In the United States, wealthy individuals like Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos are allowed to dominate the country’s politics and economy. But there is another way.
That was a good read, thanks for taking the time. The propaganda I was referring to was mostly the paragraphs focusing on talking up Xi. He’s a fairly brutal dictator. While China does get a lot right, and I admire socialist countries very much, I’m suspicious of anything that talks up a dictator.
Norway is an interesting example and I’d like to see its policies in the USA. Capitalism will always devour itself given enough time, especially with a lack of regulation. Strong social programs are a requirement to make it work.
He’s a fairly brutal dictator…I’m suspicious of anything that talks up a dictator.
Xi Jinping is not a dictator, he was elected into his position and his legitimacy comes from the outcomes of his policy and leadership. He has been in politics for nearly his entire life and rose through the ranks by being an excellent party cadre. I’m assuming you only view him as a dictator because you’ve been trained to do so by western press.
The elimination of term limits doesn’t inherently lessen democratic power nor does its presence automatically increase it. Only material outcomes determine whether a system is democratic or not, just to get that out of the way.
Let me frame it like this: a person without shelter, who can’t pay for food and medicine, or a myriad of other concerns does not have the same level of human rights as those that can, this can’t be objected to without admitting that western notions of human rights are not based in reality but idealism. China works on raising the standard of living for the majority, not appeasing an ideology. Those living in China have more human rights than those living in western countries if we measure human rights based on quality of life and not on personal feelings.
Let me break it down even further: China would arrest and jail anyone spreading antivax lies while the US makes them the head of the health department (RFK Jr). Decide which society is more free.
The above harvard study also explains why there has been poverty and wealth inequality in the PRC after 1990 on page 5. Compare the stories of 2000s and early-mid 2010s with the achievements and goals now. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nuaJGPZCBYU&t=1s
Countries like Norway can benefit from their place in an imperialist world order to sell weapons https://oec.world/en/profile/bilateral-product/military-weapons/reporter/nor and use their fossil fuel reserves to temporarily create a liberal saudi arabia that crumbles the second a few Syrians migrate from more wars caused by the western world order. Plenty of people have critiques of the Chinese socialist project on hexbear, the influence of the Shanghai clique, the amount of debt they hold in the Global South, @xiaohongshu@hexbear.net / @xiaohongshu2@hexbear.net has made some great posts about finance and economics specifically. But we also hold dearly to the maxim “No investigation, no right to speak”
I didn’t see it yesterday. I was jumped on and ridiculed and just… sort of checked out and didn’t read anything after that. I clearly don’t have nearly as much knowledge on these subjects and most people aren’t as patient as you.
I will try to reduce my ignorance and learn about this. It’s mostly just for the pursuit of knowledge as I am unfortunately stuck in a collapsing United States and it’s unlikely I’ll ever be able to live in a socialist country.
I’m in the same difficult boat. It really is easier to imagine the end of the world than the end of capitalism. Solidarity comrade, we’ll fight the barbarism together.
If I had to put a title on it, I would use a term I first heard being used by Bernie Sanders: a democratic socialist. I think that human nature makes both capitalism and communism doomed to fail. Somewhere in the middle is where the sweet spot is. A capitalistic base with strong social safety nets, plenty of public land, universal healthcare, free college, and a universal basic income would be the best path for a country to take. Society should be flexible enough to adapt to the needs of all its citizens, and both capitalism and communism fail at achieving that. So, we should take the best of both.
People should be able to work harder, with longer hours and earn more as a result of their work if they so choose. But people should also be able to work as little as they like (with a minimum of 20ish hours a week) and still be able to live a full life, albeit with fewer possessions than the hard worker will be able to afford. I believe democratic socialism is the only system that could give both of these workers what they want.
I also believe in social freedoms like freedom of speech and sexuality, which are things that China doesn’t have and the USA might lose.
If I had to put a title on it, I would use a term I first heard being used by Bernie Sanders: a democratic socialist. I think that human nature makes both capitalism and communism doomed to fail. Somewhere in the middle is where the sweet spot is. A capitalistic base with strong social safety nets, plenty of public land, universal healthcare, free college, and a universal basic income would be the best path for a country to take. Society should be flexible enough to adapt to the needs of all its citizens, and both capitalism and communism fail at achieving that. So, we should take the best of both.
You’re a Kautskyist. You reject the class struggle and engage in class collaborationism. Your understanding of the world was debunked over 100 years ago by Lenin and every day since by the winds of history.
Be as patronizing as you’d like, but your strain of thought has been proven wrong and inadequate by philosophers, not even just Marxist ones, for over a century at this point. Do some reading.
I should’ve been less patronizing, sorry. If you appreciate the link and will read it then you’re more open to this than 99% of people that tend to argue about all this so I’ll respect you for that. Hope you enjoy the read 🫡
That was a good read, thanks for taking the time. The propaganda I was referring to was mostly the paragraphs focusing on talking up Xi. He’s a fairly brutal dictator. While China does get a lot right, and I admire socialist countries very much, I’m suspicious of anything that talks up a dictator.
Norway is an interesting example and I’d like to see its policies in the USA. Capitalism will always devour itself given enough time, especially with a lack of regulation. Strong social programs are a requirement to make it work.
Xi Jinping is not a dictator, he was elected into his position and his legitimacy comes from the outcomes of his policy and leadership. He has been in politics for nearly his entire life and rose through the ranks by being an excellent party cadre. I’m assuming you only view him as a dictator because you’ve been trained to do so by western press.
