But was it state sponsored? My understanding is that it was mostly robber barrons doing their thing, which isn't really "The US", its more "People in the US".
I'll admit the failures of the US government just much as anyone, am and will always be a tough critic..
But let's not forget the greater context here.
We are talking about a communist country with very top down, state architected enterprises and actions with the USA, which is certainly not those things.
The US isn't perfect, by any means, I'm not trying to say that. Context, that's what I'm trying to have us remember here.
How is that context supposed to be relevant to the point? That China is doing a poorer job by trying to direct the process centrally rather than something more nimble?
I'm not trying to say anything in particular other than drawing conclusions by making comparisons the US from 100-200 years ago to China today isn't very relevant and therefore is not very useful.
My original comment that started this whole thread is similar. I'm not trying to communicate any kind of opinion on it. It's just an observation of things I've personally seen happen in the world. Others are putting their own opinions on if it's right or wrong. I'm not trying to say any of that, just share my honest observations on the world.