Floods Forged China’s Megaproject State

The essay contends that the Yellow River’s frequent, silt‑driven course changes selected for cultures that could mobilize centralized, multi‑year flood‑control works. Over centuries this made disaster control the core test of legitimacy ('Mandate of Heaven') and normalized support for grand state projects. It contrasts this with U.S. political culture, which centers on collective defense. — If environmental pressures built a megaproject‑first political culture, analyses of Chinese governance, legitimacy, and public consent should factor hydrology and disaster control alongside ideology or economics.