Hacker News Reader

Comment by senectus1 | Hacker News Reader

energy CANT be too cheap.

just convert it to something and transport it where its not cheap.

Exactly this is the most incoherent article. There is no transition, only growth. More energy always up up.

The article reads like a lot of finance articles from western outlets about China. It continues the multi-decade angle that — regardless of China’s successes — somehow they’re set for a full and total societal collapse any minute now.

So of course cheap energy is bad if you want to prop up a whole set of multinationals that rely on rent-seeking behavior. It puts those companies’ long-term growth at risk.

I do not think advanced societies, even semi-authoritarian ones, can collapse overnight, but having spent a few month in China countryside (which is beautiful btw, hard treks but interesting ones), they do have a lot of challenge they probably are not totally ready for. The lack of education and available role models for countryside children and the blatant corruption there (not in cities, cities seems way more policed, i'm really speaking about the countryside) can maybe be put aside, but i'm really not confident.

I thought rural areas were treated as second-class in my country, and since i've gone to West Virginia i was "that's _really_ second class: we are good, comparatively", but China countryside is worse than that. Yes, that might be surprising to left-leaning US citizen who are aware of the recent floodings in WV and the lack of national help: the abandonment of rural area seems somehow worse in China.

> Yes, that might be surprising to left-leaning US citizen who are aware of the recent floodings in WV and the lack of national help: the abandonment of rural area seems somehow worse in China.

I can't say for sure how things are is particularly favorable for a specific side, many will be quick to judge with intent to merely confirm their pre-existing conclusions, but the real question for me is: what are these places going to look like in 50 years? Is the US going to sober up and become a first world country again? Is China's modernization going to continue and reach the country sides (e.g. not a bubble)?

My best hopes is that peaceful prosperity arrives at both places.

like hydrogen or bitcoin, or at a larger scale aluminum

Don’t “just” me bro

Reply on news.ycombinator.com