Regular reader AJ writes in:
What are your thoughts on all the people who say that the only reason China is getting stronger and richer is because they are Communist in name only, and have been moving closer and closer to capitalism?
They have nothing like capitalism at all. It’s a very mixed system that is what I call socialism. You really need to study the Chinese system. It’s not capitalism or anything like that. Anyone knows that capitalism potentially creates tremendous wealth and it beats socialism at creating wealth. But at what cost. Capitalism in China, especially the foreign firms (which are definitely capitalist!) is killing 600,000 Chinese a year through overwork alone. Corruption and mass abuse of workers and citizens is rampant, all due to the reforms. There was little to no abuse of workers before. Health care and education have been decimated by the reforms. The reforms are crap. All so they can get rich? Fuck that! I am convinced it does not have to be this way. Belarus is a good example of a country without much wealth that shows how you can protect the rights of workers, citizens and society and at the same time develop your economy. Venezuela is another good model.
Why are millions of Chinese willing to work in such factories because it is better than their rural village life where since the time of the British occupation of China snake head drug traffickers and people smugglers including sex trafficking.
Do you want China to be shitholes like Bangladesh or Pakistan?
And I seriously doubt China can provide health care for 1.5 billion people with has about 20 million Muslims.
“The reforms are crap. All so they can get rich? Fuck that!”
Apart from creating new industries and infrastructure like there maglev rail system and creating recently the world fastest super computer.
And they have lifted millions of Chinese out of poverty.
“Venezuela is another good model.”
One of the most unequal societies on the planet where you have the more dark skinned population in slums and rich whites with supermarkets and luxury apartments.
those chinese factories where they make our iphones and laptops…they’ve had to put up suicide-prevention nets around the buildings because they work their employees to death, and lots of the workers just off themselves. sick.