Is the Fourth Industrial Revolution Fiction?
Hello @anomaly! I was grateful that you frequently voting my humble postings. I wanted to talk to you, but I'm Korean, so I speak elementary school English. I hope you understand my poor English.
I've been thinking about the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Throughout the Fourth Industrial Revolution, there are claims that all human beings get freedom and liberation, and that backward countries develop into developed countries.
However, when I look at the industrial revolution that took place in Britain, I think that the fourth industrial revolution is fictional after all. Through the first industrial revolution in Britain, Europe and the United States colonized non-Western regions.
Non-Western countries that failed to achieve the Industrial Revolution usually became Western colonies.
However, Japan did not become a western colony as the industrial revolution was completed.
Japan, like a Western empire, attempted to conquer colonies and then fought WWII and was conquered by the United States.
Japan imposed an industrial revolution by imitating the United States and Europe, but because it lacked foreign colonies, it was a subordinate country of the Western empire. Japan invaded China in an attempt to become an equal empire with the United States, and eventually lost war with the United States.
Although Japan achieved an industrial revolution and was not a colony of Western empires, it was a subordinate country of Western empires.
The Fourth Industrial Revolution began in the United States, and now Korea, Japan, and China are also emulating the United States.
Although Japan initiated an industrial revolution to equal the West, Japan's lack of territory, resources, population, and technology eventually led to America's dependency. I look at this past history and the industrial revolution.
I thought industrial revolution was a tool for creating Western hegemony.
The Fourth Industrial Revolution first occurred in the United States and is imitated by Korea, China and Japan.
However, Korea, China and Japan all depend on the US for capital, technology, markets and ideas needed for the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
East Asian countries are unable to create and sustain the Fourth Industrial Revolution without US support. Thus, it is increasingly subordinate to the United States.
Just as the British Empire took the hegemony through the Industrial Revolution in the past, the US will take the hegemony through the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
In my opinion, the Fourth Industrial Revolution is a tool for creating US hegemony, rather than giving the development and happiness of non-Western countries.
Please understand me because I'm not good at English.
Hi @silvergrifin007, I'm sorry I took such a long time to respond. I hope you are well. And your English is not bad at all! Also, thank you for your post, it's the first post in the new community :)
Honestly, I agree with you that the subsequent Industrial Revolutions seems to have served Western interests more than the under-developed countries that could have truly benefited the most from the technology. @valued-customer makes a good point about corruption playing a role in that.
There's also an infrastructure issue. Here in the U.S.A. they're building the '5G' data network for the Internet-Of-Things. But in some of the under-developed countries, they're still trying to get basic electricity to people.
Maybe it would be better if we measured human prosperity by the least prosperous among us instead of the most prosperous.
I'm in.
Hello, thank you for your answer. I'm not good at English so I'll answer later.
I hope my comment is not unwelcome here, because you seem to have targeted this post specifically at @anomaly.
I think you express a very good understanding of the geopolitical evolution of global power in this post, but a factor that isn't well understood is corruption. I have found almost no discussion of corruption as a factor in geopolitics outside specific discussion of that itself, and that dramatically degrades most geopolitical understanding.
An overwhelming factor in geopolitics, corruption is poorly understood because of it's necessarily cryptic affect. Corruption degrades policy to an ineffable degree that can only be estimated by rational researchers, however it's impact is massive, and in many cases is the demonstrable factor that results in failure of policy to attain stated goals.
Thanks!
My respected American senior. Thank you for your advice. As you say, corruption, incompetence and power struggles in East Asian countries are also important issues. However, my English was not good enough, so I couldn't describe that part, only the geopolitical side. I think I should study English more.
I reckon your English is much better than my Korean =) I also think this is the best studying you could be doing of written English. bractice makes berfect.
Keeb bracticing =D
Edit: I also should emphasize that I discussed the general understanding of the relevance of corruption, and didn't mean to imply you personally lacked understanding of corruption. I have no basis for such a judgment.
Not only in East Asia is corruption evident. It is as American as apple pie, and seems no less entrenched everywhere else in the world.
You have a very god post there, you know what you talking about.
Norwegian senior, thank you for your advice.