grows exponentially for WE DO NOT WANT A THIRD WORLD WAR .
Gracias por ver! Que tengamos paz.
You obviously have not listened to what JohnM' s view of China and merica, and why one is the enemy of his country. (I am assuming you are a Chinese since you are talking about your father in China. Or you could be merican like JohnM and therefore share his view why it is the enemy?)
don't really have problem with his view on China, it's a realistic and US centric one. He's not sugarcoating everything with democracy etc
Good video but I had to listen at 1.5x speed as you were really taking your time explaining this.
Thank for watching! May we find peace forward.
Please tell us the Chinese opinion of Col Douglas MacGregor
don't think he's that active in China. I respect him personally. He's more military angled* though.
You seem relatively young. So, I’m assuming your Finnish friends are of similar age. I’m curious to know the views of older Finns.
actually most of my Finnish friends are much older than me, I was a consultant working for small medium size companies.
Reason I asked was because Finland and Russia had a long history of peaceful coexistence. Regardless of your friends’ sentiments, the situation is, if Putin wants to invade Finland, Russia can probably do it in a week. If your friends think the US will come to Finland’s aid, think again. Kissinger once said it is dangerous to be America’s enemy and fatal to be America’s friend.
Regardless of one’s views of Putin, the fact is Russia is a superpower with nuclear weapons, NATO is losing in Ukraine, good chance US may leave NATO if Trump gets elected. Why would one get onto a sinking ship when neutrality has served you well historically?
Richard , I am very pleased to find you and to listen to your thoughts. I am german , living in Spain now for over 30 years. So I am one of the category who has a certain understanding of spanish and german culture I am 63 now.
The standart european brain has a simple mindset. Democracy is good , Dictatorship is bad. I have learned that the world is not as simple as that. The european countries in fact are not democracies , they are oligarchies dressed as democracies. In Europe the only country which leans a bit more to democracy is Switzerland . Money makes the world go round , not some small bits of paper stuffed into a box by everyone who are counted afterwards to make the people believe that they have decided something.
For me a system is good or bad not by its label , but by the good or bad decisions the man or group of man at the top make in benefit for the people they are responsible under their rule.
very good point, might read your comment in one of my future video. Thanks for watching! May we find peace