Martin Wolf sees two failing superpowers, obviously, there is only one /FT, 1 April 2020/. China fares quite well, sending all the necessary kits for defense against the coronavirus to Europe, Asia and the States.
It is not the matter of democracies or autocracies, as the author puts it, both can succeed or fail. It is the matter of competent or weak governments.
At the core of the different tales of the fight against the virus we can find two opposite experiences of history. America seems to be complacent due to the unique “island mindset” of the Americans. Apart from the English invasion in 1812, they have never been conquered by anyone, including a disease.
The Chinese were frequently attacked, even invaded, by foreigners from the Mongols to the opium. They have the know-how to prevail sooner or later.
What we are witnessing is a western tragedy of mismanagement and complacency.
Re “The tragedy of two failing superpowers”
Governor Matolcsy, MNB, the Central Bank of Hungary
