US Politics on Sidechat | I find it interesting how conversations about China lack nuance. It’s either they’re genocidal dictatorship (usually spoken by someone who hasn’t visited) or they’re some communist utopia with high speed rail and perfect infrastructure.

Sidechat

Download

Join communities on Sidechat Download

US Politics 15h

I find it interesting how conversations about China lack nuance. It’s either they’re genocidal dictatorship (usually spoken by someone who hasn’t visited) or they’re some communist utopia with high speed rail and perfect infrastructure.

US Politics 17h

A lot of you love the ideas of socialism and communism but are so deeply affected by the red scare propaganda that you don’t even realize that.

Anonymous 15h

American politics can’t handle nuance in general

🦓

Anonymous 15h

It’s neither. Yes, they lifted 800,000,000 out of poverty. And yes they don’t have a democracy. There’s pros and cons

Anonymous 15h

Is China not a dictatorship or genocidal though? They also do have fire ass high speed rail.

Anonymous 15h

This might be unpopular, but I think Marco Rubio stated it really well: we are 2 global superpowers so ofc we’re going to compete. We need to manage that completion to avoid conflict. We also need to cooperate where possible — not lecture China (as previous President have done) Obviously, there’s issues where we disagree (e.g., Taiwan), but Chinese leadership isn’t stupid either: they would prefer peaceful negotiation and I think they realize an invasion of Taiwan would be a disaster.

Anonymous 15h

I mean, I’ve visited China a little back and sure they might be considered “authoritarian” by our definition but they’re not genocidal. I also don’t believe in utopia nor would I call them communist (as by Marx’s definition, no state has achieved that yet). They’re socialist and they’re in a lot better shape than the US or the few countries I’ve visited. Like healthcare and housing are cheaper and education is easily available to just about everyone. That’s why I support China.

Anonymous

#1 15h

It’s complicated. A lot of local CCP officials (like mayors) are elected. Over time, some rise up the ranks and enter the Politburo (Congress). From there, there’s the Politburo Standing Committee — 7 people who hold most of the power in China. As far as genocide, I think it’s fair to say they’ve committed severe human rights abuses in Xinjiang. That said, they’ve also uplifted the area a lot: infrastructure, jobs, even preservation of the language. All the road signs are trilingual.

Anonymous

OP 15h

The CCP is the only organization with any political power tho, it’s less about it being individuals as dictators but the party itself

Anonymous

OP 15h

There is no competition, China is already well on track to win in the long run and it’s just going to be a question of whether we manage our decline gracefully or eventually go out violently in a catastrophic war. I’m not very optimistic about which option it will be

Anonymous

#4 15h

However you’re absolutely right on the nuance point, I’d say we’re two deeply flawed nations that both have our own great triumphs as well

Anonymous

#4 15h

It's true. People have limited mental energy. If you try to critically analyze every single headline, you'll have nothing left for your daily life. It's easier to just pick a side and stay surface-level. When you are living paycheck to paycheck and just trying to feed your kids, survival takes priority over political nuance. It’s not at all ideal but it’s our unfortunate current circumstances.

Anonymous

#5 15h

Yeah definitely a major factor, and largely by design