Honors College Senior Lucas Moyon, triple majoring in economics, astronomy, and physics recently had an opinion piece published in the Wall Street Journal.
The piece, Are We Headed for World War III – The Chinese Computational War, was published on March 21st, and features opinions from students across the country.
Read all about Lucas’ take on how potential geopolitical conflict could impact the US economy, or continue reading below:
“I fear World War III will happen soon and believe its consequences could be far more disruptive than most Americans expect. Toughness on China has enduring and broad political appeal in the U.S., and Xi Jinping has grown increasingly aggressive toward Taiwan, South Korea, and Japan. If China attacks the territory of our Pacific allies, the U.S. is sure to intervene.
But my biggest concern isn’t the possibility of conventional war; it’s that if China begins losing, it might escalate by wreaking global havoc on civilian space and electrical infrastructure. For decades, China has been perfecting antisatellite missiles, culminating in a 2007 test strike on a satellite that resulted in one of the largest creations of space debris ever. In conflict, such strikes could destroy most normal satellites, leading to the loss of GPS, telecommunications, instant online financial transactions, and other critical infrastructure that could cripple the American economy and quality of life.
China has also developed electromagnetic weapons that could knock out power grids across America and allied countries, causing long-term blackouts. Without functioning power grids, stocking grocery-store shelves and keeping gasoline flowing to stations become monumental tasks. Even a scaled-down version of these attacks could disrupt the lives of citizens thousands of miles from the frontline. Given the U.S.’s military superiority, China can win only with these unconventional tactics, making the war about computational power.”
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