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Aswad -> RE: The end of 'Pax Americana' ....? (9/10/2012 2:55:56 PM)
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quote:
ORIGINAL: vincentML
In the face of such a posture a cost benefit decision for creating a new industry here would come down on the side of the benefit, and the cost be damned.
Economies of scale break down, for one thing. People would not be buying the same things if the pricetag had an extra digit, and thus you lose the consumer drive element, which makes it even less economical, and so forth. Without resorting to better market regulation and state owned companies to provide the critical materials, you would face a real supply problem. Not that it would go away entirely, but you're looking at a major loss of production and research capacity with the price shift. I take it you've had a look at how the material costs have changed over the past couple of decades?
quote:
The threat of such an action would lead to dire consequences, don't you think? Do you believe America would sit back and play the hapless supplicant? I don't think so.
Nothing you can do. Taking China on the ground is simply not viable. Bombing or nuking will just destroy what you want. And they pretty damn well know both of these things. To say nothing of how it would strengthen their bond with Russia, or that they have their own nuclear weapons. You can't afford to rattle the sabers over a small matter like the conditions of the precariate (I don't consider it a small matter, but the powers that be do seem to). It would be a high stakes game, of course, but China will certainly be aware of the fact that they're in a position to deny you what you want, regardless of what you do.
I would like to think the American people would overthrow any government that would invoke MAD over "rare" materials.
(Yes, Ron, they're not that rare, but they're still scarce.)
IWYW,
— Aswad.
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