The elimination of term limits doesn’t inherently lessen democratic power nor does its presence automatically increase it. Only material outcomes determine whether a system is democratic or not, just to get that out of the way.
Let me frame it like this: a person without shelter, who can’t pay for food and medicine, or a myriad of other concerns does not have the same level of human rights as those that can, this can’t be objected to without admitting that western notions of human rights are not based in reality but idealism. China works on raising the standard of living for the majority, not appeasing an ideology. Those living in China have more human rights than those living in western countries if we measure human rights based on quality of life and not on personal feelings.
Let me break it down even further: China would arrest and jail anyone spreading antivax lies while the US makes them the head of the health department (RFK Jr). Decide which society is more free.
If this is true then it’s true what I’ve heard: Americans really are the most propagandized people in the world.
I don’t have the energy to respond to this in a meaningful way but I appreciate you taking the time to type it out.
It was sent to you yesterday! https://hexbear.net/comment/6049942
Apologies for coming off aggressive. Capitalism can not be restrained without a dedicated communist party, like China’s. Executing billionaires for defrauding the people is framed as authoritarian overreach but in reality good. Also, the chinese system is not one man, even the head. There are liberals and conservatives (more hardline socialists in the Chinese context), cliques and ingroups, just mostly under the banner of one party. There may be more democracy than you think https://www.cgtn.com/how-china-works/feature/Why-China-s-socialist-democracy-is-the-most-effective-democracy.html https://ash.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/final_policy_brief_7.6.2020.pdf
The above harvard study also explains why there has been poverty and wealth inequality in the PRC after 1990 on page 5. Compare the stories of 2000s and early-mid 2010s with the achievements and goals now. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nuaJGPZCBYU&t=1s
On the other hand, Scandinavia has already started to roll back whatever social democratic compromises were made during the cold war https://jacobin.com/2024/04/sweden-unions-exploitation-migrant-solidarity, including the social freedoms I believe you mentioned in another comment https://jacobin.com/2024/07/swedish-social-democracy-kjell-ostberg. Without a material basis of prosperity and some wealth redistribution, there is no room for countries who have been colonized to develop social freedoms in the first place. How can a country in africa abolish patriarchal systems of authority without the money to feed its people or defend itself from western backed militants? https://www.lemonde.fr/en/le-monde-africa/article/2024/10/13/ukrainian-drones-provide-support-for-northern-mali-s-rebels_6729231_124.html. https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2024/8/20/ukraine-is-losing-the-plot-in-africa
Countries like Norway can benefit from their place in an imperialist world order to sell weapons https://oec.world/en/profile/bilateral-product/military-weapons/reporter/nor and use their fossil fuel reserves to temporarily create a liberal saudi arabia that crumbles the second a few Syrians migrate from more wars caused by the western world order. Plenty of people have critiques of the Chinese socialist project on hexbear, the influence of the Shanghai clique, the amount of debt they hold in the Global South, @xiaohongshu@hexbear.net / @xiaohongshu2@hexbear.net has made some great posts about finance and economics specifically. But we also hold dearly to the maxim “No investigation, no right to speak”
I didn’t see it yesterday. I was jumped on and ridiculed and just… sort of checked out and didn’t read anything after that. I clearly don’t have nearly as much knowledge on these subjects and most people aren’t as patient as you.
I will try to reduce my ignorance and learn about this. It’s mostly just for the pursuit of knowledge as I am unfortunately stuck in a collapsing United States and it’s unlikely I’ll ever be able to live in a socialist country.
I’m in the same difficult boat. It really is easier to imagine the end of the world than the end of capitalism. Solidarity comrade, we’ll fight the barbarism together.
I found a YouTube link in your comment. Here are links to the same video on alternative frontends that protect your privacy:
What exactly are your personal politics?
If I had to put a title on it, I would use a term I first heard being used by Bernie Sanders: a democratic socialist. I think that human nature makes both capitalism and communism doomed to fail. Somewhere in the middle is where the sweet spot is. A capitalistic base with strong social safety nets, plenty of public land, universal healthcare, free college, and a universal basic income would be the best path for a country to take. Society should be flexible enough to adapt to the needs of all its citizens, and both capitalism and communism fail at achieving that. So, we should take the best of both.
People should be able to work harder, with longer hours and earn more as a result of their work if they so choose. But people should also be able to work as little as they like (with a minimum of 20ish hours a week) and still be able to live a full life, albeit with fewer possessions than the hard worker will be able to afford. I believe democratic socialism is the only system that could give both of these workers what they want.
I also believe in social freedoms like freedom of speech and sexuality, which are things that China doesn’t have and the USA might lose.
You’re a Kautskyist. You reject the class struggle and engage in class collaborationism. Your understanding of the world was debunked over 100 years ago by Lenin and every day since by the winds of history.
deleted by creator
Be as patronizing as you’d like, but your strain of thought has been proven wrong and inadequate by philosophers, not even just Marxist ones, for over a century at this point. Do some reading.
https://www.marxists.org/archive/lenin/works/1918/prrk/
The idea that a system has been “debunked” is absurd. Things work out based on a myriad of factors and might work in other circumstances.
I deleted my comment because I was worried it would be as patronizing as yours.
Edit: still I appreciate the link and will try to read it.
I should’ve been less patronizing, sorry. If you appreciate the link and will read it then you’re more open to this than 99% of people that tend to argue about all this so I’ll respect you for that. Hope you enjoy the read 🫡
But to posit that you have to lay out how America differs from Russia, no?