Beyond Geopolitics: "Price of Freedom Is Freedom Itself"-End of West; China Trip

In between year-ending holidays and swamped by potentially world-ending geopolitical events--let’s take a step back, freedom lovers! The West has been pushing its signature ideology--freedom--and the connected concepts around the world as "universal values." Westerners have had a tremendous run in soft power and PR, indeed, by convincing the world that their material modernization and intellectual advancement stem from their values, hence billed as universal. Ironically, freedom, liberty, equality, individualism, etc. have run their course, wherein showing the decline, and the danger of an eventual collapse, of the West as we know it--as today’s opener, Eric Mao, who hails from a different civilization, reasons via contrasts across times and places.

Regarding a different civilization--Eric recently visited five cities in China. This annual trip inspires contrasts between the East and West while also revealing China's own challenges of the day, as well as informs some travel advice for the adventurous.

Come join our essential discourse, moderated by Hermioni Zouridis and, if you are so inclined, challenge Eric's, and each other’s, propositions and arguments, in the potentially brain-rewiring session inspired by DeepSeek.

Hermioni Zouridis
Dr. Zouridis is a data scientist. She holds a Ph.D. in chemical engineering and has a strong background in oncology research. Her industry experience includes leading data and AI solutions at AstraZeneca. She now specializes in data visualization, bioinformatics, and using real-world datasets to support strategic investment decisions.

Dr. Zouridis serves as Director of a nonprofit dedicated to helping college women successfully transition into STEM careers. In geopolitics, her interest is in using data to cut through headlines, uncover deeper patterns, thereby bringing clarity to complex global dynamics.

Eric Mao
A fintech professional-turned geopolitics analyst specializing in China, Eric founded and runs The Geopolitical Forum. He writes on Substack under @ericshepherdmao and has a presence on X as @ShepherdMao. His first book, Diversity the Modern Fetish and Equality in the Guise of Ideal, published in 2018, will not be his only. The paradox, "the East and West are not comparable; yet contrasting is essential to an understanding," can be attributed to Eric.