China is authoritarian, but if you look only at the material conditions for democracy like prosperity, peace, education they are better than the US. People fundamentally want to exist and raise families in peace without constant terror, confusion and economic hardship. That is because even they are authoritarian, they can still “afford” to have pro-human or pro-national ideology. In the neoliberal countries choosing that over profit gets you fired or sidelined.
Being authoritarian is exactly what makes them good. When media talks about China authoritarianism, they’re talking from the perspective of capitalists, not average people. Capitalists hold no political power in China and that’s why western media it’s upset, because they can’t influence their policy through money. If western media cared about the material conditions of the average Chinese people, they would be chanting praise for the massive uplifting that China has went through the last 50 years.
I mean, it’s pretty rich USA talking to anyone about authoritarianism, regardless of who’s in office. I mentioned yellow journalism in another thread that began with the Spanish - American war, but even before then, we’ve always had death-labor camps. The authoritarianism waxes and wanes, depending on who’s on the Hill, but we’re supposed to evolve, rather than devolving and forcing stagnation/devolution on the rest of the world. And for all their faults, it’s part of the reason our revolutionary founders urged isolationist policy. The Great Wars changed the equation a bit, but only because our burgeoning hegemony was threatened. And yes, this is oversimplifying, but the gist.
China is authoritarian, but if you look only at the material conditions for democracy like prosperity, peace, education they are better than the US. People fundamentally want to exist and raise families in peace without constant terror, confusion and economic hardship. That is because even they are authoritarian, they can still “afford” to have pro-human or pro-national ideology. In the neoliberal countries choosing that over profit gets you fired or sidelined.
The US is more authoritarian, if anything, especially if you live in a country that’s been on the receiving end of its foreign policy.
Being authoritarian is exactly what makes them good. When media talks about China authoritarianism, they’re talking from the perspective of capitalists, not average people. Capitalists hold no political power in China and that’s why western media it’s upset, because they can’t influence their policy through money. If western media cared about the material conditions of the average Chinese people, they would be chanting praise for the massive uplifting that China has went through the last 50 years.
I mean, it’s pretty rich USA talking to anyone about authoritarianism, regardless of who’s in office. I mentioned yellow journalism in another thread that began with the Spanish - American war, but even before then, we’ve always had death-labor camps. The authoritarianism waxes and wanes, depending on who’s on the Hill, but we’re supposed to evolve, rather than devolving and forcing stagnation/devolution on the rest of the world. And for all their faults, it’s part of the reason our revolutionary founders urged isolationist policy. The Great Wars changed the equation a bit, but only because our burgeoning hegemony was threatened. And yes, this is oversimplifying, but the gist.
if I’m from, say, Ghana, I’m judging China based on how China affects Ghanaian people, not on how China affects Chinese people
Have you been to China?