# Which do you consider to be the main "adversary nation?"
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-do-you-consider-to-be-the-main-adversary-nation/920370
**Category:** Great Debates
**Created:** [September 11, 2020, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-do-you-consider-to-be-the-main-adversary-nation/920370 "2020-09-11T20:47:36Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)
#### Post date: [September 11, 2020, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-do-you-consider-to-be-the-main-adversary-nation/920370/1 "2020-09-11T20:47:37Z")
Over the course of the past few years, a pattern has generally emerged: Democrats generally consider Russia to be the main ‘villain adversary’ nation (since Russia helped out Trump in 2016), Republicans generally consider China to be the main villain adversary nation.
There are, of course, plenty of reds and blues who cross the aisle on this, plenty of people who consider both to be equal adversaries, some who don’t consider either to be an adversary at all, and some who might not even ascribe to the concept of adversary or think some other nation (like North Korea) is more of an issue.
But…this is just a thread for polling. Which would you consider to be a bigger problem facing the U.S.? (I realize that many Dopers aren’t Americans, too, so you can either vote as if you are an American, or check the box for “I am not American and therefore not voting.”)
_Poll ([view on site](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-do-you-consider-to-be-the-main-adversary-nation/920370/1))_
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### Author:  [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)
#### Post date: [September 11, 2020, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-do-you-consider-to-be-the-main-adversary-nation/920370/2 "2020-09-11T20:48:24Z")
I apologize, also, that there’s no option for Dopers who don’t identify as either D or R. I didn’t want some sprawling 10-option poll, so you will just have to pick the side you lean with more.
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### Author:  [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)
#### Post date: [September 11, 2020, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-do-you-consider-to-be-the-main-adversary-nation/920370/3 "2020-09-11T20:59:31Z")
I’m an American and neither Democrat nor Republican, and I consider China to be the main threat or ‘adversary nation’ to the US, but since that didn’t seem to be an option I went with the final ‘other’ option. Hard to believe that anyone would consider Russia the main threat to anyone, really, even election wise, since China has far more money and resources to throw at it, and can be seen to do this far more pervasively not just in the US but throughout the world. Of course, you don’t see a lot of stories on this, while Russian hacking seems to be pretty popular in the press, so maybe that’s it.
(I’m certain my answer to this will be a shocker to many 'dopers 🤣)
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### Author:  [@Yookeroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yookeroo)
#### Post date: [September 11, 2020, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-do-you-consider-to-be-the-main-adversary-nation/920370/4 "2020-09-11T21:17:57Z")
We’re on the verge of failure as a nation. And it seems to me that Russia has done more to put us in that position than any other country. China may have more money and resources, but it looks like Russia knows how to use their resources much better. They pretty much control one of our political party.
Of course the biggest “adversary” right now is the Republican party.
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### Author:  [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)
#### Post date: [September 11, 2020, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-do-you-consider-to-be-the-main-adversary-nation/920370/5 "2020-09-11T21:24:11Z")
> [@Yookeroo](#):
>
> We’re on the verge of failure as a nation. And it seems to me that Russia has done more to put us in that position than any other country. China may have more money and resources, but it looks like Russia knows how to use their resources much better. They pretty much control one of our political party.
China, on the other hand, has it’s fingers in both US political parties and at just about every level. Plus, they do the same thing in many other countries as well. I know why you would think Russia is the main threat, since that’s what we are constantly told, and, again, not just in the US or by the US press. China is able to leverage us at almost every level. Hell, they are able to get our sports organizations and movie industry (as well as many of our largest corporations…and by ‘us’ I mean non-Chinese corporations) to play ball on their terms. How that’s not frightening to folks is a mystery to me, or why they would think that Russia, who has never had that sort of power is a bigger threat is just head scratching, but it seems to be the way things are.
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### Author:  [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)
#### Post date: [September 11, 2020, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-do-you-consider-to-be-the-main-adversary-nation/920370/6 "2020-09-11T21:55:08Z")
I voted other because I agree with an assessment that I heard this morning on NPR.
In the long term say next 10 to 20 years China is our main adversary. Russia’s superpower days are over, while China is heading in that direction. But right this instant, Russia is taking direct action to actively undermine our government and those of our allies. So this makes Russia our main adversary in the short term.
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### Author:  [@ThisIsTheEnd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThisIsTheEnd)
#### Post date: [September 11, 2020, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-do-you-consider-to-be-the-main-adversary-nation/920370/7 "2020-09-11T21:58:13Z")
China’s in a stronger position.
Russia has more to gain, relatively speaking, by destabilizing the US.
Russia will probably never be in the contest to be “#1” again, but they sure would like to fuck the US up.
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### Author:  [@razordance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/razordance)
#### Post date: [September 11, 2020, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-do-you-consider-to-be-the-main-adversary-nation/920370/8 "2020-09-11T22:33:53Z")
China! Russia! What nonsense! The enemy is the DUTCH!
Actually, back in the 1970s “National Lampoon” printed a pamphlet from “Americans United to Beat the
Dutch.” There was a pic of Dick and Pat in traditional Dutch garb, a bit on the word “sabotage” being based on “sabots” or Dutch wooden shoes, etc.
