X-Message-Number: 20880
From: "Mark Plus" <>
Subject: Progress & decadence
Date: Wed, 15 Jan 2003 18:52:42 -0800

It could very well be the case that Western civilization is in decline, 
despite the current perception that everything is going tolerably well.

The age of a civilization doesn't seem to have much to do with its current 
state, interestingly enough. China has an ancient civilization, but nobody 
I'm aware of characterizes early 21st Century China as "decadent." Despite 
its leftover Communist government, China is experiencing rapid economic & 
technological progress, and I get the impression that despite the growing 
pains, the Chinese people for the most part look towards their future with 
optimism. The Chinese government is even open to stem cell engineering & 
cloning, and it plans to put its own people into space presently.

In other words, even without visiting China, I get the distinct impression 
that torch of progress has crossed the Pacific Ocean to a country willing to 
supply it with fuel. In an age of globalization, progress, like capital, 
tends to go where it's welcomed & well treated.

Mark Plus
It's not "religious" or "science fictional" if you can do it.

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