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The Minds of Men | Official Documentary by Aaron & Melissa Dykes

The Politics of Heroin: CIA Complicity in the Global Drug Trade –Book by Alfred McCoy

The first book to prove CIA and U.S. government complicity in global drug trafficking, The Politics of Heroin includes meticulous documentation of dishonesty and dirty dealings at the highest levels from the Cold War until today. Maintaining a global perspective, this groundbreaking study details the mechanics of drug trafficking in Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and South and Central America. New chapters detail U.S. involvement in the narcotics trade in Afghanistan and Pakistan before and after the fall of the Taliban, and how U.S. drug policy in Central America and Colombia has increased the global supply of illicit drugs. I have a signed edition of this classic.

American War Machine: Deep Politics, the CIA Global Drug Connection, and the Road to Afghanistan – Book by Peter Dale Scott

This provocative, thoroughly researched book explores the covert aspects of U.S. foreign policy. Prominent political analyst Peter Dale Scott marshals compelling evidence to expose the extensive growth of sanctioned but illicit violence in politics and state affairs, especially when related to America’s long-standing involvement with the global drug traffic. Beginning with Thailand in the 1950s, Americans have become inured to the CIA’s alliances with drug traffickers (and their bankers) to install and sustain right-wing governments. The pattern has repeated itself in Laos, Vietnam, Italy, Mexico, Thailand, Nigeria, Venezuela, Colombia, Peru, Chile, Panama, Honduras, Turkey, Pakistan, and now Afghanistan―to name only those countries dealt with in this book. Scott shows that the relationship of U.S. intelligence operators and agencies to the global drug traffic, and to other international criminal networks, deserves greater attention in the debate over the U.S. presence in Afghanistan. To date, America’s government and policies have done more to foster than to curtail the drug trade. The so-called war on terror, and in particular the war in Afghanistan, constitutes only the latest chapter in this disturbing story.

The post Your Government and Drugs appeared first on LewRockwell.

Thanks, Jesse Trentadue.

See here.

The post Operation PatCon: Arctic Frost EXPLAINED: FBI, CIA & Domestic Infiltration | 9/18/25 appeared first on LewRockwell.

Thanks, Jesse Trentadue.

The post Eric Hunley Podcast on Kenneth Trentadue and the Oklahoma City Bombing appeared first on LewRockwell.

Thanks, Jesse Trentadue.

The post An Incredible Documentary About My Brother’s Murder And The Oklahoma City Bombing. appeared first on LewRockwell.

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See Video

The post Another video of assassin SMILING as he murders Charlie Kirk, vauts over the barrier, and pretends to help him appeared first on LewRockwell.

Writes Tim McGraw:

Hi Lew,

The video of Pope Leo’s warning to America is probably a fake. There is nothing about it on the Vatican website.

The Holy See

The post Pope Leo Warning to America appeared first on LewRockwell.

Sally Fallon-Morell, is the founder of the Weston A. Price Foundation and author of Nourishing Traditions, the ground breaking best-selling cookbook (with over 600,000 copies sold) that sparked a global movement starting in 1996.

Sally also knows all about the problems with germ “theory” and virology which is why she co-wrote The Contagion Myth with Tom Cowan. (Highly Recommended)

In this video interview by Dr Sam Bailey, Sally – who’s a font of knowledge about how to restore and maintain great health – shares many pearls of wisdom you’ll find valuable in your own quest for true health.

I recommend you watch at least the first 12 minutes of this excellent interview – and all 47 minutes if you have time – HERE.

ALSO…

Please consider attending the October 17-19 2025 Wise Traditions Conference sponsored by the WAP Foundation where Drs Sam & Mark Bailey are going to attend live and speak in person. This will be your one chance to meet them in person here in the USA….so don’t miss it! Registration is still open, HERE.

BUT…

If you cannot attend and would like to view the Conference via Live Stream you can obtain tickets for that, HERE.

Highly Recommended.

The post Eat Butter: An Interview with Sally Fallon-Morell appeared first on LewRockwell.

Writes David Krall:

We do need to sometimes take a step back to remember there is still beauty in the world.   I recently found this piece of music on youtube.  It is new to me.   But I found it so enjoyable and uplifting I keep listening to it over and over again.  It makes me smile and I want to share it with you whether or not you choose to post it.

The post Day by day the news becomes more terrible and more frightening appeared first on LewRockwell.

Thanks, Johnny Kramer.

The College Fix

The post Large-scale syllabi study finds professors only teach left-wing side of controversial issues appeared first on LewRockwell.

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John Leake

The post A “Dangerous” Conversation About Crime, Conspiracy, Religion, and Stupidity appeared first on LewRockwell.

Thanks, Jerome Barber.

Activist Post

The post Bernie Sanders is a Ghoulish Zionist appeared first on LewRockwell.

The tariff stories that Americans have been told deserve to be questioned. First, we Americans are overwhelmingly paying for the tariffs. They are “slapped’ on us. Meanwhile, China is selling less to America, but they simply shifted to selling to the rest of the world, and they’re breaking records with trade surpluses. So China has not been “slapped,” while we Americans have. At the same time, America has lost 78,000 manufacturing jobs since the beginning of 2025. Something isn’t right here.

The post Trump Slaps More Tariffs on The American People — When Will It End? appeared first on LewRockwell.

di Francesco Simoncelli

(Versione audio dell'articolo disponibile qui: https://open.substack.com/pub/fsimoncelli/p/dove-mettere-i-propri-soldi)

Oggi ci prendiamo una pausa dalle solite analisi macroeconomiche e geopolitiche per concentrarci su qualcosa di specifico: cosa fare con i propri soldi ora.

Nel mondo degli asset fisici la preferenza dovrebbero sempre averla terreni o aziende private, ma non si può acquistare nessuna delle due a caso. Bisogna avere una ragione, un piano, uno scopo, un modo per gestirle e farle fruttare. E poiché tempo ed energie sono limitati e l'attenzione è costantemente impegnata altrove, spesso non è possibile farlo. Un'azienda è la soluzione migliore. Esse, sia private che pubbliche (quelle quotate in borsa), sono dove si trovano i veri soldi. Potete tenere un'oncia d'oro o un bitcoin da qui all'eternità; avrete sempre solo un'oncia d'oro o un bitcoin.

Una casa è molto peggio. Per avere ancora una casa tra 20, 50, o 100 anni, dovete mantenerla in buone condizioni: assicurazione, tasse, tetto nuovo, moquette nuova, ecc. Rappresenta un posto dove vivere, non un investimento.

Le aziende vi danno qualcosa in più. Combinano lavoro, competenza, fortuna e risorse – tutte cose che hanno un costo – e offrono un prodotto, o un servizio, che vale più degli ingredienti che lo compongono. Questo è il profitto, il quale è al centro del capitalismo e del progresso materiale. È anche il modo in cui la maggior parte delle persone si arricchisce. Immergono i loro bicchieri in quel flusso di profitti e riempiono le proprie riserve di ricchezza. A questo proposito, le aziende private sono molto meglio delle aziende pubbliche: si può godere personalmente del reddito, dei benefit aziendali e delle detrazioni fiscali.

