QCryWhy do you all support China?
MakanIt’s AES (Actually Existing Socialism) like Vietnam and Laos. Therefore, I defend it.
Are you a communist?
Yes. I’ve been more interested in Russia and Cuba though, so I don’t know much in terms of Chinese communism, but I’m interested in the conflict between leftists who either hate or love China.
So far, I’ve been exposed more to the former than the latter, so I’ve been leaning more that way, but I obviously don’t want to commit to either view without seeing both sides’ arguments.
So far, I’ve been exposed more to the former than the latter, so I’ve been leaning more that way, but I obviously don’t want to commit to either view without seeing both sides’ arguments.
The whole problem arises from the misconception that “markets” or “market mechanisms” are anti-socialist or non-socialist or that they are intrinsically capitalist. Yet the replication of a market for socialism is just that: using the same mechanics to boost productivity. In addition: Vietnam and Laos have done the same thing. And China has neighborhood committees, unions, and cooperatives that work with the government. I would suggest watching Bay Area415’s video on the subject.
Muad'DibberWas just gonna link this as a good introductory vid.
@[email protected] Socialism with Chinese Characteristics (SWCC), is quite a rabbit hole, and there’s a LOT of misconceptions and falsehoods about it, esp since China is the target of this new cold war.
Once you get some time, here’s a lot of readings / articles I’ve compiled.
The problem is people have read more Maoist theory than they have Deng Xiaoping Thought or Xi Jinping Thought.
Of course, why would I waste my time reading garbage?
You admit your stupidity. You call it garbage, but also admit to never having read it.
That is un-critical, un marxist.
No investigation, no right to comment.
DamarcusArtIt’s hilarious how these so called “Maoists” basically do everything that Mao was against. Nothing says “dialectical” quite like worshiping a guy instead of actually reading any theory he wrote and only reading “interpretations” of what he wrote like he was some kind of prophet.
AugustusIgnore socialism for one moment
China developed from sub saharan African conditions only 40 years ago
They went from feudalism and a century of humiliation before the Chinese Communists came to power in 1949
Prior to 1949 the life expectancy was 35
20 years under Mao this had doubled to 70 years old
Since 1979 China has not been in a war and has gone from said sub saharan African conditions to a space faring civilisation landing on the far side of the moon and putting rovers on Mars
They did this without the hyper exploitation of colonies and wars of imperialism for conquests of booty
The Chinese people know what life was like a generation ago - their parenta tell them. The Communist Party of China enjoys a 89% approval rating of Chinese people precisely because they’ve lifted up the greatest number of humans out of poverty in such a short period of time
For that alone China should be praised daily by the world proletariat and the world socialist movement in the face of the most reactionary and murderous regime the world has ever seen (US and its puppets in Nato)
We can, of course, get onto comradely critiques of whether China is in socialism, whether they have succumbed to revisionism etc.
But we can only do that, as far as im concerned, when youve said your ten hail marys to China and thanked the CCP for it’s unbelievable sprint of humanity it has done for the human race since 1949
I agree with almost all of what you’ve said. Except quoting a approval rating from a one party state that you could possibly be imprisoned or otherwise punished for disapproving of.
I wouldn’t say we viciously defend it, after all even if China wasn’t socialist it’d be worth defending from an anti-imperialist perspective. China emerged from years of colonial subjugation (the century of humiliation) after the Chinese revolution, and built what is today the only country capable of challenging US world domination.
Really though, China’s massive improvements in life expectancy, real wages, and living standards show that its socialist, planned system is working.
No system is perfect, especially in a transition away from world capitalism, and subordinating the market economy to the will of the CPC, to provide for the needs of the people, and protecting China from western interventionism, remain the most important tasks for the CPC.
As far as “China not being communist”:
- The backbone of the economy is state ownership and socialist planning. 24 / 25 of the top revenue companies are state-owned and planned. 70% of the top 500 companies are State-owned. 1, 2
- Didn’t China go Capitalist with Deng Xiaoping? Didn’t it liberalize its economy? Is China’s drastic decrease in poverty a result of the increase in free market capitalist policies?
- Is the CPC committed to communism?
- The Long Game and Its Contradictions.
Sorry sweaty, but 24/25 is not good enough and revisionism. Don’t you know that billionaires = revisionism as well?
Plus, economy success is a terrible way of measuring the socialistness of a nation. It means unequal development, which is a thing that exists under capitalism which means, you guessed it! Revisionism! The only true way to be a socialist nation is for everyone to be equally poor and struggling and ideologically pure. We can’t allow a single non-socialist in a socialist country, regardless of if they hold political power or not. A people’s democracy means doing what is purest and not actually listening to the people after all.
/s (I do have my own issues with China’s unequal development, but I can also recognize when the CPC actively aims to improve things on that front. China didn’t freeze in place in 1978.)
I’m gonna be honest, some people in these circles have a way too delusional view of China for my liking, and will defend basically every part of it.
