it's a natural human tendency to look for simplistic solutions to complex problems, but as reality is inherently complex and to a significant degree stochastic, simplistic solutions invariably fail to have relevance. This article is a prime example of wishful thinking - the hope that somehow typical human stupidity can magically be constrained by some grownup somewhere. In the old days we automatically invested our hopes in Kings and Emperors; today is little different. But projecting our fear-driven hopes onto seemingly powerful autocrats rarely results in coherent reasoning.

In reality (as opposed to the Land Of Wishful Thinking) there is no magical answer to the war in Ukraine, not least because Putin - and likely Xi also - firmly believe (with very good reason) that the West is too fragmented, flabby, self-indulgent, and feeble to be capable of sustaining any meaningful effort over the medium term. Xi has every reason to want the war in Ukraine to continue, for the very same reason the USA has backed Ukraine to date: it significantly reduces the materiel available on the side of a potential enemy.

The USA has been happy to trade Ukrainian lives in order to achieve reductions in Russian materiel and manpower; China likewise is happy to see the USA expend its difficult-to-replenish materiel (at least until the neo-fascist Republican Party takes control of Congress and turns off the taps).

Wishful thinking and magical solutions, therefore, are amusing but not useful.