The middle-aged man understood that the young tycoon obviously had different opinions, but he said: "I think this is at least an important reason."
"It is undeniable, but I don't think this is decisive," Simon shook his head and said: "The reason why humans have not had a large-scale war in the past half century, in my opinion, the key is the third technological revolution .The large-scale technological progress of human society that began after World War II has once again greatly improved the productivity of the entire human society compared with the previous steam age and electrical age. The huge wealth created by productivity has offset the losses of various countries to the greatest extent. All kinds of social contradictions that naturally arise over time. Without these contradictions, there is no need to pass them on. Therefore, even if they encounter some very serious international conflicts, such as the one in 1962, leaders of various countries can still make rational decisions. deal with."
The middle-aged man nodded again and had to admit that the young tycoon's point of view was very novel, but it seemed impossible to refute it. However, he could not help but feel that he had gone off topic
Simon stood up and picked up the coffee pot, refilled a cup for himself and the other party. He picked up the cup again, sat down, took a sip, and said with a smile: "Vladimir, don't you think I'm going off topic?"
The middle-aged man also took a sip of his coffee and just smiled when he heard this.
Simon held the cup and leaned back relaxedly on the sofa. He shook his head and said, "I'm not digressing. I've been discussing the same thing with you from the beginning. For example, since it's a zero-sum game, why would I choose Western Europe? Not Eastern Europe, Asia, or Africa?”
The middle-aged man wondered: "Why?"
Simon said: "Because Western Europe has become decadent and old, their high social welfare system has consumed a large amount of the world's resources, and the laxity brought about by high welfare is destined to no longer be able to make much contribution to the progress of human society. . In this case, it happens that the world needs someone to make sacrifices. Of course I will choose this group of Western European men who can only enjoy but cannot contribute. Moreover, because of laziness and long-term high welfare nourishment, Western European men have It will look very naive and stupid, and it will be easier to deal with.”
The middle-aged man paused and asked: "Then, Simon, I mean, after Western Europe is sacrificed by you?"
"No, not after the sacrifice," Simon still shook his head: "I just said, Vladimir, what I have been talking about is one thing. Back to the topic I just talked about, the technological revolution. The third technological revolution , allowing mankind to enjoy peace for nearly half a century. And the current fourth technological revolution, the information revolution dominated by the Internet, frankly speaking, I do not think this is a standard technological revolution, because it does not show the fundamental Sexual changes are just a continuation of the third technological revolution. Since it is not a fundamental change, the dividends of the technological revolution will soon disappear, and it is impossible to benefit the world for half a century like the third technological revolution. So , if we want human society to enter another long-term peace period due to the explosion of productivity, we must realize the true fourth, or fifth, scientific and technological revolution. This is my 3G plan. The question is, how long will the 3G plan take? Can it be realized? I’m not sure, so I need time and I need to ensure that human society will not be destroyed by large-scale conflicts before the fifth technological revolution arrives.”
The middle-aged man quickly made a series of connections in his mind and said: "I understand, Simon, your plan is to redistribute the resources they possess at the expense of wealthy Western Europe in order to alleviate social conflicts on a global scale and prepare for another crisis. Technological revolution buys time, right?”
Simon snapped his fingers: "That's right."
The middle-aged man's expression was somewhat unclear: "I can only say, Simon, you are indeed much more pessimistic about our world than I imagined."
If you were not pessimistic enough, you would not think of sacrificing the interests of some people in exchange for time. This is enough to show that the predictions of the young tycoons around us that the peaceful period that human society can still have is definitely much shorter than many people imagine.
Now, the more realistic question is, what should I do
Do you really want to promise the other party
Thinking of this, the middle-aged man suddenly remembered something and said quickly: "Simon, you have to understand that the two world wars originated in Western Europe. So, do you think they will be willing to be sacrificed this time?"
"This is no longer a hundred years ago," Simon said: "At that time, Europe was the center of the world, possessing strong economic power and terrifying productivity that overwhelmed most other countries in the world. Of course, there was also more critical military strength. Now, do you think they still have that? It's just a bunch of cats with their claws cut off."
The middle-aged man nodded slightly, hesitated a little, and then said: "Simon, there is another question. Because of land connectivity, Western Europe is Russia's main exporter and our main source of external capital. If Europe declines, I can't think of anything. How much can Russia benefit from this?"
Simon said: "This problem is easy to solve."
The middle-aged man asked: "How to solve it?"
Simon raised his hand and pointed to the southeast: "Russia's way out is not in Western Europe, but in China. Oh, speaking of it, if the Soviet Union had not been condescending and only wanted to cultivate China into its vassal, but could have treated China as an equal If China maintains an alliance relationship, then with the huge production and consumption capacity brought by China's population of 1 billion, and the extremely complementary production and consumption relationship between light industry and heavy industry, it is difficult for anyone to predict the current world structure. . It’s a pity that you gave up all this on your own initiative and forced China to our side.”
The middle-aged man was silent again.
Frankly speaking, he had not considered this issue before, but when Simon said this, after thinking about it for a while, he inevitably felt a little sad. Even though he is full of regrets for his former motherland, it is undeniable that the leaders back then did make too many mistakes.
Thinking like this, the middle-aged man remained calm on the surface and asked: "Simon, you just mentioned Brzezinski, do you want Russia and China to come together?"
"It seems that you still don't quite understand me," Simon said: "Vladimir, to put it more grandly, what I value is the well-being of our entire human society and the future of our race, not just a single country. Or a certain nation. Moreover, I don’t think that the hegemony of the Federation can be maintained for too long. With the current trend, maybe 30 years later, there will be a fundamental change. And Western Europe, I said that Western Europe must be sacrificed. It’s not that I want to kill all Western Europeans, and I’m not Hitler. It’s just that those gentlemen who have enjoyed a comfortable life for hundreds of years will no longer be able to live a very comfortable life in the future. Finally, I hope you will walk together with China , but it is not the kind of military alliance you imagine, but economic cooperation. Speaking of which, Clinton’s original campaign slogan basically summarized the essence of all problems in the world today: The problem is economic. The root of all social problems is economic . Therefore, if you deviate from my thinking and do not do business with China, but engage in a military alliance, unfortunately, I will immediately give up all support for you and your country!"
The middle-aged man nodded slightly, considered briefly, and said with a promising tone: "As long as my country is not threatened, Simon, I can guarantee that Russia will not carry out unnecessary military actions."
When these words came out, the meaning of his statement was already very obvious.
Simon is also very satisfied. He will not be naive enough to mean that the other party has really made a formal promise now and will definitely implement it in the future.
Simon believes more logically.
Through a series of substantive cooperation, push things in the direction you want.