Thread by @shadihamid

Excited to share this with all of you. Our 2-part @WCrowdsLive episode with @ElbridgeColby is live!

How much do values matter in our struggle with China? Is conflict inevitable? If China was a democracy, would we still need to confront it?

wisdomofcrowds.live/fighting-china…

Colby was a top Pentagon official under Trump and key architect of the 2018 National Defense Strategy.

His new book is a chilling must-read. I disagreed with some of its core premises, which made our conversation all the more fascinating

Check it out: amazon.com/Strategy-Denia…

I'm basically an anti-realist of sorts, while @ElbridgeColby bases his arguments on an unapologetically realist logic. So I didn't know where we'd end up

In Part 1, we discuss how much these starting premises matter when it comes to China policy

wisdomofcrowds.live/fighting-china…

In other words, if we're all China hawks, does it matter *why* we're China hawks? My argument is that the reasons behind a policy matter more than we might think. If we oppose China in part because of regime type, then this affects how we approach dictatorships in other regions

Many China hawks believe we must de-prioritize other regions to focus attention and resources on Asia. But if this struggle is partly one of values and ideas, then supporting authoritarian regimes in the Middle East undermines the entire frame of our China policy

In short, I believe regime type matters a great deal. @ElbridgeColby & @dmarusic are much more skeptical and see the question of values as secondary.

There's no easy answer here. And, of course, I have my own biases.

Listen here for more: wisdomofcrowds.live/fighting-china…

In Part 2 of our conversation with @ElbridgeColby, we shift our attention to domestic polarization, populism and the legacy of January 6th.

How much does domestic politics matter when it comes to countering China?

wisdomofcrowds.live/polarization-a…

We're obviously a more polarized country, but reasonable people can differ on acceptable levels of polarization. I, for one, do not believe that democracies are meant to produce consensus. If consensus is the opposite of polarization, then that's not exactly a great option either

Right-wing populists have emerged as some of the most vocal China hawks. But are politicians like Josh Hawley undermining their own case? Or is cross-populist cooperation with senators like Bernie Sanders possible?

That's what we turn to in Part 2.

wisdomofcrowds.live/polarization-a…

Part 2 is for subscribers only. If these questions catch your interest, please do consider joining our community for a few bucks a month (and cancel anytime)

You'll also get exclusive "Friday Essays," where @dmarusic & I alternate writing each week

wisdomofcrowds.live/subscribe/

As with all @WCrowdsLive content, our goal is to interrogate first principles and ask why we believe the things we believe

@dmarusic & I try to model this in everything we do, considering that we disagree on some pretty fundamental questions!