I personally think you don’t have to do that. There’s a lot of problems in China, and it doesn’t make you a “bad Marxist” to admit that. I still support it however, while it’s not perfect I wouldn’t say it’s a capitalist country like the U.S. and I think the world is a better place with China in it than if the U.S. had zero competition in the world stage.
The U.S., Brazil, and India all have far-right crazies in charge. Can you imagine the world if China wasn’t what it is? The world would literally be dominated by fascists. I’ll always prefer a “not so perfect” communism to fascism and shit like that. God knows what kinda leadership China would have right now if it wasn’t for the communist party.
Yeah, I wish it was better and I do think there are serious issues. But compared to the alternatives, I’m glad China exists and I support them.
some people in these circles have a way too delusional view of China for my liking, and will defend basically every part of it.
Which defenses have you found to be problematic in these supposed circles, enough to warrant the title of ‘delusional’? Have you realized we’re in a new cold war, with an increasing possibility of a hot war by the day? What need is there for any western leftist’s unheard “nuance” in the current moment? You see people defending the PRC fiercely because they understand the stakes and rightly treat a dangerous moment with utmost seriousness.
Yeah, I wish it was better and I do think there are serious issues.
Why are you telling us this and not bringing your vague concerns to the CPC itself? What is the reason any western leftist even brings this up in the first place anyway?
So, are you like a paid Chinese Internet turfer or what? Does it pay better than genociding Muslims in the concentration camps?
I think sometimes people (myself included) will joke that “China does nothing wrong” mainly because it is the opposite of the liberal mentality of “everything that happens in China is bad, even the objectively good stuff, like curing cancer (but at what cost?!)”
Some people might take the joke a bit too far sometimes, or someone who is fairly new to socialism might go a bit too far, but most tend to calm down after a while.
China isn’t facist? How so? So they don’t suppress other opinions and cultures? They don’t lock up and kill people they don’t like? They are not imperialistic? They’re not almost an autocracy?
You are a bad Marxist because you didn’t understand or read his works carefully. For Marx, Capitalism was a necessary evil to reach true communism. A vehicle. He predicted technological and social advances, step-by-step, until we reach communism. So to debate which country is a „good communist country“ is moot as there can’t be real communism yet.
Whether it is China or the western world who’ll reach true communism first will have to be seen. I for one see Europe ahead of China and especially the US, as Europe - at least ideologically - strives to make everyone equal under the law / give everyone the same opportunities. It has homework to do on tue technological front, but that’s nothing unachievable. Whereas culturally, China and the US are better technology wise but far away socially and culturally.
lntlHonestly, because I think it’s fun. There is a lot of popular hate for China/communism and I enjoy putting together sound lines of reasoning which contradict these popular views.
My mom said I should have been a lawyer.
bob_wileyOP asked for reasons why you support China, and you say you like coming up with sound lines of reasoning instead of actual providing any sound lines of reasoning? This was your moment and you blew it.
I mean, I’ve never been there so I don’t know anything about it and I don’t make enough money to “support” a country. So I don’t really know what OP means by that.
My response was more in line with OPs closing question on why people defend the actions of a country like China. It’s fun for me to take the unpopular position. It’s kind of like a devil’s advocate role
It doesn’t matter what I think of the Chinese system, I will defend China till my dying breath bc people still conflate it with communism, so, as a communist, defending China is a net positive.
Why is this post getting brigaded, and by whom?
Its not even a communist country… lol
Its just the name of the political party the runs it like any other self centered capitalistic country.
Its like those countrys with “republic of” but they are actually a dictatorship. (How many other political parties are there, in china?)
133arc585You’ve come in to a three year old thread only to not say a single true thing.
China is a socialist country, and has been for a while now. The only reason you think any inkling of capitalism being present somehow means they aren’t socialist is because you aren’t using the right framework to look at the situation. You think it must be either-or, when a socialist country can take advantage of aspects of a capitalist system. There is no class of capitalists, and there is no reliance on or subservience to investors. It doesn’t have the characteristics of capitalism: it is not an economic system based on private property. The use of a market economy also doesn’t make it not socialist: the basic economic system is socialist, and a socialist market economy plays a role in the allocation of resources and distribution[^1].
There are other political parties in China, and they’re permitted. The fantasy that only one party is permitted to exist is just that, a fantasy. From what I can tell there are currently at least 8 political parties, and there have been many others in the near past. Also, the fact that most people support one party is not evidence that people are forced to support it; it’s evidence that that party serves the needs and desires of its people. People support the party because it benefits them.
Your comment just reads as ignorance. If you are actually curious about China, and aren’t just going to sling talking points you’ve heard from Western sources, there are plenty of resources to help you learn about it. If you don’t bother to put in the effort, then don’t try to offer up what you think must be true.
[^1]: Boer, R. (2021). “Socialism with Chinese Characteristics”.
china is the only thing right now keeping the us from total global domination. i think china is socialist but that’s honestly irrelevant considering the fact that it’s the most serious contender the usa has had since the ussr. that alone makes me fully support and root for china
(also, socialism is a transitional state, so velocity is more relevant than position, but that’s another conversation)
GaryLeChatThis is a very old post haha
tf how did this get into my home