yogthos

Anything could happen of course, but I don't see this as a likely scenario myself. What's more likely is that we return to bloc competition similar to what we saw during the Cold War. Except this time it's going to be G7 against the BRICS.

Every society puts limit on freedom of speech and expression. There's nothing unique about China in this regard. What makes you think that the west got this balance fundamentally right while everyone else got it wrong aside from the anchoring bias you experience by virtue of growing up in a particular society? It's certainly clear that China's approach results in far more social stability than western approach.

Also, the fact that you think China centralizes power instead of giving it to the people shows that you don't actually understand how Chinese system works. I urge you to spend a bit of time educating yourself on a subject you're stating opinions on here. Here's a western article for you explaining that Chinese system actually encourages decentralized governance and grassroots organization. https://www.noemamag.com/what-the-west-misunderstands-about-power-in-china/

Similarly, the government is also organized based on using grassroots structures as its foundation https://news.cgtn.com/event/2021/who-runs-the-cpc/index.html

Meanwhile, corruption has little to do with centralization. Corruption comes from lack of means to hold people in authority to account. This problem exists within flat structures just as much as it does in centralized ones. In fact, it can be far more pronounced in cases where there are no formal methods for creating power structures https://www.jofreeman.com/joreen/tyranny.htm

Also, centralization is not at odds with workers owning means of production in any way. That's a really naive understanding of the problem. For example, you can have cooperative ownership of the industry where the workers are in control of how their workplaces operate, while having central governance structures that direct overall efforts to make sure they align with larger societal goals. These types of structures are necessary in large societies for the same reason complex organisms evolve things like nervous systems and brains. The brain doesn't micromanage the function of the body, but rather focuses on the high level goals beneficial to the organism as a whole.

I'm also well familiar with Wolff, and he has lots good ideas. If you actually pay attention to what he says then you'll see that he views Chinese system quite positively overall.

can't read all of them, but here's a few I can sort of read :)

I think this one roughly translates into people of the world unite

this is my breakfast

who taught them about turtle thursday

just can't help yourself can you

I think the demographic to focus on are the people who are just falling out of liberal mainstream and who haven’t formed strong political opinions of their own. They’ve already come to realize that libs are gaslighting them, and that the system isn’t working on their interest because they see their standard of living collapsing while mainstream media keeps telling them they’re living in the best economy ever. Such people become open to new ideas and can be reasoned with. As the economic collapse continues to progress, the liberal mainstream will necessarily shrink as increasing numbers of people start becoming disillusioned with the system.

The fact that you felt the need to write that comment is adorable.

Sounds like Starmer's real passion is to be the president of Ukraine.

I also find it interesting how China is always judged against the Platonic ideal of human society. The reality is that no human society is perfect, there will always be problems, mistakes, and so on. The real question is whether a society is doing its best for the majority, and whether it's on a positive trajectory.

I don't see anything wrong with your numbers. China just started implementing the policies, and you wouldn't expect a huge change to happen in a single year. However, it does look like there is a measurable effect already.

China has problems just like any country, the workaholic culture is not as conductive towards having kids as some countries in Europe. The problem certainly doesn't appear to be worse than in most counties, and unlike a lot of countries the government is actually doing something about it. I still don't see why you point this as an issue that should make me dislike China.

The fact that you felt like you needed to remember underscores my point. :)

And they've been addressing that with positive results being seen this year

https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202205/1265938.shtml

https://www.wionews.com/world/china-comes-up-with-20-recommendations-to-encourage-families-to-have-more-children-572313

https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202501/1327070.shtml