consider the possibility that this is, in fact, what makes them so dangerous.

i 100% agree that their potemkin economies and dogmatic societies will collapse and fail (and that china is probably far closer to this than people realize, especially if deflation takes hold).

but what will their response to this failure and the insecurity and instability it brings be?

outside war is the classic unifier and just because they cannot make an economy work does not mean they cannot mess up someone else's if they are determined. many of the same impulses that impede local growth make for very effective interference in the societies of others.