China bad, USA good - eviltoast
    • Cyber Ghost@lemmygrad.mlOP
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      1 year ago

      Response to both 1 and 2:

      because socialism isn’t defined by how many people in a country have a certain level of wealth. socialism is the transitional period between capitalism and communism, where the proletariat hold state power and build the conditions necessary for communism. before you can have communism you need to have the productive forces in place to make that economically possible. China chose the route of allowing capitalist investment to help develop its productive forces, while maintaining state power and overall control of the economy in the hands of the Communist Party. they decided that it was better for the country to become wealthy unevenly at first, rather than to keep socialising poverty

      https://dengxiaopingworks.wordpress.com/2013/03/08/building-a-socialism-with-a-specifically-chinese-character/

      What is socialism and what is Marxism? We were not quite clear about this in the past. Marxism attaches utmost importance to developing the productive forces. We have said that socialism is the primary stage of communism and that at the advanced stage the principle of from each according to his ability and to each according to his needs will be applied. This calls for highly developed productive forces and an overwhelming abundance of material wealth. Therefore, the fundamental task for the socialist stage is to develop the productive forces. The superiority of the socialist system is demonstrated, in the final analysis, by faster and greater development of those forces than under the capitalist system. As they develop, the people’s material and cultural life will constantly improve. One of our shortcomings after the founding of the People’s Republic was that we didn’t pay enough attention to developing the productive forces. Socialism means eliminating poverty. Pauperism is not socialism, still less communism

      as it happens there did arise a great degree of wealth disparity, which the state has begun to tackle since Xi’s leadership took over

      and that’s something they’ll need to iron out over time

      but the existence of billionaires isn’t a reflection of the class character of the state

      you might find this article a worthwhile read https://redsails.org/china-has-billionaires/

      • Arcturus@kbin.social
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        1 year ago

        The Chinese state is cracking down on billionaires and the wealthy, to some extent, mainly as they are a challenge to the states own power. Not as a result of much else. Loyal ones, particularly close to Xi, are left alone.

        China continues to be highly neoliberal in business practice, supported and subsidised by the state, if you’re in a key industry, particularly as China faces economic downturn. Chinese workers are pliant, and educated. Which is why Elon Musk is there.

        The proletariat do not hold the power in China, they are seen as a threat by the Chinese elite. Hence a heavy surveillance state, and large propaganda arm.

        The transition from socialism to capitalism, in theory, does not include a devolution back to capitalism lol. Xi Jinping has created more wealth for the Chinese elite than any other previous Chinese President. Unless you think the Germans were also socialist during the 30’s and 40’s.

        • Cyber Ghost@lemmygrad.mlOP
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          1 year ago

          It doesn’t sound like you read anything that I sent you.

          Also, doesn’t seem like you know how the Chinese democracy works. All that I hear is complete misunderstandings said confidently.

          Let us be clear, the Chinese Communist Party is a Marxist-Leninist organization. The Party General Secretary Xi Jinping sees himself as Josef Stalin’s successor. In fact, as the journalist and former Australian government official John Garnaut has noted, the Chinese Communist Party is the last “ruling communist party that never split with Stalin, with the partial exception of North Korea.” [11]

          Leaked cables from 2009 give a clear sense of why Xi Jinping aggravates the US:

          Unlike many youth who “made up for lost time by having fun” after the Cultural Revolution, Xi “chose to survive by becoming redder than the red.” … Xi is not corrupt and does not care about money

          • Arcturus@kbin.social
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            1 year ago

            But he does. Sending your kids to Harvard isn’t exactly cheap. His personal wealth is only beaten by his political power. Marxism and Leninism are political ideologies, not just economic. Xi also nods his head to Mao, but that doesn’t mean anything. Donald Trump also nods his head to Lincoln and Washington.

            You don’t seem to understand the difference between the party propaganda line, and the actual reality. A lot of urban educated in China do understand this, and know how to toe the line.

        • Cyber Ghost@lemmygrad.mlOP
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          1 year ago

          Taken together, these accounts tell a pretty compelling and straightforward story: a worker state led by a vanguard party has placed the productive forces developed by capitalism under human control once again, for the benefit of the many rather than the few, and so definitively begun the complex and difficult transition away from capitalism and into communism that we call socialism. Capitalists, sheltered and insular in their dealings with fellow human beings, don’t understand that they are not sympathetic characters, so they shamelessly self-victimize in the press in the hopes of winning sympathy from the masses, in a futile effort to rally the necessary fervor for military intervention. The situation looks grim for the forces of reaction.

          • Arcturus@kbin.social
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            1 year ago

            We do business dealings in China, and let me tell you that American workers are compensated more for their efforts than the Chinese workers are. That’s why we do business in China lol. Its also why we do business in the Philippines. Mainly because we can profit, and Chinese owners can host an elaborate party for us (mainly because their margins are larger than ours). They feel compelled to because it’s a prestige thing, to be able to flaunt wealth. But it’s not exactly aristocratic, which is my background. One of the wives for example showed us their plate collection for example, which easily breaks over $100k in value, they had some interesting pieces, such as Queen Elizabeth state sets (my family has one of those somewhere), but they won’t understand the difference between all the plates, or what they are (that’s what the servants are for). It’s literally just meaningless consumption, more bourgeois capitalist than you can ever imagine. I’ve had Chinese businessmen literally call me while they’re in France, asking what kind of watch they should buy. It’s never under $5,000 at least. One of them bought an Extra-Plat Squelette 5395 in Hong Kong. And these aren’t workers lol. Chinese workers aren’t meeting with American billionaires, owners of big pharma, literal royalty. It’s a class that has been built and expanded under Xi Jinping’s reign that has. Just look at Feng Shui, and how the focus is on raking in money, and more importantly, keeping it.