Le aziende grandi, sia private che pubbliche, raramente sono redditizie per gli investitori esterni: invece di ottenerne il 100% degli utili, si è fortunati se si ottiene un rendimento da dividendi del 3%. E forse il titolo salirà... o forse no. In una grande azienda è molto difficile contenere i costi e ai vertici la tentazione di spendere soldi per costruire imperi, nuove tecnologie, dipendenti superflui, incentivi, pensioni, acquisizioni, sedi centrali di lusso, jet aziendali e così via è opprimente. Ci sono anche gli inevitabili costi legali, contabili e delle pubbliche relazioni derivanti dall'essere quotati in borsa. A meno che il management non sia diligente e determinato, i costi aumenteranno per raggiungere il livello di reddito (o superarlo!) indicato dalle normative e i dipendenti avranno sempre una scusa per scioperare.

Tuttavia Archer Daniels Midland avrebbe trasformato un investimento da $1 nel 1925 in oltre $50.000 oggi e John Deere avrebbe tirato fuori più di $70.000 con un investimento da $1. Ciononostante una serie di professori di finanza dell'Arizona ha concluso che oltre il 50% delle azioni “ha avuto rendimenti cumulativi negativi” nel lungo periodo e gli studi dimostrano che pochissime aziende producono effettivamente guadagni che cambiano la vita degli investitori esterni. Oltre il 50% delle azioni perde denaro; meno del 4% è responsabile di tutti i guadagni delle azioni nel lungo periodo. Questa distribuzione asimmetrica dei rendimenti è nota come “asimmetria positiva”, in cui pochi titoli vincenti superano la media mentre la stragrande maggioranza dei titoli ha rendimenti negativi.

È quasi miracoloso che qualcuno di loro emerga come vincitore. La riserva di capitale privato, gestita da professionisti seri, è ampia quanto l'Atlantico. Gli azionisti quotano le loro aziende solo perché credono che gli investitori amatoriali pagheranno di più rispetto ai professionisti, quindi le azioni vengono spesso acquistate a prezzi superiori al loro valore reale.

A Wall Street si dice che “si guadagna quando si compra”. Il problema è che si perde anche quando si compra... soprattutto quando si paga troppo.

Tuttavia le aziende che generano profitto e aumentano la ricchezza si trovano ora dove vogliamo davvero che siano. Il trucco è comprarle a prezzi ragionevoli e per questo cerchiamo situazioni eccezionali in cui ulteriori ricerche su un settore scarsamente analizzato scoprono rare opportunità. Oppure, più in generale, ci possiamo affidare al modello Dow/Oro per sapere quando le azioni, in generale, sono abbastanza convenienti da poter essere acquistate. Dal punto di vista dell'allocazione super prudente è stato possibile rimanere in disparte per quasi tre decenni, osservando il rapporto Dow/Oro scendere da oltre 40 a 12,5. In quel periodo ci si è persi la coda della bolla delle dot.com, la bolla immobiliare del 2007/2008 e l'ultima bolla speculativa dopo la corsa degli stimoli fiscali durante i lockdown. Le azioni sono schizzate in su, sono scese e sono risalite di nuovo. “Comprate i ribassi”, dicevano gli speculatori. Gli investitori del mercato azionario, che hanno resistito nel bene e nel male, ora hanno asset che valgono circa quattro volte di più rispetto a quando hanno iniziato (nel 2000).

Ciò che è realmente accaduto, ovviamente, è che le valute fiat sono scese. In termini di beni e servizi offerti, le società quotate in borsa non valgono molto di più di quanto valessero nel 2000. L'oro è ancora al numero 79 della tavola periodica e non è nemmeno salito di prezzo... è tutto il resto che è sceso. E dobbiamo aspettare ancora che il rapporto Dow/Oro scenda intorno ai cinque, o che il prezzo dell'oro raddoppi da qui in poi, o che le azioni calino... oppure che si incontrino da qualche parte nel mezzo. Aspettare non è molto eccitante, dopotutto avreste potuto comprare Nvidia! Ciononostante si è stati ben ripagati per l'attesa, quindi poco importa: l'oro è salito di circa 13 volte sin dal 2000, più di tre volte rispetto alle azioni, e del 180% da quando questo blog l'ha consigliato ai lettori.

Nel frattempo dove investire nuovi capitali? Le azioni sono così costose che è probabile che i guadagni siano limitati, o addirittura negativi, nei prossimi cinque anni. E l'oro è già salito da circa $270 a $3.650 oggi. Sarebbe ingratitudine aspettarsi di più?

Nel mondo finanziario la vicinanza è sinonimo di prosperità: più si conosce un'azienda, e più ci si è vicini, più è probabile che si guadagni. Ma queste opportunità non sono accessibili a tutti e non sono accessibili sempre a chiunque. La maggior parte di noi non ha un amico che lavora nel garage dei genitori e che sta costruendo qualcosa che chiama “personal computer”. Di conseguenza dobbiamo entrare nei mercati “pubblici” e prendere decisioni riguardo la cosiddetta “allocazione”. In altre parole, dobbiamo scegliere tra un'ampia categoria di investimenti a cui noi, come investitori, possiamo partecipare. Azioni? Obbligazioni? Oro? Materie prime? Immobili?

Una delle preferenze che dovrebbe spiccare è per i terreni agricoli. Ma, ancora una volta, bisogna sapere cosa si sta facendo ed essere pronti a gestirli in modo che siano redditizi. Non è facile! In Italia i terreni coltivabili si vendono in media a circa €20.000-25.000 l'ettaro (€1-4,5 il metro quadro). Gli affitti sono relativamente bassi, a quanto si dice tra i €170 e i €3000 l'ettaro l'anno, lasciando al proprietario un piccolo ritorno sul suo capitale. Per ottenere risultati migliori bisognerebbe dedicarsi all'agricoltura, un settore notoriamente a basso rendimento e ad alto rischio... e per i dilettanti, quasi sempre un modo per perdere denaro.

“È l'occhio del padrone che ingrassa il cavallo”, dicono gli allevatori. Che investa in società minerarie, Iofferte pubbliche iniziali, o terreni agricoli è l'investitore presente sul posto, che ha anni di esperienza, i cui occhi raramente si staccano dal campo di gioco, che avrà successo. L'agricoltura, forse più di altri settori, è un “gioco per perdenti”. I dilettanti perdono perché non sanno cosa stanno facendo, ma il modo per vincere in agricoltura è semplicemente non perdere. È un'attività in cui lampi di genio e idee “fuori dagli schemi” difficilmente danno i loro frutti. Ci sono pochi “successi al botteghino” nei campi di grano. L'agricoltore di successo è quello che rimane nei suoi schemi, si attiene a ciò che è già stato sperimentato e non commette errori. Si prende cura delle sue attrezzature; si alza presto per occuparsi dei raccolti; non è mai in ritardo di un giorno... e non ha mai un soldo in meno. Poi, se è fortunato, i prezzi dei suoi prodotti salgono, appena prima di venderli.

E gli immobili commerciali?

