Question Time: Is this the Chinese Century?

SUMMARY:
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What a cracker of a Question Time — a wide-ranging, curious and occasionally uncomfortable panel discussion about whether we’re witnessing the ‘Chinese century’. An audience member asks the big one: does China’s rise mean the West is in decline, and is political correctness part of that story? The panel doesn’t buy a neat cause-and-effect: political correctness alone isn’t the smoking gun. Instead the speakers take a historian’s lens and point to more structural Western weaknesses — financial shocks, rising inequality, fraying civil society — that create openings for alternative models. The real tension explored here is individual freedom versus collective governance. China’s state-centred approach seems to deliver stability and growth in some areas, but at the cost of openness, academic access and critical voices. As a historian notes, archives are closing and research is getting harder — a chilling detail for anyone who cares how history gets written. If you’re into geopolitics, culture wars, or the future of democracy, this is a thoughtful, provocative clip that’ll make you re-evaluate simple narratives. Join the conversation — tell us what you reckon about power, values and where the world is headed.

RUMBLE DESCRIPTION:
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Had to share this full Question Time moment — the room got properly engaged when an audience member asked: is this the Chinese century, and has the West already begun to decline? The panel’s answers aren’t tidy, but they’re honest and sharp. We start by dismantling the easy line that ‘political correctness’ alone explains Western decline. Instead the discussion points to deeper fractures: financial meltdowns, widening inequality, and a civil society that feels stretched in many Western states. Those weaknesses, the speakers argue, make China’s developmental model look tempting to other countries — especially a model that prioritises collective aims and rapid decision-making.

There’s real unease on display about what that appeal means for scholarly work and free inquiry. As one historian explains, getting access to archives and doing critical research in China is getting harder, and that matters for truth, accountability and how we understand the past. The panel also teases out the big philosophical divide: the West’s focus on the individual versus China’s emphasis on the collective. Is one approach superior? Is authoritarian stability a price worth paying for faster development? No easy answers, but plenty of food for thought.

If you love geopolitics, history, or public debate, this clip is worth a watch. Drop a comment — do you think China’s model will spread? Are the West’s problems self-inflicted? Like, subscribe and share if you want more of these raw Question Time conversations. Keen to hear your take — respectful debate welcome!

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