Which countries would benefit most from an American brain drain?

China. China. China. The answer is China.

Honest question, what would be gained by moving from America to China? Their government is by nearly all measures less tolerant, less free, less friendly to foreigners, more racist, and at least as morally evil, but probably more so considering their treatment of the Uyghurs and other minority populations.

At least in America if you’re not a fan of the Trump administration we’ll have another leader in a couple years. You can’t say the same for China.

Stability. You said it yourself:

> we’ll have another leader in a couple years

Depending on how you look at it, it could be seen as a disadvantage. China's policies are generally long-term and stable.

I don’t think many people that are not from there originally would consider moving to China because they can’t or won’t stay in the US

The calculus is still in America's favor, but the assumption it will always be is incredibly arrogant. Especially because at the end of the day, a lot of people can be simply bought.

Relatively speaking, that is also how much of the rest of the free world feels about the USA (even before Trump). But people are willing to move there anyway because: $$$.

“I have this terrible illness, but at least it’s chronic.”

I agree with every point here but I think we’re talking about different things.

Brain drain from the US will be a dispersion that will hurt America but not meaningfully help any single country directly. At least in the short term.

But China has a lot to gain from a weakened America simply by being the best positioned, most aggressive secondary power.

Of course you’re right that an individual emigrating from the US to China is economically net-negative for that individual except for in very unusual circumstances.

The question is “which countries benefit most from brain drain”, not “which countries will get the most immigrants from the US.”

People don’t have to move to China for them to benefit.

I'm obviously not a fan of dictatorships, I'm just trying to rationalize why someone might prefer China to the US.

I think the problem is that the US presidency is too powerful, it might be better to turn the presidency into a ceremonial position. It shouldn't be possible for the president to do all this damage.

It’s pretty much going in the US exactly how George Washington predicted.

“[Political factions] are likely, in the course of time and things, to become potent engines by which cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men will be enabled to subvert the power of the people and to usurp for themselves the reins of government and destroying afterwards the very engines which have lifted them to unjust dominion.”

One day, the CCP will be eithe corrupt or bad (perhaps not under Xi) and will instead ruthlessly cling to power.

Blame Congress. Over time they have consistently ceded power to the executive branch, either directly to the president or to federal agencies.