Negli ultimi cinque anni gli edifici si sono svuotati e ce ne sono ancora molti vuoti come il cappello di un mendicante. Gli immobili commerciali nella maggior parte delle città sono ancora a buon mercato. I proprietari se ne stanno lì – se possono permetterselo – e sperano che il mercato cambi, ma il valore degli edifici commerciali dipende dagli affitti e questi ultimi sono destinati a calare, forse in modo permanente. Anche gli immobili commerciali, come i terreni agricoli, sono una questione strettamente locale. Se riuscite a trovare un buon immobile, in buone condizioni, con un inquilino affidabile e un flusso di cassa decente – e potete tenerlo d'occhio – potrebbe essere un buon posto per i vostri soldi.

E i bond?

Beh, qui il discorso si fa interessante perché il panorama obbligazionario non è assolutamente tutto uguale. Da quando gli USA hanno iniziato ad aggiustare l'equazione monetaria/fiscale della nazione hanno mostrato quanto fossero disfunzionali tutte le altre economie. Questo ha inevitabilmente attratto i capitali negli Stati Uniti, perché i suoi mercati sono profondi e liquidi, e la sua infrastruttura finanziaria e legale è migliore insieme a una miriade di altre cose. Gli Stati Uniti, quindi, stanno aggiustando le cose in patria mentre l'UE sta raddoppiando gli sforzi sulla propria disfunzionalità perché è consapevole che non può percorrere lo stesso percorso intrapreso dagli USA. E questo è mostrato dal mercato obbligazionario e dai differenziali di rendimento dei titoli sovrani. Sono questi ultimi che contano, non tanto i valori assoluti dei titoli sovrani. La forchetta tra il trentennale americano e tedesco, ad esempio, ha continuato a chiudersi sempre di più negli ultimi mesi. Il differenziale tra gli USA e UK si sta espandendo, mentre quello tra USA e Germania si sta restringendo. Stesso discorso con quello francese. Indovinate quale invece sta andando contro corrente? Quello italiano. Per quanto paradossale possa sembrare, l'Italia sta diventando il “porto sicuro” in Europa grazie alla vicinanza con gli USA.

E tra tassi alti e dollaro debole, è solo una questione di tempo prima che questo processo porti suddette disfunzionalità europee a un livello critico da far affondare non solo i vari governi, ma soprattutto l'euro.

L'UE ha bisogno della guerra, sia ai risparmiatori che cinetica, per sopravvivere e coprire i propri “difetti di fabbrica” (emersi platealmente sin dalla crisi greca 15 anni fa). Se non ci sarà, e una dopo l'altra le tessere del domino europeo inizieranno a cadere, i fondi pensione saranno i primi a saltare. Quando nel 2014 la BCE ha avviato la NIRP ha praticamente prosciugato di equity banche e fondi pensione. Questi ultimi “sono costretti” a detenere bond sovrani europei per il 70% del loro bilancio. I tassi negativi hanno spazzati via i loro bilanci, letteralmente. Adesso si tratta di non far scappare i buoi dalla stalla prima che realizzino di essere loro a dover andare al macello. Tra l'altro dalla crisi greca nessuno ha imparato niente, nemmeno come funziona il sistema stesso dell'UE. Data la pletora di bond sovrani europei che le banche sono costrette a detenere, il contagio tra di esse è assicurato in caso di stress finanziario. E questo chiarisce ulteriormente il motivo per cui l'UE vuole la guerra, sia cinetica che ai risparmiatori, in modo da creare attraverso di essa l'utopia di un ente fiscale unico con cui emettere debito unico, schivando (temporaneamente) il proiettile d'argento della bancarotta.

Gli Stati Uniti devono ancora risolvere un sacco di problemi che sono piovuti loro addosso sin dal 2020 e non possono essere risolti durante un solo ciclo monetario. Infatti non è possibile sistemare i danni che sono stati causati durante “l'emergenza sanitaria” in un solo ciclo monetario. Il Paese si sta riorganizzando: sta cambiando il modo in cui si finanzia e il modo in cui la politica monetaria viene trasmessa all'economia più ampia. Tutti quegli strumenti che la FED ha impiegato dopo il 2008 (pronti contro termine inversi, ecc.) vengono smantellati. Ad esempio, a Jackson Hole Powell ha praticamente cestinato la regola del “2% d'inflazione come obiettivo” (flexible targeting). Quello che ha fatto finora è stato tenere i tassi alti e restringere il differenziale di debito degli USA rispetto a quello di tutti gli altri, mentre il resto del mondo ha tagliato insistentemente i tassi. Infatti  le altre economie del mondo sono in guai seri, peggiori di quelli degli USA.

Ciò che c'è ora è un ambiente inflazionistico per le commodity e deflazionistico per il credito. Questo è il tipo di stagflazione in essere, non il ciarpame come determinato dalla Phillips Curve. La liquidità sta scorrendo fuori dagli asset finanziari fino agli strati più bassi della piramide del capitale, laddove le supply chain ne hanno più bisogno per rimarginarsi. La base di suddetta piramide è caratterizzata dai fattori di produzione di grandezza inferiore (es. materie prime, ecc.), mentre l'apice è caratterizzata da fattori di produzione di ordine superiore (es. beni intermedi, semi-lavorati, fino ai beni di consumo finiti). Affinché i produttori si muovano dal basso verso l'alto nel modo più corretto possibile, ci deve essere una determinazione onesta del rischio e questo a sua volta significa tassi d'interesse che riflettono la condizione di credito reale dell'economia. I cicli si susseguono andando su e giù lungo la sopraccitata piramide. Un ambiente stagflazionistico significa che c'è troppo credito in giro e deve essere contratto (rallentamento dell'attività economica, riorganizzazione, disoccupazione, ecc.) in modo che si possa iniziare un nuovo ciclo.

Quello che finora ha fatto la FED è stato restringere quanto più possibile tutto quel credito che è stato creato in eccesso durante i lockdown. Ancora non ha terminato tale compito e non può terminarlo in un solo ciclo del credito senza “rompere” qualcosa. Ecco perché Powell ha tagliato i tassi nell'ultima riunione del FOMC (non necessariamente significa più denaro, bensì denaro che costa un po' di meno rispetto a ieri), in modo da aiutare le piccole/medie banche che hanno ancora grossi buchi nei loro bilanci. Questo, oltre alla dismissione della Supplemental Leverage Ratio, permetterà loro di far scorrere meglio il credito nel Paese per dare sollievo anche alle piccole/medie imprese, aiutate anche da un politica fiscale più lasca e una deregolamentazione (si spera) quanto più libera dalle intromissioni dei giudici. A proposito della prima, poi, ci sono due notizie che ne confermano la presenza: le aste per i titoli sovrani americani continuano a far segnare delle ottime sessioni, alla faccia degli “spacciatori di catastrofi” secondo cui questa estate avrebbe segnato un disastro per le finanze statunitensi (le ultime aste per i titoli a 3, 5, 20 e 30 anni sono andate alla grande, questo accade quando non si ha idea del processo in corso, o non la si vuole avere, e si commentano a sproposito i singoli fatti); diversamente da quello che avete ascoltato dai media generalisti, e che invece avete letto su queste pagine, la legge di bilancio non era affatto così terribile come veniva raffigurata PRIMA della sua approvazione... anzi...