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### Author:  [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)
#### Post date: [September 11, 2020, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-do-you-consider-to-be-the-main-adversary-nation/920370/9 "2020-09-11T22:40:17Z")
China is probably a bigger world power, but Russia is (and has been) actively attacking the US and its political system in a way that China hasn’t bestirred itself to yet. Thus Russia gets the top slot because it’s _actively attacking us._
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### Author:  [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)
#### Post date: [September 11, 2020, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-do-you-consider-to-be-the-main-adversary-nation/920370/10 "2020-09-11T22:52:05Z")
China is our main adversary. But Russia is our biggest enemy. China is an economic rival and no stranger to dirty tricks, but Russia is a dying nation looking to harm everyone as much as possible on their way down.
China wants to “win,” but they appear to value world stability–their ongoing economic power requires customers. Russia does not. The latter is the bigger threat in the short to mid term.
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### Author:  [@razordance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/razordance)
#### Post date: [September 11, 2020, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-do-you-consider-to-be-the-main-adversary-nation/920370/11 "2020-09-11T22:54:21Z")
What the Chinese really want is to be THE hegemonic power in Eastern Asia, like the U.S. is in the Western Hemisphere. China was exactly that for most of its history, so it seems to them like the natural order of things.
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### Author:  [@octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/octopus)
#### Post date: [September 11, 2020, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-do-you-consider-to-be-the-main-adversary-nation/920370/12 "2020-09-11T23:08:33Z")
China. But, it wouldn’t be if it weren’t for short sighted policy enacted and supported by the populace here.
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### Author:  [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)
#### Post date: [September 11, 2020, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-do-you-consider-to-be-the-main-adversary-nation/920370/13 "2020-09-11T23:21:33Z")
> [@octopus](#):
>
> But, it wouldn’t be if it weren’t for short sighted policy enacted and supported by the populace here.
Absurd. A few tariffs aren’t going to have any major effect on a forward-thinking, reasonably developed nation with 1.4 billion people.
Republicans could have won more support for the tariffs if they had tied them to carbon emissions. They could have brought allies from Democrats and Europeans. But that would mean admitting they’ve lied about climate change all these decades.
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### Author:  [@octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/octopus)
#### Post date: [September 11, 2020, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-do-you-consider-to-be-the-main-adversary-nation/920370/14 "2020-09-11T23:56:57Z")
No. I’m not talking about tariffs. I’m talking about the naive belief that we are beyond the age of competing nations and that enacting destructive policy that leads to losing our massive manufacturing advantage was wise. It wasn’t. Buying votes with counterproductive policy that weakens us and empowers our rivals is foolish.
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### Author:  [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)
#### Post date: [September 12, 2020, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-do-you-consider-to-be-the-main-adversary-nation/920370/15 "2020-09-12T00:00:43Z")
Are you saying America is its own worst enemy and the market forces of capitalism will be our downfall?
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### Author:  [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)
#### Post date: [September 12, 2020, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-do-you-consider-to-be-the-main-adversary-nation/920370/16 "2020-09-12T00:04:00Z")
It’s unclear what policy tools you’re talking about, then. Our manufacturing advantage was lost because China could produce goods cheaper than we could. US businesses shut down because they couldn’t compete.
“Supported by the populace” just means people shopped at Wal-Mart instead of some other company selling American-made goods. You can’t really expect people to keep up a “buy USA” attitude forever without some policy intervention.
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### Author:  [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)
#### Post date: [September 12, 2020, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-do-you-consider-to-be-the-main-adversary-nation/920370/17 "2020-09-12T01:10:34Z")
I am American and I consider America to be the main adversary.
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### Author:  [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)
#### Post date: [September 12, 2020, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-do-you-consider-to-be-the-main-adversary-nation/920370/18 "2020-09-12T01:15:46Z")
> [@Buck\_Godot](#):
>
> I voted other because I agree with an assessment that I heard this morning on NPR.
>
> In the long term say next 10 to 20 years China is our main adversary. Russia’s superpower days are over, while China is heading in that direction. But right this instant, Russia is taking direct action to actively undermine our government and those of our allies. So this makes Russia our main adversary in the short term.
I heard the same assessment and was going to post this as well. Short term, definitely Russia. Longer term, probably China.
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### Author:  [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)
#### Post date: [September 12, 2020, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-do-you-consider-to-be-the-main-adversary-nation/920370/19 "2020-09-12T02:22:52Z")
I think that red state America is the greatest threat to the safety and security of the US.
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### Author:  [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)
#### Post date: [September 12, 2020, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-do-you-consider-to-be-the-main-adversary-nation/920370/20 "2020-09-12T03:01:53Z")
The glibertarians seem to think we need more freedom. I am not convinced that we have way more than we should. Americans feel that freedom is a synonym for irresponsibility. I believe that all this freedom needs to be tempered with honorability. Dickishness needs to be explicitly proscribed in the Constitution. Prove that you deserve freedom. Earn it.
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