If ww3 happens Will you volunteer to fight in it?

@ArishMell Since War has been defined as foreign Diplomacy pursued by non diplomatic means, a "Trade War" is in fact a war. Looking back into how most of the major conflicts got started this gors back a couple of thousand years and thats good enough for me. In the end Victory is defined as the other side doing it your way. I say China won..😷

@whowasthatmaskedman A good point and I agree on that, but the method I meant is something different.

I was referring to breaking into, and breaking on a massive scale, the other country's internal on-line systems - governmental, public-services, utilities, finances, etc.

@ArishMell Agreed.. But its still the same point really as the economy and finances of a nation move on line. Either disrupting a nations trade and commerce from outside or simply digital theft of money or intellectual property are just evolutions of the same old thing.. What IS new is the stateless economy. Where moneyed individuals and corporations become international and indeed "Supernational" Look at the reach of Bezos, Murdoch and others..😷

@whowasthatmaskedman A peculiar situation.

The power in the world seems to be moving both to the likes of deeply-capitalist Bezos and Murdoch, Amazon and Google; and at the same time to the deeply-Communist People's Republic of China, which has been steadily and patiently increasing its malign influence around the world.

Though I thought originally of the enemy hackers breaking other countries internal workings, I can see them also stealing money and other non-physical assets while they are at it.

Combing those forces produces the means for the modern version of the siege, not of fortresses or cities but of nations; and without firing a shot.

@ArishMell We agree. But Communism is in name only now. Russia is an open Oligarchy and China is similar enough to compare. The capitalist motivation and greed, the control of the population and a centrally controlled economy is a coordinated force the West cant match..😷

@whowasthatmaskedman I don't think either leopard has been doing much spot-changing. Both Russia and China have always been dictatorships whatever badge or flag of dogma they flaunt. The real difference between them now perhaps is that of wealth - China is a lot richer than Russia.

I am not sure of their relations at the moment, but they seem cordial, whereas the USSR and PCR were wary of each other. China has built at least one railway across Tibet and Mongolia to join the Trans-Siberian Railway (an enormous short-cut in the routes); and I believe both nations' navies held joint exercises recently.

@ArishMell Russia is in the process of trying to form a closer Alliance with China right now. Putin is an opportunist..😷

@whowasthatmaskedman He certainly is that.

I wonder though, who a world war would primarily be between? The world now seems very much more factional than it was in the early-20C.

@ArishMell Now I wont go into detail here. It takes way too long and makes me sound more popmpous than I am.. But,. Lets not confused the World wars of the past with the small local brush fires in places like Afghanistan with the modern Global scale conflicts. For obvious reasons the next one of those we have will be the last..
So Global powers with Global money and global indusrties have now found a new. less destructive way to wage war at the heart of economies, not armies.. And China won already. America is broke from fighting spot fires with expensive carrier groups everywhere. China has chewed up Americas independence in the few industries it still has, and outbid America in most cases. nearly 25% of all American made cars are Chinese components. If China stops shipping parts, Detroit stops, completely.
And that is repeated all over.. There is more to the story. But it ends with China in control of the American ecoonmy by ownership. And thats how you win a world war these days..😷