Pessimo giorno per gli "smemorati". Dopo essersi strappati i capelli per la "catastrofe" del rollover del debito americano, si stracciavano le vesti per i deficit della BBB che avrebbero mandato in bancarotta il Paese. Indovinate un po'? La revisione del CBO segna un surplus. https://t.co/jSHk6JD1dM

Menzione finale per il comparto energetico. Fin dal 2020 abbiamo vissuto in un ambiente economico in cui la componente energetica ha trainato principalmente i prezzi al consumo (commodity push inflation), infatti i futures sulla benzina e l'indice dei prezzi al consumo a 4 mesi si muovevano in sincronia. Adesso qualcosa pare essere cambiato visto che i due stanno divergendo (soprattutto nell'ultima lettura dove i futures sopraccitati sono scesi, mentre l'IPC è salito). Ciò che è salito invece è l'elettricità e questo mi fa pensare che l'economia statunitense, in particolare, si sta spostando in un ambiente in cui i prezzi saranno determinati principalmente dall'energia elettrica (demand push inflation). In sintesi, fame di credito al consumo (e non più di natura finanziaria), spese in conto capitale e spinta industriale. Tutto ciò è una manna per commodities come argento e rame, ad esempio.

Per maggiori approfondimenti, dettagli e suggerimenti pratici su questi aspetti finora discussi, vi invito a usare il servizio di consulenza messo a disposizione dal blog usando l'app di prenotazione Calendly: https://calendly.com/fsimoncelli/consulenze

Supporta Francesco Simoncelli's Freedonia lasciando una mancia in satoshi di bitcoin scannerizzando il QR seguente.

Thanks, Saleh Abdullah.

The Daily Caller

The post Several Mass Shooters Have Taken Psychiatric Drugs. RFK Wants Answers appeared first on LewRockwell.

Click Here:

WLT Report

The post Report posts video of palm pistol assassin appeared first on LewRockwell.

The most powerful public statement of my lifetime—a statement so revolutionary it could transform our society and culture in ways we can’t foresee—was uttered by a grieving widow this past Sunday.

“That young man…I forgive him.”

The widow, of course, was Erika Kirk, the wife of slain Christian activist Charlie Kirk, and the “young man” was his alleged assassin, Tyler Robinson. At a memorial service full of amazing speeches (Secretary of State and Catholic Marco Rubio explaining the Incarnation and the Gospel in 90 seconds was just one of many highlights), Mrs. Kirk unleashed a spiritual weapon beyond all human comprehension, beyond the wisdom of this world: forgiveness. She did this on a personal level, as only she could do as a widow, but her public act of forgiveness might very well impact us all.

Before we talk about the public consequences of Mrs. Kirk’s act, however, let us not gloss over the difficulty behind it. I remember living in Steubenville, Ohio in 1999 when three Franciscan University students were slain. At a memorial service, the mother of one of those students forgave the killers. At first I thought it was a nice gesture, but one that any Christian should and would do. But then I considered what I would do if someone killed one of my children or my wife, and I realized forgiveness is not something I’m not sure I could offer. It hit me what an extreme and formidable act forgiveness can be.

If a loved one is killed in cold blood, the natural—the human—reaction is anger and then hatred toward the one who took away your beloved. To forgive in such a situation is literally humanly impossible: you need Christ and his grace to do it. And Erika Kirk accepted that grace and did the impossible: she forgave the one who had committed this incredible evil against her. After she made her act of forgiveness, the crowd immediately recognized what it meant and what it took and rose to their feet in appreciation, with very few dry eyes in the building (or among the millions of people watching online).

As I said, this was a personal act by Erika Kirk, but it unleashed a spiritual power that can make a lasting impact on society by showing clearly for all to see that there are two sides in this battle, and one is good and one is evil. When George Floyd died in 2020, it unleashed Satanic forces that threatened to tear our country apart. There was no talk of forgiveness; just payback in the form of destruction and death. Yet when Charlie Kirk was assassinated, it unleashed perhaps the greatest proclamation of the Gospel in this country—in word and in deeds—we’ve seen since perhaps the 19th century. That’s the difference between the two sides fighting for control of our country’s future. It’s not to say that the side of good doesn’t make mistakes or at times supports things that are contrary to the good, but no objective person can act any more like the two sides are morally equivalent.

We simply cannot overestimate the impact Mrs. Kirk’s beautiful act might have. St. Paul wrote that when we do good for our enemy, we “heap coals on his head” (Romans 12:20). It’s not that we do good in order to crush our enemies, but instead that our good acts shame our enemies and lead outside observers—and even our very enemies—to recognize we are on God’s side and they need to join us. Since our battle today is primarily a spiritual battle (and when isn’t it?), our primary goal in defeating our enemies is their conversion. That’s ultimate victory. That’s what makes our true enemies—the devil and his fallen angels—completely and utterly defeated. Mrs. Kirk put the Gospel in action, and there’s no telling what might now happen.

A final point. Some people were concerned that Mrs. Kirk’s forgiveness of her husband’s killer might mean that the assassin shouldn’t face justice by the State. That somehow Christian mercy conflicts with temporal justice. That’s not how it works. Christianity has always been built on forgiveness as its central doctrine—after all, we are all sinners in need of forgiveness—yet it has always supported the viability of the death penalty (no matter what some quarters these days might say).

These two beliefs are not incompatible or contradictory ideas. The Christian person is commanded to forgive, both for his own personal salvation as well as for the hoped-for salvation of the criminal. The Christian state, however, is required to mete out justice so that the social order can be preserved in order that the proclamation of the Gospel might flourish. So Erika Kirk is right to forgive her husband’s killer, but so is the State right to execute him if it finds him guilty.

It’s quite possible our country is on the verge of a Great Awakening, one that leads many souls to Christ. Pray for our government leaders and their role, but also pray for our Church leaders that they may recognize the moment we are in and use it to bring many souls into Christ’s Church.

This article was originally published on Crisis Magazine.

The post The Power of Forgiveness appeared first on LewRockwell.

Michel Chossudovsky of GlobalResearch.ca makes a presentation to the 20 Years Journey in Criminalizing War: What Next? conference in Kuala Lumpur commemorating the 20th anniversary of the signing of the 2005 Kuala Lumpur Initiative to Criminalize War.

He reflects on the lack of progress toward the vision of the criminalization of war and the unfortunate move toward the criminalization of justice that has instead taken place over the last two decades.

Our thanks to James Corbett of The Corbett Report for producing this video. 

The original source of this article is Global Research.

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I am writing thousands of miles above the earth, somewhere between Phoenix and home. The hum of the engines is constant, but what reverberates within me is not the altitude, not the passage over desert and plain. What reverberates within me is the quake in America’s soul I witnessed on Sunday. I was there, at the memorial for Charlie Kirk, slain only weeks ago, and it felt less like a service than a convulsion of history.

