The Economist (November 9)
“America’s anti-China fervour is partly an overcorrection for its previous complacency about the economic, military and ideological threat the autocratic giant poses.” The U.S. needs to rely upon “a sober assessment not just of China’s strengths, but also of its weaknesses.” Anything less, risks letting a distorted “view of Chinese power” lead to unnecessary “confrontations and, at worst, an avoidable conflict.”
Tags: Anti-China, Autocratic, Complacency, Confrontations, Economic, Fervour, Ideological, Military, Overcorrection, Power, Sober assessment, Strengths, Threat, U.S., Weaknesses
The Week (April 25)
Emmanuel Macron may have “roundly defeated the right-wing antiliberal candidate Marine Le Pen in the second round of France’s presidential election,” but this is no time for complacency. “Placed in the broader historical context… the battle in France between liberals and antiliberals, center and periphery, is far from over. Indeed, if recent trends continue, the likelihood of a defeat for the center and triumph of the antiliberal right or left will continue to rise, with one of the extremes running a good chance of prevailing in the coming years.”
Tags: Antiliberal, Center, Complacency, Defeated, France, Historical context, Le Pen, Liberals, Macron, Periphery, Presidential election, Right wing
New York Times (April 19)
“Tokyo may have been lulled into complacency during the weeks when Japan contained the coronavirus while avoiding economically devastating lockdowns.” Aa the Government urges a 80% reduction in contact, there is too much normalcy. “It seems too many people are trying to squeeze into the 20 percent.”
Tags: Complacency, Contained, Coronavirus, Devastating, Government, Japan, Lockdowns, Normalcy, Tokyo
New York Times (November 16)
“Recent gains in controlling the Ebola epidemic in West Africa have been encouraging, but they offer no reason for complacency.” The situation is improving in Liberia, stable in Guinea, but worsening in Sierra Leone. To make further progress, donor nations need to “increase their contributions.” To date, Ebola has taken over 5,000 lives.
Tags: Complacency, Contributions, Ebola, Encouraging, Epidemic, Gains, Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone, West Africa
The Economist (October 18)
At 250% of GDP, China has a debt problem. Still, this “is unlikely to cause a sudden crisis or blow up the world economy. That is because China, unlike most other countries, controls its banks and has the means to bail them out.” The lack of crisis may drive China down the same road Japan took in the post-bubble decades. “The biggest risk is complacency: that China’s officials do too little to clean up the financial system, weighing down its economy for years with zombie firms and unpayable loans.”
Tags: Banks, China, Complacency, Crisis, Debt problem, Economy, Financial system, GDP, Japan, Loans, Risk, Zombie
Financial Times (December 14)
There is growing belief that the fiscal cliff might be easier to solve after taking the end of the year plunge. “Both sides believe there would be little difference in terms of impact on the US economy between striking a deal on December 31 or waiting until January 4…. Such complacency is dangerous. The world is watching to see if the US can govern itself responsibly. No one has faith in Washington’s New Year’s resolutions.”
Tags: Complacency, Economy, Fiscal cliff, Govern, Resolutions, U.S.
