- The map above was published by one of the magazines in the Soviet Union in 1988.
 - It showed how the Soviet Union expanded its military might in all directions.
 - However, 3 years later, The Soviet Union ultimately collapsed on December 25, 1991.
 - The United States is the only Superpower from then on.
 - There was a combination of many factors that contributed to the fall of the Soviets.
 - I only pick up 1 factor for discussion here:
- 
- Full Hard Power with Zero Soft Power
 - Hard Power refers to military strength, primarily
 - Soft Power refers to values, culture, music, entertainment, etc.
 - Whereas Economic strength is in between Hard Power & Soft Power; to me.
- (some put economy & finance under Hard Power)
 
 
 
 - 
 - Obviously,
- The United States has operated both powers simultaneously since long ago.
 - The Soviet Union was almost fully dependent on its military might ALONE.
 
 - Interestingly,
- you can see a rough pattern of how The U.S maintain/sustain its global hegemonic control, always
- Stage 1, start with military intervention (Masculine)
 - Stage 2, follow up with some kind of diplomatic “cosmetics” (Feminine)
 - Stage 3, finish off with an iron fist, either through paper or via battlefield (Masculine)
 
 - Since World War II, The U.S gets almost all that is wanted by these sequences.
- 1 Feminine/ Soft Power Vs 2 Masculine / Hard Power
 - Ratio: 1 Yin Vs 2 Yang
 
 
 - you can see a rough pattern of how The U.S maintain/sustain its global hegemonic control, always
 - Alternatively, you see the strengths of the U.S below
- Masculine Power: Military & Technology
 - Feminine Power: Propaganda of Universal Values via Media
 
 - Military & Technology are 2 major hard powers to spread the soft power in order to brainwash the world.
 - And this strategy is exactly what Period 9, Li Trigram discussed about in Yijing.
 - Li 离 literally means
- Divide & Rule
 - Surrounded
 - Separating
 - Values
 - Culture
 - Civilization
 - Documentation
 - Education
 - Tank
 - Proxy
 - Grouping … etc
 
 - Strategies adopted by the U.S in sustaining her hegemonic power such as
- Dividing the world into Pro U.S or Anti-U.S
 - Propagating universal values
 - Exporting culture via movie & social media
 - Educating the world about the western management system via MNC
 - Forming allies
 - …. etc
 
 - Those strategies are almost exactly the same as theorized by Trigram Li 离卦
 - Undoubtedly, the ability of the U.S to brainwash the world with soft power,
- because it is escorted by 2 major hard powers, namely
- Military
 - Technology
 
 
 - because it is escorted by 2 major hard powers, namely
 - The symbol of Li Trigram could summarize everything done by the U.S so far.
 - Russia-Ukraine War signifies that Russia follows the mistake done by The Soviets.
- Surely, this war only further weakens Russia as a regional power.
 - The U.S welcomes this proxy war. Good for the U.S with no cost.
 
 - The lessons we learn from here
- soft power(value, vision, mission & philosophy) is very important in sustaining a corporate
 - hard power( financial strength & technology) is crucial for survival, especially New Normal starts.
 
 - Since we are already in Period 9, the Li trigram 离卦, hence all kinds of The Soviet-like expansion(mistake) as below should be carried out carefully with nice planning;
 - Different types of business expansion include
- purchasing new assets, opening new units, adding sales personnel, increasing advertising, adding franchises, entering new markets, providing new products or services, etc.
 
 - Soft power is much cheaper than hard power and it is more compatible with the environment of a Period 9.
 - One of the major characteristics of Period 9 is:
- Tactic / Strategy / Propaganda / Stratagem / Trap / Proxy / Grouping /Empty Promise.
 
 
Remarks :
- I see the U.S as the most competent practitioner of Chinese Metaphysics, Yijing in this case.
 - There is no proof to verify that The U.S is inspired by Yijing.
 - However, their effective strategies so far sound so synchronized with Chinese Metaphysics.
 - China only learned to be blatantly assertive in front of the U.S since the year 2020; increase more masculine element in their diplomacy at par with their national strength now.
 
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