The U.S. is, by definition, a first-world country. China is, by definition, a second-world country. It was a silly argument she gave me because viruses don't check the GDP before infecting people, nor do any nations have the capacity to deal with a full-blown pandemic without mobilization.
The non-political point is that we're all too willing to bend our logic or be dismissive of threats based on little to no information -- just as we are willing to overreact to more visible threats that have little chance of affecting us. Well, okay, that is a political point, but a non-partisan one. Everyone makes errors in judgement based on incomplete information, when it would only take a little effort to get more complete information. Everyone except the actuaries. Those guys are cool.
The non-political point is that we're all too willing to bend our logic or be dismissive of threats based on little to no information -- just as we are willing to overreact to more visible threats that have little chance of affecting us. Well, okay, that is a political point, but a non-partisan one. Everyone makes errors in judgement based on incomplete information, when it would only take a little effort to get more complete information. Everyone except the actuaries. Those guys are cool.
"Kitto daijoubu da yo." - Sakura Kinomoto