The US-Iran War Exposed How Close Global Systems Are To Collapse
Posted by aj2149@reddit | collapse | View on Reddit | 30 comments
Most coverage of the US-Iran war focused on missiles, oil, or the Middle East.
But one thing that stood out to me while researching this was how closely China studied the conflict — especially the economic and logistical strain created by a single chokepoint disruption.
The video goes into:
what the PLA officially published after the war
why Hormuz became a blueprint for Taiwan scenarios
missile defense depletion
why modern superpowers may be less resilient than they appear and
how multiple “windows of vulnerability” can exist simultaneously
A lot of the discussion around collapse focuses on climate or economics, but this conflict exposed something else:
how fragile global systems become once supply chains, shipping lanes, and military stockpiles are stressed at scale.
Would genuinely be interested in hearing thoughts from this sub.
Grand-Page-1180@reddit
China has been playing three dimensional chess this entire time, its like I long suspected, they're patiently waiting for their time to take up the mantle as the next superpower, they know Napoleon's old adage: Never interrupt an enemy when they're making a mistake.
NiceSupermarket7724@reddit
That adage actually has an older origin — Sun Tzu…
So, yes, it’s fair to say that Chinese leaders are familiar with this strategy 🤣
Julian_Thorne@reddit
I wonder what would happen if Taiwan decided to close the Taiwan Strait until such time as its security is guaranteed
codenamsky@reddit
China will smash Taiwan in a week. Taiwan knows that and the Chinese population will stfu or will be silenced until Panda is pleased with the outcome.
Iran knows we are fat mcdonalds eating guerillas scared of a dollar extra at the pump. That is why they are toying with us. We have become too comfortable for our own good.
Few_Fish8771@reddit
Cherry on top, as the polycrisis disrupts societies geopolitical problems anywhere have the potential to disrupt supply chains everywhere as desperate people turn to piracy to survive. Interesting times.
aj2149@reddit (OP)
That’s the part people underestimate. Once economic pressure, displacement, and instability compound together, non-state actors start filling the gaps left by weakening systems.
Indigo_Sunset@reddit
Attrition is a word that tends to be underutilized when discussing these topics that applies to all.
Few_Fish8771@reddit
Yup when you as an oligarchy use social media to say democracy bad violence is okay and might makes right, you dont empower fascism or oligarchy, you give a blank check politically socially legally and morally for warlords to depose you strip you of your assets and become the new kings, until warlords kill those warlords and the merry go round of death intensifies.
Once might makes right the law is only based on force power and violence, at which point a private army is as legitimate as a state army. From the perspective of the ruling class its incredibly stupid to do. but money never equaled brains.
SomeRandomGuydotdot@reddit
Might has always been the foundation of law. Moral and political philosophers rationalize law as it exists.
Jovan_Knight005@reddit
Not just piracy, but terrorism will be on the rise the longer the war in Western Asia continues to be waged.
Few_Fish8771@reddit
Yup not just in the usa though, lots of groups have blood feuds going back generations, when theres not enough to go around, nobody to impose order, and theres profits to be made through crime or war then crime or war becomes highly probable.
DisingenuousGuy@reddit
What is the influx of these low-subscriber channels (less than 100 subs) with a generic voice and uses of AI-generated imagery (see the mangled Chinese script on that big screen 14 seconds in)?
aj2149@reddit (OP)
You’re free to dislike the video, but dismissing every new independent channel as “generic AI slop” while ignoring the actual geopolitical discussion feels more lazy than insightful.
And yes, the Chinese text issue was an editing mistake — not some grand conspiracy. Turns out small creators without studio budgets occasionally miss things.
ttystikk@reddit
I think China will continue to exercise patience and build readiness. The United States can no longer beat China on land, sea or air and space is coming soon.
China isn't interested in Western style wars; Taiwan will come home to China on its own. The United States has been the one creating this conflict all along.
The United States is crumbling under the weight of its own corruption. The rest of the world needs only to wait.
Our only hope is US; We the People are the only ones who can reverse the decline. The question is now, will we? Can we?
Jovan_Knight005@reddit
Don't know why but that's probably a problem for moderators to handle.
Kahnza@reddit
Holy fucking spamasaurus
Microtom_@reddit
Countries simply can't be allowed to have a national military. There should be an international police force and that's it. Of course, no countries will want that, but it's what's needed.
Own_Investigator662@reddit
I don’t think that’s a good idea either, that’s way too much power in one group’s hands
Ree_For_Thee@reddit
I like the overall idea though. How about a more modular NATO? Small nation states can band together in several NATO-esque groups and just pool military resources to match "Current largest threat".
Russia's going out and isn't really a threat (outside of nukes, which you can't really defend against that well), so for Europe, NATO is good enough. It just need to be way more efficient, actually pooling stuff.
ExpressPlankton3740@reddit
In theory, after WWII the U.S. military functioned as a kind of international police force — maintaining shipping lanes and enforcing parts of the global order — until, arguably, today.
aj2149@reddit (OP)
In theory maybe, but the problem is every international system still ultimately depends on powerful states enforcing it. The moment major powers disagree, the “global police” question becomes its own geopolitical conflict.
HomoExtinctisus@reddit
Needed for what?
BeefNBroccoli2@reddit
Counterpoint: this subreddit has correctly predicted 47 of the last 0 civilizational collapse lol
rematar@reddit
If you actually disagree, why not try for an intelligent counter?
Ree_For_Thee@reddit
You have to have intelligence for that.
Fox_Kurama@reddit
While I agree with the topic's title, I am not going to even touch whatever drivel that video is. China won't win a collapse scenario. No one does.
StatementBot@reddit
The following submission statement was provided by /u/aj2149:
What made this conflict feel collapse-related to me wasn’t just the war itself, but how quickly global systems showed signs of fragility once a single chokepoint was stressed.
The Strait of Hormuz disruption impacted shipping, energy markets, insurance costs, military stockpiles, and global supply chains almost immediately.
The video also explores how China studied these vulnerabilities closely and why modern powers may be far less resilient to prolonged disruption than most people assume.
The discussion around collapse often focuses on climate or economics, but geopolitical supply-chain stress may end up being just as destabilizing.
Please reply to OP's comment here: https://old.reddit.com/r/collapse/comments/1tamvxk/the_usiran_war_exposed_how_close_global_systems/olag9u1/
False_Raven@reddit
Exposed?
I think the correct wording is "set in motion"
aj2149@reddit (OP)
Noted
aj2149@reddit (OP)
What made this conflict feel collapse-related to me wasn’t just the war itself, but how quickly global systems showed signs of fragility once a single chokepoint was stressed.
The Strait of Hormuz disruption impacted shipping, energy markets, insurance costs, military stockpiles, and global supply chains almost immediately.
The video also explores how China studied these vulnerabilities closely and why modern powers may be far less resilient to prolonged disruption than most people assume.
The discussion around collapse often focuses on climate or economics, but geopolitical supply-chain stress may end up being just as destabilizing.