Team democracy versus autocracy! What a pitifully dark joke.
While Europe can claim some democratic aspects because of its labor unions and social support system, it is under the boot of the US. Whenever the US waves the SWIFT whip, even Germany meekly and cowardly complies.
And the US is an oligarchy, no better than the Russian system. Its oligarchs are able to draw trillions of dollars to support and grow their fortunes while regular Americans can’t even get universal health coverage and are driven homeless by a system that favors and responds mostly to those American oligarchs. Actions speak louder than cheap, lying slogans. Of course, the regular Americans are kept docile by an impressive, all-encompassing propaganda system called the Main Stream Media and is owned by the American oligarchs and run for their benefit. And the American oligarchs are way worse than the Russian ones in scale. The American oligarchs feed their military-industrial complex by wars and the blood of mostly black and brown civilians abroad. In Afghanistan alone, the American oligarchs were guzzling 300 million dollars a DAY for 20 YEARS while stacking up the civilian body count and bringing the heroine manufacture and trade to the highest levels which serve their interest (more profit for the American oligarchs).
The US war crimes are legion (Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Libya, former Yugoslavia, Uganda, Somalia, Kenya, much of latin America, …) and their illegal wars, genocidal sanctions and not-so-covert operations are everywhere. Fortunately, their propaganda machine is up to the challenge. Conspiracy theory, whataboutism and myriad slogans and ways are used to smother mountains of evidence hiding in plain sight.
China has never invaded another country nor undermined one. On the contrary, its belt and road initiative has poured trillions of dollars in help to other countries. Of course, the US propaganda machine must then rile up the masses to revile China. Is China democratic? No, but people in China have more self-determination than in the US at a practical level. This is reflected in actions whereby China is the only country that has managed to eradicate deep poverty. The US, in spite of being the vampire of the world through its dollar hegemony, has a high poverty rate and growing. Which people then have more self-determination, the US or China?
Finally, barring a nuclear war, it is inevitable that China will be the next world power and probably in the next five years. Geography, demographics and a demonstrably superior economic system is on its side. Will Chinese leadership be better than the hypocritical ’west’.? Without a doubt. Will it be up to the best aspirations of humanity? No, but for the majority of humans on Earth, it will be a huge improvement.
