Solipsism is no answer MJH. You merely repeat what you have said over and over again, you seem brainwashed to me, within your paradigm. There is no radical theocracy out to get americans except as a reactive energy. There is no free market ideal or democracy being protected by the Marines, it is all illusion. There is simply greed, hate, and envy in the souls of many immature people that are mainly male and mainly in power in western states. Scapegoats appear each century, jews, muslims and now, if you look the other way around, so-called christians that keep no tenet of true christianity.

I think the Chinese see all of this. They have a few billion people to house and feed. Of course they build structures. You cannot judge those structures by your limited definitions, the goals are not yours. they know there is stupidity, corruption and ignorance built into their systems and perhaps they simply choos enot to purge them in the name of other gods such as efficiency or bottomline. The bureaucratic systems they have applied in the past (while many of our ancestors appeared as simple savages) are certainly capable of overcoming such flaws.

However, there are obviously contradictions and flaws inherent in human nature itself - so perhaps they knowingly choose flaws that are acceptable to them. I don't think they really care about your philosophy or education or viewpoint.

As I said, meanwhile we get to play with the toys. You are doing the same, playing with the intellectual toys. Ride your bike for a while, while we still have a planet to ride on.