Originally Posted by
Bill Moore
Competition isn't always cut throat, especially if you play by the established rules. Kids compete for their parents' affection, co-workers compete for promotion, nations pursue self-interests (but not at all costs, that pursuit is often balanced with morality). We all have the ability to be dirt bags, but most of us have a certain degree of civility that moderates our behavior, and I think most humans have some degree of altruistic behavior also. In other words there is room for hope.
Some aspects of relations will ultimately be a zero-sum game, there is only so much oil, only so many fish in the sea, etc., and nations will simultaneously compete for those finite resources, while hopefully pursuing collective action/cooperation on pursuing better means to manage these resources that is fair to all.
One thing I learned about Crystal Balls is that they look nice, but seldom do a good job at predicting the future, so I don't pretend to know what China's behavior portends for the future. I think there is a possibility that they could have a changing of the guard in their government and we could ultimately be partners in the future, and there is also a chance that our relationship could go downhill and we experience the worst case scenario. Co-evolution isn't something that is restricted to war, it can also apply economically, politically, socially, etc. and in those fields co-evolution could equate to more co-operation. No secret, I'm a military guy, so I tend to focus on the worst case, because the nation expects us to be ready for the worst case scenario.