Over 200,000 people packed into an arena and the surrounding streets—a football stadium and hockey stadium side by side, overflowing—while more than 100 million watched online, the audience continuing to grow by the day as clips and testimonies ripple outward. Some of the most powerful leaders in America, perhaps the world, stood on that stage. And yet the most remarkable thing was not their presence but what was placed at the center: faith—not as an ornament, not as a perfunctory nod to heritage, but as the fabric of meaning and order itself.

Religion was not a backdrop but a foundation.

Founders’ Wisdom, Our Forgetfulness

John Adams once warned that the Constitution was “made only for a moral and religious People. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” George Washington, in his Farewell Address, cautioned that national morality could not be sustained apart from religious principle. These two Founders were not indulging pious flourishes. They were stating an axiom of civilization: political freedom depends on moral order, and moral order depends on reverence for a Law above ourselves.

Cecil B. DeMille put it more bluntly: “We cannot break the Ten Commandments. We can only break ourselves against them.”

We live in a culture eager to forget this. We imagine ourselves masters of reality, sovereigns of desire, curators of our own truths. Yet the evidence piles up in our families, our communities, our bodies: truth is not determined but discovered, and always in Someone beyond us. The data confirm it: health collapses where sexual anarchy reigns; sociological surveys tie stable marriages to educational outcomes, economic stability, and civic virtue; psychologists know that unbounded desire breeds despair.

What Adams called “virtue” is not private luxury; it is civic necessity.

The Landscape of Disorder

Every one of us knows disorder. Some of mine may not be yours. Yours may not be your neighbor’s. But the fact is universal. The modern temptation is to enshrine our disorders as identities, to rationalize them, to institutionalize them in law and policy, and then to demand others celebrate them. This is not liberation but slavery.

The alternative is harder but truer: to recognize desire can be bent, to cultivate self-mastery, to order passion toward truth and goodness.

This is not merely personal. Government already regulates behavior that threatens the community: fentanyl is illegal, buildings require codes, medicine demands standards. To imagine sexuality has no communal consequence is delusion. There is no such thing as a purely private moral choice.

Consider the cascading effects of fatherlessness. Unwed motherhood is not just a personal drama but an economic and civic crisis. The costs bleed into welfare budgets, classroom disruptions, crime statistics, tax burdens. Ask any teacher trying to instruct 30 children while navigating the wounds of fatherless homes: morality is never private. Disorder reverberates.

More Than a Memorial: A Revival

This is what gave yesterday’s gathering its singular force. It was not about Charlie Kirk as an individual—though his loss was grievous, his family’s pain palpable. It was about what Charlie stood for.

Throughout the stadium, thousands rose to their feet, many declaring first-time commitments to Jesus Christ. You could sense the authenticity—a hunger deeper than politics. For all the speeches, the policies debated, the headlines written, the underlying issue was painfully human: sincerity. Are we willing to live what we profess? Or will hypocrisy fuel the cynicism of those who despise us?

Even in grief, even in rage at the assassin’s bullet, the question hovered like judgment: Do our lives reflect the faith we proclaim?

The Crescendo of Forgiveness

The answer came in a way that left the air electric. Erika Kirk, Charlie’s widow, stood to speak. Her husband had been stolen from her only two weeks earlier. Her children had been robbed of a loving father. Her face bore grief, but her words bore something more.

She forgave.

The crowd erupted—not in political cheer but in awe. Of all the ovations that day, none was louder, none more enduring, than for forgiveness. Presidents and governors may wield power, but they cannot compel what erupted from that woman’s soul.

Her act dwarfed policy. It dwarfed tweets and podiums. It was the power of the Gospel, alive, defiant, radiant.

And then Erika pressed further: it was for souls like her husband’s alleged assassin—Tyler Robinson—that Charlie lived and labored. Not to trade barbs in ideological crossfire, but to reach the broken. To love the enemy. To call the lost home.

That was the moment when the quake of grief became a tremor of revival.

In this, the line of our cultural moment was laid bare. It is not simply Left vs. Right, Conservative vs. Progressive. It is far simpler, far deeper: Will we accept our identity in God or reject it?

One path leads to flourishing; the other to languishing.

As America approaches its 250th anniversary, the question becomes inescapable: Will we remember what the Founders knew? Will we awaken from amnesia? Alexis de Tocqueville, observing the young republic, famously remarked that America’s greatness lay not in its fields or factories but in its churches, “on the lips of her people.” When America ceases to be good, he warned, it will cease to be great.

We are there. The soil is quaking beneath us.

Read the Whole Article

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Symbols are vehicles of understanding, are messengers of meaning, unfold its creativity and beauty. Language and culture incorporate symbols whole and living, or falsified, hollow and dead. A symbol has life insofar as it participates with, gives focus to, the life which stands prior, which breathes into and is ever making whole the creation and commons shared between. While not itself a person such nature stands as a reflection which rightly focused serves to witness relations and intentions, highlight beauty and meaning, truthful and whole. Here the created is enfolded within, as it is capable of mirroring and so unfolding, a reality and ‘commons’ prior, preestablished, and uncreated. If a symbol brings a commons into focus, serves as lens for relation, is capable of witnessing and affirming the lived reality of relationship, it is truthful insofar as it bridges the first and the last, images the higher within the lower, affirms a sharing correspondence. The created so comes to recognition and enters completion as itself a breathing symbol and temple, wherein value births value, face lights face, the created commons and its culture nurture and support relations whole and relationship truthful.

The rightful commons is neither a graveyard nor a trash heap, but a place of meeting, a common ground of sharing and creating, of being and becoming together. A commons is a reflection of intention and its meaning, a movement toward transparency or opacity, a lens of real value or blinding poverty. The ‘commons of becoming’ is personal and shared, creative and clearing, subsists within and without. Such commons finds affirming foundation through reflecting a prior transparency, a higher reality of truth and value, the ‘commons of being’, seed and field of enlivening participation, the one life shared between. Without leaving becoming to grasp at being, the false ‘commons’ centered upon false and non corresponding intention does need to be set aside. Being and becoming are interior to one another, as truthful language and action are informed by integral relationship, engage a shared field of symbol, wherein change becomes lens of the changeless.

‘Harmonization’ may represent a sterile conformity, or a free and fruitful entering of a commons and whole of enlivening relation, providing means for a wider and clearer scope of shared meaning and understanding. Here harmonization is with an informing fullness, is engaged through a measured and living intention, gives birth to what is inviolable, to that which has foundation and standing. True harmonization brings not confusion but clarity, is an opening wherein identity is found and not lost, wherein boundaries are lucid and not blind. ‘Identity’ finds birth and renewal within not a confused conformity, but through a freeing identification with an engaging field of meaning and value, an identification respectful of boundary while revealing of an opening truth and an enduring whole. Harmonization is mediated by this identification and its revealing commons, whose ‘nature’ is not reactive but responsive, not abstract but transparent, not impersonal but truthfully personalizing.

