(FYI, this post has been back-dated. I started writing and forgot about it, hehe.)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8166413.stm

Amusingly, the caption under the photo said something about only children growing up to be "little emperors." Not really examined in the article, but I was wondering: is China's one-child policy going to leave China with a country full of people with "only child syndrome," i.e. an entire country of bratty, selfish people with entitlement complexes. How would that impact international politics as China sets itself up as a major player on the world stage?

We already know that Western countries in general suffer from a sense of entitlement and patrimony. Just look at our relationship with most poor nations; most people view them from one of two categories: they are a resource to be exploited (sweat shops, etc.; a view that stems from feeling more entitled to their resources than them), or we need to give them money and food so they don't starve (i.e. foreign aid; I don't disparage people who are trying to help, but they need control of their country back, not handouts). Both viewpoints stem come from a sense of superiority ("we need to help them," as opposed to "we need to allow them to help themselves.").

If China becomes a major player, I can't even begin to imagine how this dynamic is going to shape up. We're already arrogant, Russia's defensive, and the EU just feels meek and timid. No one is going to step in between a fight with the US and China. Granted, right now, we have enough self-interest to cooperate: they buy our debt and manufacture our goods, and we both buy each others' goods. We're huge trading partners. Unfortunately, I have to believe that as resources start getting scarce (which they will, whether you choose to admit it or not), we'll increasingly see each other as competitors, not only for resources, but for superiority.