I don’t know about you, but I have a growing suspicion that Western democracy is on its way down. But let’s face it—what kind of democracy colonises and subjugates other parts of the world, extracts wealth from those colonies, and then dares to call itself a beacon of democracy? That would be the Western democracies.

Over the last 200–400 years, we’ve taken trillions, impoverished vast parts of the world, and then labelled them the “Third World.” We set up charities and NGOs to drum up sympathy for the starvation and fragmentation we helped create—covering up our actions under the guise of compassion.

The parts of the world we in the West impoverished were home to First Nations—the earliest civilisations. Yet we in the West—Caucasians, yes, white people—we came along and assumed we were somehow special. We took what we wanted and did as we pleased.

Even today, we in the West often look down on other nations as if they’re alien. A good example is that garbage article by Rachel Burgess criticising the Chinese for giving Lotus Cars a future, even suggesting that readers shouldn’t buy a Lotus because the Chinese, in a manner of speaking, “don’t deserve it.”

Which brings me to the 2026 Beijing Auto Show. If you want to see signs of Western decline, look there. In just 5–10 years, China has completely transformed its auto industry.

China is now producing cars that are as good as—and in many cases better than—anything Europe can offer, and they’re starting to surpass even Europe’s best. The technology, the innovation, the flair, the imagination, the quality—they’re delivering all of it, often at less than half the cost.

Meanwhile, much of Europe’s auto industry appears reactive rather than visionary. Instead of bold innovation, we get cautious iterations dressed up as breakthroughs. Even modest improvements are marketed as revolutionary, revealing a widening gap between perception and reality.

European car manufacturers seem caught in the headlights. You’d think they’d have a few tricks up their sleeves, right? Wrong—very wrong. In Europe, one of the best responses is something like the dowdy Volkswagen ID Polo EV: half the car at twice the price.

Yet Western motoring journalists are hailing it as “game-changing” and “innovative.” “It’s got real physical buttons! VW loves its consumers again! The buttons—THE BLOODY BUTTONS! We all need buttons!”

Honestly… bloody western motoring journalists.