Chapter 5 Response

I find that China is struggling to get on a steady pathway in regards to natural resources and energy needs. It appears that whenever they find a natural resource to harvest and manufacture, it does not last forever. China makes up nearly twenty of the population, but they are quickly loosing land that is harvestable in their country. They are also relying heavily on other countries to supply their need for resources such as oil. It appears, as Dodson mentioned at the end of the chapter, that China is striving to live the lifestyle many Americans do. However, if China and India get on that same path we will all be using up way more than we can safely and sensibly supply in the world. An error in Dodson's prediction of China's future may be that he can not be certain of where their government and economy are headed. A shift in the way their society is set up could create a shift in employment and manufacturing which could change where they stand as a country of importing and exporting resources. Perhaps he could consider the human psychology aspect of the change happening in the China. While the country as a whole seems to be moving towards desiring an "affluent life" from an economic or capitalist standpoint, it can really be viewed as being rooted in a human desire to be equal with their western counterparts and the human want for abundance in ones life. I don't know if this factor is important in a statistical way of explaining the situation in China. However, I think it is definitely something to consider in explaining why China's future looks like it does. I think Dodson's reasoning does apply to the United States. Dodson stated at the end of the chapter that "China risks reliving its cycle of decline as natural resources within its boarders and around the world dwindle and societies require ever ore energy to maintain their complexity". Globally, there is a desire to become more complex and as our needs grow as a society we inevitably use up more of our resources. Where they stand now I think the future will be the same for China unless there is a major revolution in they way they run their government, however, one could say the same thing about the U.S. While we may be a seemingly affluent society, there are still major issues that we face as a country, even if they are not similar to those in China.