Dan Wang, author of "Breakneck: China's Quest to Engineer the Future," joins me to explore why China builds while America blocks, how lawyers strangled U.S. infrastructure, and why Connecticut trains run slower than they did in 1914. Dan lived through China's trade war, Zero COVID, and the exodus of 15,000+ Chinese millionaires, giving him unique insight into both superpowers' pathologies.
This conversation covers everything from why ribbon-cutting ceremonies matter for societal optimism to how lawyers morphed from deal-makers to obstructionists after the 1960s. We explore California's high-speed rail fiasco, the rebellion against NIMBYism, and Dan's prescription: America needs 20% more engineering, China needs 50% more lawyerly protections. Plus we discuss cognitive diversity, the Death Star versus the Rebel Alliance, and why we need synthesis.
I hope you enjoy the conversation as much as I did. For the full transcript, episode takeaways, and bucketloads of other goodies designed to make you go, "Hmm, that's interesting!", check out our Substack.
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Show Notes:
- The Engineering State vs. the Lawyerly Society
- America's Lost Building Culture
- China's Gilded Age & America's Progressive Era
- Solutions for America's Building Crisis
- An Oncoming Battle of Elites
- Becoming Pro Development
- A Vision for a New Housing Fund
- China's Challenges
- Who Has a Better Shot At Change?
- Rickover: The Grand American Builder
- Dan's Uncertain Forecast of China
- Looking Ahead to 2035
- Dan As Emperor of the World
