That guy is so annoying his subpar analysis has become such a trope. America used to build things too. Lawyers have been part of the founding and fabric of both societies. Trying to reduce China v America to engineers vs lawyers is so reductive it's just mind blowing this keeps getting repeated.

Authoritarian central planning isn't an inherent trait of engineers and nor should we aspire for it to be.

Minor correction: America is run by pedophiles with a lot of money, who naturally hire lawyers.

The books is amazing too, just finished reading it. Gives you peek into cultural dynamic of both countries: https://insightbooks.app/books/breakneck

That’s because engineering degrees were the only thing you could get from college during the Cultural Revolution.

https://www.americanscientist.org/article/freakonomics-what-...