&gt; Nevertheless, most institutions that have existed through human history no longer exist.<p>Interesting that you say that. I believe the China is the longest surviving political entity. It&#x27;s been around for two thousand years...<p>&gt;There&#x27;s no realistic world where China rises smoothly with no setbacks along the way. It&#x27;s all but mathematically impossible by the nature of complex systems. It is reasonable to be concerned that their rise up to this point has also been unrealistically smooth. Communism has a track record of producing this apparent growth curve, after all.<p>Very true. My point is simply that growth is now in Asia. This is merely a bump in the road. The economic tide has changed in favor of the east. As an American its sad to state this, but its the truth.<p>Just look at tech. China has caught up in many many ways and starting to out innovate even the US. And they&#x27;re just getting started.