Today on Moment of Zen, Erik Torenberg and Samo Burja explore how China's elite universities are creating a ruling class similar to America's, with student activism and credentialism reshaping both nations' power structures.

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Key Highlights

Core Thesis: Elite Convergence

China and America are creating remarkably similar ruling classes despite being geopolitical rivals with different political systems
Universities are the primary mechanism driving this convergence in both countries

China's Leadership Evolution

Historic shift: For the first time, Chinese leaders are educated in China's own elite universities (Peking, Tsinghua, etc.) rather than abroad or through practical experience
From engineers to lawyers: China moving from technocrats with engineering backgrounds to university-credentialed elites
Signaling theory: Chinese elite universities now function like Harvard/MIT as intelligence signals

"Chinese Woke" vs Western Woke

China already has student activism - but it's Marxist/Maoist students organizing workers' unions
Ideological trap: Communist Party struggles because students use party ideology to critique the party itself
Future prediction: Chinese "woke" will likely focus on gender/feminism rather than racial/ethnic issues due to China's homogeneity

University Power Dynamics

Zero-sum tournament: Universities create gatekeeping for elite positions in both countries
Elite clubs, not education: Universities function more as exclusive clubs than learning institutions
Defensibility: University power will be extremely difficult to dislodge without radical intervention

Consequences for China

Positives: Better rule of law, higher status for journalists/lawyers, more humanistic perspective
Negatives: Loss of business acumen, reduced technical expertise, potential future incompetence as credentials replace competence

Mirror Society Concept

Both nations face similar paradoxes: Ideological foundations that create unresolvable contradictions
Generational warfare: Young elites using ideology to displace older generations in both systems
Talent retention: China increasingly keeping its best students domestically rather than sending them to American universities

Long-term Prediction

China's government may become incompetent as university credentials replace practical experience and technical knowledge

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