“Coherence’ is not mere adhesion, is not narrow attachment, but begins and builds through truthful and shared identification. Such identification is not clouded by projection, but is quickened and clarified through a shared perception of true and resonant value, a shared body and commons of meaning. Such ‘commons’ and value is not an abstraction but an immediacy, not an objectifying tool but a transparency capable of mediating and bringing together into a coherence of informing symbol and active meaning. If false identification is product of an illusory projection and distorted dependency, is cause and fruit of stunted development and depersonalization, so identification which clarifies and affirms the life giving and truthful provides ground for relations which personalize and stand vibrantly personal. Persons cohere each with another through a shared response, an opening and becoming with and together, through being members of a common home and body of transparent value.

Coherence becomes co-inherence as identification is quickened through an engaging co-intension. If co-intension speaks of a common ground of mediating value and meaning, so co-inherence refers to a knowing recognition each with and within each, of being and sharing, without confusion or separation. Only that which is whole carries these two properties, and only wholes engage in a process of clarification, moving in ever wider and deeper, ever more measured relation with other wholes, and if persons, into relationship and relationships sound and whole. As with the wholes they embody co-intension and co-inherence cannot be manufactured by intentions and forces less than whole, attempts at replication never attain the measure of consciousness and life. To the extent one identifies with and serves such falsely measured systems experience turns pained and bitter as it becomes less coherent and less than whole. Apart from coherence meaning scatters and identity fractures, perception becomes imprisoned within a reactive cage, with loss of wholeness yielding a loss of responsive creativity and actual freedom.

‘Clarification’ is one with the process of making and becoming whole, a process which becomes its own reward, is one with the recognition of value intrinsic, of an order and nature prior, of a life making present. Clarification yields true and truthful identification, an identification which does not aggrandize but sincerely humbles, which permits sharing communication and access to meaning enriching and informing. Accurate perception requires a space which is clear, of focus and intention in measured correspondence with a sky and earth of resounding value, in embrace of understanding, with eye meeting eye. If misidentification is of an undermining distortion, a shadowed fruit of projection, truthful identification informs and unfolds, permits development affirming and sound. In such manner do wholes become always and increasingly whole, realize a breathing inviolate, a word which expressively rings.

It is meaning which illumines, and whose light sustains. However not all ‘meaning’ is of full standing, being generally taken as the delimitation of a word or object’s significance and constructed use. Yet language and use are ever oriented, consciously or not, within and around a field of value, instrumental or primary, objectifying or intensifying. Instrumental meaning and value are products of specific need and use, are generally passed on through objective instruction. Primary and intensive value is transparently recognized, or not, it impacts and calls into account wholly and personally. Such recognition arises directly, while is also often quickened through the witness of the selfless example of another. Intensive meaning opens the way of co-intension, provides access to a reality substantive and whole, illumines value as its own end, and so comes to feed and sustain. ‘Sight’ here opens beyond the limited object, which together with the body entire is lifted as whole, within the deepening meaning perceived and heeded.

The post A Nature Above Nature appeared first on LewRockwell.

I have been visiting China for the last sixteen years, often multiple times a year, sometimes for extended stays. I’ve traveled through big cities, small towns, and remote villages. Over time, I’ve come to see China not through ideology or media narratives, but through direct experience—what I’ve seen, heard, and felt.

Much of what people in the West believe about China is simply untrue. Here is the China I’ve seen: safer than advertised, brutally efficient, less corrupt than it was, and far more pragmatic than our narratives allow.

It amazes me how persistently and deeply people, across the political spectrum, hold negative images of China. I suspect Washington’s propaganda has seeped into the minds not only of leftists and hawks, but even of thoughtful conservatives and libertarians, who often repeat the clichés.

The Chinese are inward-looking and focused, not expansionist or threatening. I’ve found their society more curious than censorious. Contrary to popular perception, many are open-minded, self-critical, and reasonably truthful. Yes, some stay silent when asked about Xi Jinping, the Communist Party, or Tibet, but this is often prudence rather than hostility—caution mixed with openness.

A friend asked if I was ever worried about being arrested in China. Another asked if I had been followed. I doubt it. I’ve been followed in Myanmar and arrested in Zimbabwe for taking forbidden photos. I’ve traveled with insurgents in Laos, spent time alone in Congo, and even traveled with state operatives in North Korea. I can usually tell when I’m being watched.

Once, I decided to walk around a controversial mosque in a small Muslim town in China. An hour later, while I was at a restaurant, police officers—who had failed to trace me to a hotel—arrived and asked for my passport. I declined to show it. Why should I, when I wasn’t crossing a border? The young officer politely explained that while in the US I could refuse to show ID, in China that wasn’t the rule. If I had a Chinese ID, I could show that instead. His training and composure struck me. Eventually, I showed him my passport on my phone. He took a photo and apologized for the trouble.

Ironically, in the statist world we live in, while the encounter wasn’t pleasant in absolute terms, it was no worse—perhaps even milder—than what I’ve experienced in many countries. I have had worse experiences in Canada and Germany.

In China and elsewhere in the Far East, people are careful about publicly voicing political opinions. I have, however, never heard of someone getting a knock at 2 AM, being hooded and taken away by police. More likely, if someone crosses a political line, a quiet call is made from higher up to someone with direct authority over him, to pacify the situation.

Even in North America, if you express certain political views—on race, sex, or other protected topics—you risk being canceled. Indeed, I was disinvited by a Frankfurt-based mining conference for being deemed homophobic and sexist.

While driving near the Golden Triangle—long infamous for drug smuggling—our car was once stopped by police. Despite China’s severe penalties for drug offenses, smugglers still take the risk. I suspect this is because China’s ports and infrastructure are so efficient that the risk–reward calculus shifts. When your logistics ecosystem is as frictionless as China’s, even criminals are tempted.

China has what I consider the most capitalist economy on the planet. Despite the “communist” label, it operates with astonishing efficiency. Transaction costs are minimal, making goods and services cheaper and ever higher quality. It still boggles my mind that China is not a micronation but the manufacturing powerhouse of the world. From your underwear to high-tech equipment, a large share comes from China. Yet many prefer to believe it is a paper tiger. And if they do accept its growth, they often credit it to dictatorship, which makes their claim unfalsifiable.

In much of the Third World, if I want a Western-standard lifestyle, my costs rarely fall to what purchasing power parity suggests; in fact, they often rise. China is a rare exception. I can get Western-quality services for a third of the price—or less. It’s not unusual to pay $50 for a room in a five-star hotel, with full buffet breakfast included, in a tier-3 city. Taxis cost a fraction of their Western counterparts. Banks stay open late and on weekends. The RMB has broadly tracked a basket of currencies—especially the US dollar—and banks offer better deposit rates.

From my earliest visits to China until now, the transformation has been staggering. When I first arrived in Shanghai, I searched for coffee and found only something barely drinkable. Today, not only in Shanghai but even in tier-3 cities, the range and quality of coffee easily surpass what you find in Germany, Switzerland, or France.

Likewise, I once thought Canada had the tastiest fruit. But flying over China, you see miles of greenhouses. The scale and quality of domestic agriculture have improved so quickly that I now think China produces the best fruit anywhere.

The Chinese are keen learners. They absorb new ideas quickly, adapt them, and institutionalize them without backsliding. China keeps ratcheting upward; when they see something worth adopting, it swiftly becomes part of the culture.

