Being logical can get you in trouble.
For instance, if dominating the frontiers of new technology yields leadership of the global economy, which in turn produces global political leadership and influence, then governments should do everything possible to prevail in that competition. A boot across the throat of rivals makes sense.
But Gideon Rachman, Financial Times geopolitics commentator, questioned that approach in a recent column, asking “do we want China to fail?” Many in the West believe China’s wealth allows it to challenge the order that they established, changing rules and building new institutions that will cement Chinese leadership in this emerging world. That’s why the European Union’s strategy document described China as a “systemic rival.” Realists insist that the China challenge is inevitable and governments are naive to not take action now and head it off in advance.