[CondoleezzaProtege]

These are people who don’t understand economics and never will. That’s why their economies are also-rans in spite of some of best human resources on the planet. Leaders who are first rate plotters and incompetent rulers.

Do you apply this assessment to China also?

[Zhang Fei]

[Do you apply this assessment to China also?]

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Yes. China is the worst of the bunch. Some of the finest minds on the planet, if average PISA or IQ scores are any indicator. Forget PISA or IQ scores. Just look at how well Chinese emigres do once free of the shackles of the Chinese emperor.
https://nces.ed.gov/surveys/pisa/pisa2015/pisa2015highlights_3.asp
https://iq-research.info/en/average-iq-by-country

China has been bootstrapped into rapid development by the efforts of its relentlessly enterprising private businessmen. If the Communist Party, with its exercises of arbitrary power and unchecked corruption, were removed from power, China’s growth would skyrocket. We are fortunate that the Communist Party remains dominant, just as we are fortunate that Putin remains in power. It is this incompetence that will shackle the territorial ambitions (driven by many centuries of tradition) of their political leaders, by limiting the resources with which they can achieve those ambitions.