One image that’s hardwired in my mind is of an old woman—a janitor—climbing a pole to clean it of dust. No one was watching; she didn’t have to do it. You shouldn’t judge a society by its rich and powerful, but by how the average person behaves.

From what I see, in China, whining, feeling entitled, or holding the victim card gets you nowhere. If you don’t work, from the government’s point of view, you can go hungry. I’m all for that ethic. However, social opprobrium and family support take care of desperate situations and enforce accountability. My guess is that not having to constantly complain about their so-called entitlements makes them less distracted and happier.

Wages rise and fall with economic conditions; given today’s weak economy, don’t be surprised if the government officer you meet in the morning is the one delivering your online order in the afternoon.

Last year, I flew into Shanghai with a domestic connection. My inbound flight was delayed and, with only about twenty minutes until departure, I assumed I’d missed it. To my surprise, someone holding my name met me at the gate. He photographed my boarding pass and, in a blunt—yet efficient—Chinese way, directed me in a direction. A chain of agents had already been alerted; some ushered me ahead of the lines. From the plane door to my next flight—including immigration and customs—I made the connection. What I thought impossible happened because the system worked tightly and efficiently. And I was flying economy, not business class.

Everyday systems function; people are responsive; conveniences are real. China has become extremely safe and I see no religious extremism. If this contradicts Western media narratives, perhaps it’s time to trust direct experience over ideological filters.

I’ve visited Chinese government offices and found them unlike any I’ve seen. Their apparent goal is simple: do the job and let the citizen go quickly. There’s little time wasted on forced pleasantries. When dealing with officials—immigration or police—I want the interaction mechanical and brief, not condescending chitchat. If I can avoid saying hello, I am perfectly fine. Anti-statism is of higher value to me than politeness. In China, that’s exactly what I get.

I have not met a heavy-handed bureaucrat in China—or, for that matter, in Japan, Korea, Singapore, or Hong Kong. I have spent extended time in all these countries. I have yet to encounter the much-talked-about social credit system in China.

I asked recently why city officers no longer aggressively clear illegal street vendors the way they used to. The answer: officers have more productive duties now, and a tacit understanding has developed about where to draw the line. Among people I meet, I sense little fear of the police—one acquaintance is even suing his local police without fear of reprisal.

Pacifists imagine that turning the other cheek can win a civilizational war. In reality, governments function only to the extent people are willing to fight for them—civilization does not exist in nature; you must fight for it. Contrary to popular portrayals, I have witnessed Chinese citizens loudly confronting public officials while officials often calmly listen.

Does China enable the supply of fentanyl to the US? I don’t know. When I asked a successful Chinese businessman, he said he wouldn’t be surprised. Another said he was pretty sure they do. But in many North American cities, you can get a free shot provided by the government. So, while it’s easy to point fingers at China, Western governments fail at what’s within their control.

Yes, Xi declared himself president for life, and I found it repulsive—not only for the act itself, but for the complete absence of visible opposition. Some rivals, it is claimed, were eliminated under the pretext of corruption charges. I am tempted to believe this might have happened. Yet judging political leaders in isolation is futile.

Democracy often brings into power virtue-signalers, demagogues, and incompetents—people who hollow out institutions like termites. Yet these same governments demand China open up to democracy and allow foreign-backed protests. Washington incites pro-democracy movements in Hong Kong and Taiwan. Would it be so outrageous, then, if China responded in kind—engaging in quid pro quo—by turning a blind eye to fentanyl supplies?

What about the freedom of Hong Kong and Taiwan? My best guess is that if figures like Nancy Pelosi hadn’t unnecessarily provoked China, Hong Kong might have remained fully independent. In the months leading up to the protests, I followed them closely and became such an expert that I could predict where the next demonstration would be. At the last one I witnessed, American, Australian, and British flags were everywhere, right outside the Chinese and Hong Kong government offices. While I admired the protesters, I couldn’t imagine any government outside a few Western countries allowing such open dissent.

In my experience, the Chinese are not looking for a fight. They are desperate to improve their economic situation and secure a better future for their children. For a country of its size and military capabilities, China is among the least aggressive. It could have forcefully occupied Macau and Hong Kong long ago but did not. In fact, Portugal had offered to return Macau decades earlier, but China wanted to wait until the lease period was over.

China is also one of the most open countries in the world. Worldwide, visa policies are generally reciprocal though not always with China. Until recently, India had stopped issuing visas to Chinese tourists. China not only issues visas with ease but also gives gifts to Indian visitors. While Chinese citizens must obtain visas to visit Western nations, most Westerners can fly visa-free to China. Citizens of Third World countries may have to apply, but often leave the embassy quickly after arrival, impressed by the efficiency. My guess is that had Trump not made a fuss about tariffs, China would have taken no counteraction.

Fifteen years ago, I had what I thought was an innovative investment idea. China was booming. Macau had outpaced Las Vegas in gambling revenue, not just as a pleasure destination but as a hub for money laundering. Construction was everywhere. China had a reputation for corruption—like every other developing country—and I thought I’d found the perfect money-making machine. I believed that bribe money would continue to flood into casinos and property markets. My clients and I invested. Over the last decade, we lost more than 90% of that money.

When I ask Chinese who are critical of Xi what they think about corruption, they admit they haven’t had to pay a bribe in over a decade. Westerners usually frame the political debate as socialism versus capitalism, and miss the real point. They trot out endless comparisons between Swedish “socialism” and American “capitalism,” as if ideology alone determined prosperity. But there is another, far more decisive dimension of public life: corruption—which is beyond ideology.

Seen from 30,000 feet, the great divide is not between socialism and capitalism but between savagery and civilization.

Corruption makes development impossible. It keeps societies atomized, unstable, predatory, and forever trapped in distrust. If you want a single key to understanding a society’s trajectory, look not at its ideology but at its corruption levels.

Alcohol is inexpensive and widely available, and you can drink in public spaces. As time has passed, people drink less and less, so much so that I have never been to a buffet restaurant that does not offer free-flowing alcohol. This also tells me people are happy and far less stressed.

The Chinese I know no longer drink and drive—not even a sip. Public servants are not allowed to drink at work dinners. I still hear of expensive rice wine—Moutai—being given out as gifts to bureaucrats, then later exchanged for cash at the store.

It has become clear China is developing the rule of law rather than the rule of man.

I can hardly recall an occasion—if any—when I was cheated in China. Two recent encounters only reinforced this impression. At a small tea shop, the owner dissuaded me from buying a variety I had picked, explaining frankly that it would not serve the purpose I wanted. He knew I would never return, yet he chose honesty over profit. At a Huawei store, the agent spent considerable time explaining that the phone I intended to buy might cause trouble with the operating system and apps I planned to use. I walked away without purchasing, but with a clear reminder of how deeply integrity has begun to seep into Chinese society, and how seriously private companies now guard against even the appearance of internal corruption.

Is China mercantilist? Perhaps. Mercantilism gets a bad name because it conflicts with division of labor and free-market principles. Yet thinking strategically—imagining how to produce what you import at home for less, maximizing exports, creating trade surpluses, and investing globally—is what gives you a strategic advantage.

