Finian Cunningham
While China is powering ahead economically and socially, the U.S. is falling increasingly into disrepair and underdevelopment.
Ryan Milton is a Texas-born entrepreneur and political consultant who has traveled extensively in China and Russia for business development.
He says that while China is powering ahead economically and socially, the U.S. is falling increasingly into disrepair and underdevelopment.
Ryan discusses several reasons for this historic divergence. China's economic strength comes from systematic planning by its government, driven by a political commitment to serve public needs and societal development. By contrast, the United States has come to be dominated by elite wealth that serves the further enrichment of elite wealth. In the U.S., the rich elite control government, politicians, and policymakers, which leads to chaos and poverty for the majority of Americans.
The relative state of public infrastructure between the two countries is a key measuring standard. While China builds roads, railways, and communications for the greater good of its people, the U.S. is falling apart.
Another major factor is the dominance of the military-industrial complex in the U.S. as a central organizing force in American capitalism. That, in turn, leads to a foreign policy of militarism and war.
However, it doesn't have to be that way for the United States. American citizens need to develop a greater political consciousness about what their nation should be, who it is for, and what it is for.
Ryan Milton contends that historically the United States failed to fulfill its revolutionary potential to break away decisively from the British and European imperialism. It ended up as just another empire fighting endless wars for one-way exploitation of resources and hegemonic control of other nations.
The direction that the U.S. took - against the warning of its own political founders like John Quincy Adams - has created bankruptcy and failure as a society and nation.
Milton says that the American people need to get out on the streets and demand the fundamental political changes that are necessary for creating a decent society serving the needs of the greater good. The recent mid-term elections saw a massive protest vote against not just the Republican Party and Donald Trump but also the Democrats and the U.S. ruling class in general.
The United States can learn how to develop from China in becoming a prosperous and peaceful nation. If the U.S. fails to make that transition, then it is doomed to widening social inequality, dysfunction, and war. Milton thinks that reality will force political change out of necessity.
Ryan Milton (弥瑞恩) is a geopolitical analyst, legislative advocate, and technical infrastructure specialist with over two decades of expertise in foreign policy, economic reform, and advanced media production. A regular guest analyst on RT International, he provides strategic commentary on military affairs, global economics, and East-West multilateral relations. Ryan serves as Executive Producer for Scott Ritter's weekly Ask the Inspector live stream and co-hosts the podcasts The Winers and East Calling.
With over 20 years of federal and state legislative advisory experience - alongside strategic work for U.S. Congressional campaigns and the Schiller Institute's Eurasian Landbridge initiative - Milton is informed by his on-the-ground observation during multiple trips to Russia since 1991 and twice to China. Complementing his policy background, he is a technical subject matter expert in maritime satellite communications, financial transaction security, and high-stakes data integrity.