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I has been said that a government is a government solely because it is the most powerful criminal enterprise in its domain. However, this is mitigated by two important rules.

The first of these was first noted in China, over the course of many centuries, and can be described as, “A people get the kind of government they want.”

In China, at intervals of about 200 years, invaders would come from the North, slaughter a bunch of Chinese, and set themselves up as the new rulers. Then within just a few generations, the new rulers would themselves become Chinese, and do things in “The Chinese Way”.

How this came about was based on the desires and expectations of the Chinese people. If the new rulers gave them an order that appealed to them and the way, they would carry it out promptly and efficiently. But if the order was not in the way, the Chinese would bungle it, have cost overruns, and generally not produce anything near a satisfactory result, no matter how much they were coerced. So over time, by following the Chinese Way, conquerors would be trained to do what the Chinese wanted.

This also applied to their foreign policy. Since China was the center of the world in their eyes, what lurked outside their borders were all barbarians. So the Chinese encouraged the nations around them to adopt The Chinese Way as well. If they did that, they were left alone, even if they were obnoxious to China. But if they didn’t, then China would punish them, to restore the way, then return home to China.

Importantly, the rule that “A people get the kind of government they want”, is not limited to China, and is pretty universal. How it comes about varies, but not the end result.

The other important rule actually determines if a government will continue to be the government, or if it will fall. It is not limited to China in any way, and even applies to our government. It is a ratio called “efficiency”, which simply put is a ratio between what a government promises, and what it delivers.

If a government promises a little, and delivers, it will likely survive. If it promises a lot, but does not deliver, it will probably fall. Oddly enough, it matters less *what* it promises than whether it delivers on those promises.

Looking at the current US government, judging by this rule, it is in deep trouble. It has promised fantastic amounts of things for which there is no possibility, under any circumstances, that they will be delivered. Typically this means the only question left is who is going to replace our current government with one that is more realistic.

But what exactly does the Chinese government promise to its people?

More prosperity, more order, a stronger military. Probably many other things. And they are at least delivering on some of that, so are at less risk.

And that, by our standards, they are wanting in many ways, will likely not matter in The Chinese Way.