Palladium

> In California, it's been 15 years and we have 0 miles complete.

California had only 10 permanent employees on its HSR project, everyone else was a contractor. Furthermore, "Interest groups wield CEQA and NEPA like weapons. One study found that 85 percent of CEQA lawsuits were filed by groups with no history of environmental advocacy. The NIMBY attitude of these groups has crippled the ability of California to build anything." [0]

Other governments do not have to take the same approach. The choice is not limited to "be California or be a dictatorship", there are thousands of examples of states taking both a long and short time to do things, regardless of how autocratic they are. Another example from that article, "The Netherlands has strong unions, but the Port of Rotterdam has been automated to an extent that has proven impossible in the U.S. due to union resistance." - if you'd like to know more about how that went, see what the Port of Rotterdam has been doing [1] and what the union ultimately got for their strike action [2] - spoiler alert, they did not stop the increasing pace of automation, as US unions seem to have managed.

> Also built numerous hospitals during pandemic in a couple weeks.

So did the UK government, and then had to close them all as they weren't useful. Haste made waste. "As of 5 May 2020, six of the seven planned hospitals had opened, and by the following month all had been placed on standby. [...] almost all of the increased demand for critical…

Much of this comment is wrong. Cutting off some Russian banks from SWIFT will have significant consequences on the Russian economy. The fact that Russia prints its own currency doesn't change anything.

> are not dependent upon imports.

Russia imports hundreds of billions of dollars worth of goods each year. Source: https://tradingeconomics.com/russia/imports

> The fantasy of the dollar hegemony is a western myth.

The hegemony of the dollar is actually very real. The dollar is the de facto global currency for cross border transactions and settlements. And it will remain so as long as the United States remains the world's dominant superpower, which is forever. https://palladiummag.com/2020/12/05/why-the-us-dollar-could-outlast-the-american-empire/

> However Russia could demand roubles in payments for its gas.

And buyers could put their foot down and demand to pay in dollar. If Russia refuses, said buyers will simply look to other producers.

> and then ban foreigners from holding them.

No one outside of Russia wants to hold roubles. Everyone wants euros, dollars, or pound sterlings. The rouble is not a significant currency in the global economy.

> Which would mean the EU couldn't settle its gas bill.

The EU can import gas from the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Middle East. US exports of natural gas to Europe are already rapidly increasing: https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/europe-remains-top-destination-us-lng-second-month-running-2022-02-01/. Gas…

Of course it's ridiculous if you only know China through the media. But have you considered that maybe the media representation is inaccurate? I've actually lived there, my wife comes from there, and my family is still there. This is combined with new information about China coming from the west, and having no restrictions here. I've studied some of China's recent history, a subject which is rarely taught in the west. Why do you think you know the truth better than I do?

> Also, why live in the Netherlands if China is so great? Wouldn't it make sense to move back there, if everything is on the up & up?

Because China wasn't great. I came here in 1993 with my parents, back then China was dirt-poor. My wife came here much more recently, in 2012, and she's of the opinion that the Netherlands is very boring and has no good food compared to China. She'd fly back multiple times a year if she could.

For a more realistic perspective on Chinese society and its changes in the past 20 years, you should read this: The American Dream Is Alive in China
https://palladiummag.com/2019/10/11/the-american-dream-is-alive-in-china/

> is kind of ridiculous.

This is a whole different topic. There's a lot to deconstruct and to respond to in just those few sentences you typed, and those few links you sent. I would be glad to engage with you on this subject, but I have to know something first: do you truly wish for a conversation, or do you just want to stick with your existing opinion?

China…

I wouldn't say so. Scale matters. What worked for Singapore, may not work for China.

There is this great article about the story of Singapore[0], it was also discussed on HN some time ago. I believe one of its main takes really resonates with "Seeing like a State" thesis.

Decision-makers must rely on simplified models to make their decisions. All schemata are by nature imperfect representations of reality. Indeed, a scheme that reflected reality perfectly would be cluttered and uninterpretable. The reality is always more complex than the plan. In large countries, the planner is further from ground reality than in tiny city-states. Abstractions and errors inevitably compound as the distance increases

Ironically, Lee Kuan Yew himself had no patience for other people’s models. In his words, “I am not following any prescription given to me by any theoretician on democracy or whatever. I work from first principles: what will get me there?” If there is a lesson from Singapore’s development it is this: forget grand ideologies and others’ models. There is no replacement for experimentation, independent thought, and ruthless pragmatism.

[0] https://palladiummag.com/2020/08/13/the-true-story-of-lee-kuan-yews-singapore/

HN discussion: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24382249

It may depend on the author, as some articles in the publication are inconsistent with the characterization of “in-depth research.” Previously, the publication wrote about “Stanford’s War on Social Life,” but made some omissions that misrepresented some key facts used as evidence of Stanford’s supposed demise.[1]

Two key things pointed out by our fellow HN readers included the (1) failure to acknowledge the association of the defunct fraternity, wistfully characterized as emblematic of campus social life, with the Brock Turner rape; and (2) the mischaracterization of Lake Lagunita as a beloved campus waterfront neglected by Stanford, when it was in fact an artificial pond created by a dam that the municipality stopped servicing.[2]

These may or may not necessarily be important for a casual audience, but for a publication that presents itself in the self-appointed realm of “governance futurism” there is a lack of rigor and a palpable sense of linguistic license. Take it for what you will.

[1]https://palladiummag.com/2022/06/13/stanfords-war-on-social-life/

[2]https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31732944

On the other hand, Tanner Greer also launched the Center for Strategic Translation because he thinks too many American decisionmakers do not know how to read Chinese newspapers. And fittingly enough, he announced it in Palladium: https://www.palladiummag.com/2022/11/14/why-we-need-the-center-for-strategic-translation/

... anyone who read one of my pieces was separated from the original sources by at least two intermediate layers of analysis: my writing was a gloss of other people’s research, which itself was a summary of multiple sources in Chinese. This way of doing things is no longer sufficient. To resolve debates over China policy, all participants need to read what the Chinese are saying in their own words. Wise China policy will not be made until the generalists are able to access the same sources as the specialists.