Some dismiss China as merely good at copying. Even if true, copying well is no small feat. If it were easy, Africa and India would be industrial powerhouses.

Ironically, conservatives and libertarians prefer governments to avoid market interference. Yet when China didn’t support its crashing property market, it faced harsh judgment. Corporations lobby governments; we recognize that, but when China curtailed its billionaires, we judged it differently.

Until the late 19th century, Christian moral frameworks ensured social opprobrium for degraded behavior. I don’t want the state morally policing society, but if religious institutions no longer provide that framework, I understand why China enforces certain standards of conduct in public spaces for celebrities. These controls don’t seem to extend into private sexual conduct. Sex toy shops and tattoo parlors are easy to find. And homosexuals seem to go about their lives unhindered, as long as they don’t promote what they do in their bedrooms on the streets.

I’m glad expecting social welfare is looked down upon. I’m glad public displays of genitals in so-called pride parades or the sexualization of children aren’t possible. I’m glad political protests are frowned upon—there is nothing harmless about public protests; they inconvenience people.

China also has among the best ethnic relations I have seen. At least at my level, urban, educated Chinese show no awareness of or concern about others’ ethnicities. Why wouldn’t this be the case when there are no affirmative action policies, and the political system is meritocratic—politicians don’t need to please groups for votes? Those Chinese who do not work for Western companies in Shanghai or other big cities fail to understand the concept of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI).

Paradoxically, from a woke Western perspective, Chinese—like Japanese and Koreans—can be very racist. It is this race realism that keeps them homogeneous, increasingly high-trust, and socially stable societies.

The West is the least racist part of the world. I wonder if once people rise to the dimension of truth-seeking and moral absolutes, and as a result grow over their tribalism, they can no longer see it in others. Or is it that it is intellectual laziness and political correctness that made the West give up on race realism?

China has avoided many of the fatal errors that have hollowed out Western societies. It does not glorify single motherhood as a lifestyle choice, nor tolerate drug addiction that corrodes entire communities. Disorder in public spaces is curtailed, not excused as “expression.” Children are not subjected to sexual confusion or exposed to strip shows under the guise of acceptance. Most crucially, China has resisted the Western obsession with diluting national identity through mass immigration. It has no desire to import waves of foreigners to serve as low-wage labor in coffee shops or fast-food chains, nor to hand out citizenship as casually as Canada or Australia.

Society and culture shouldn’t be financialized, and the free market should remain confined to the economic sphere. Compassion and tolerance in the West forgot to demand accountability from their recipients. Liberalism went off course. The free market, which should be contained within the economic sphere, has intruded on culture and society, leading to financialization and corporatization of everything.

For all its discipline and cohesion, China’s rise has not been self-generated. The foundations of its prosperity were laid with extraordinary generosity from the West—above all, the United States—without which its trajectory would look very different. Without the West, nations like Japan, China, and Korea would still be mired in primitive conditions. The spring of humanity and civilization is the West—its unmatched intellectual class, its raw liberty, mental openness, fixation on truth, individuality, and creativity.

Do the Chinese share this craving for the unknown, this near-religious vision of freedom that the West—particularly America—has embodied? I don’t think so. But such a spirit is not necessary for economic growth once science and technology have been imported.

In 2017, a young Chinese student, Shuping Yang, stood at the podium of the University of Maryland and delivered an impassioned speech contrasting the “air” of China and the United States—both in its physical clarity and in its intellectual openness. She praised America’s clean, sweet air, and the freedom to breathe in a society where even controversial ideas could be spoken aloud. The university president, himself Chinese, admitted that she had given voice to some of his own deepest feelings.

The reaction in China, however, was swift and hostile, a reflection of its thinking in tribal terms. Westerners saw this as an affirmation of illiberal China. For me, these two Chinese were a reflection of the sprouting of enlightenment among Chinese.

Since then, China has come a long way. Its cities are cleaner, its society more self-assured, and the suffocating defensiveness that once marked its response to criticism has eased. And yet, the near-religious devotion to truth-seeking—the idea that honesty and dissent are sacred obligations—remains a distinctly Western inheritance.

Think of it as zero-to-one versus one-to-n. Zero-to-one is the realm of original ideas—philosophy, foundational science, and deep creativity in human affairs—born of truth-seeking, universal morality, and reason beyond tribe, race, or religion. This is the West’s gift; without it, the world would have remained destitute and animalistic. One-to-n, by contrast, is China’s domain: once ideas exist, they refine and scale them, often surpassing the West in applied technology—perhaps because they are not “distracted” by zero-to-one.

The reason fewer Chinese seem to be intellectual rebels may lie not in their political system but elsewhere. Like Japan and Korea, China has a very high average IQ with low dispersion. This clustering fosters social harmony and a common purpose.

This also shapes institutions, which are hierarchical. Those expecting American-style equality would be shocked. Such structures suppress creativity and impose strong peer pressure. They become emotionally constipated. That’s why places from Singapore to Korea to China have corrective institutions aimed at teaching innovation and creativity. But these qualities cannot simply be taught; they are absorbed from an environment that encourages original thinking—something nurtured by growing up within a particular culture.

A friend told me his ideal position is one where he has American bosses and Chinese subordinates. American bosses give freedom to operate, respect your views, and treat you as an equal. Chinese subordinates keep their heads down and do their jobs.

China has created centers of excellence. It’s hard to believe, but today Shanghai is likely more innovative than Singapore, in my view, because it has more space, more people, and greater social dynamism. I might even suggest China offers more intellectual breathing room than any other East Asian country. Shenzhen is richer than neighboring Hong Kong. I wouldn’t be surprised if Taiwan eventually wants to join China to benefit from cultural and economic economies of scale.

But it makes no sense to compare China with the United States. A fair comparison would be with Kenya, Uganda, or India—countries that began from a similar baseline. By that measure, China has done extraordinarily well, with no true parallel in human history. It has progressed so much that people now compare it with the United States, often unfairly making it look bad.

Within East Asia, China may now be the most open-minded society—arguably even more so than Singapore. I would not be surprised if true zero-to-one innovation is already taking root. This will only accelerate as high-IQ Westerners begin moving in. Long-term residency has become easier, and as social conflicts inevitably intensify in the West, more of its best talent will likely relocate to China.

I see deep conflicts between Western culture and Islam, and even sharper ones with Hinduism. At the core, I find no real path for the West to work with the Third World—their visions clash, and their societies remain tribal and animalistic. When people from the Third World arrive in the West, they do not assimilate; if anything, they become worse. Assimilation remains a dream. In contrast, I see a genuine symbiosis between China and the United States. I wish they would work together rather than oppose each other—for in this, Washington often acts against the true interests of Americans.

China is here to stay, and its trajectory is upward. In terms of economics and military, China is the next America. There will be no Pax Sinica—the Chinese are too inward-looking. In terms of being the beacon of liberty—and hence of spirituality, creativity, and innovation, that visceral religious vision for humanity—there likely isn’t a next America.

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