This is a serious question, I want to understand your views. I know very little about the Chinese system, but from what I know it doesn’t seem to be very communist at all, but rather a capitalist state to rival the US. Why do you all defend it so viciously?
Because I have no faith in the western left and see them as my only hope of not getting killed by fascists.
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?
OK, and so that means you can’t say 1 bad thing about China? That makes no sense, especially in our circles. I understand defending China when talking with liberals or conservatives, cause they have no right criticizing China when they support systems that are 20x times worse and more cruel.
But I don’t understand why a leftist shouldn’t be able to bring up the number of billionaires in China, for example, when talking to other leftists without being labeled as some sort of traitor or propagandist or some other dumb bullshit. “They have less and more regulated billionaires than the U.S.” – yeah, I think that’s awesome, I would still prefer if billionaires didn’t exist though. And me saying that doesn’t mean I’m equating China to the U.S.
Or human rights – yeah, I know and constantly criticize the U.S. on their human rights violations – what kind of hypocrite would I be if then I stay silent or just says “well, the U.S. is worse” when China is brought up. Fuck that.
Leftists that don’t support American/western bullshit should absolutely have a right to level reasonable criticism towards China or any Marxist country.
You’re acting like I’m putting my criticism of China above criticism of the U.S. and other countries when that is clearly not what I said. I said I support China, but that shouldn’t mean complete blindness and absolute support in absolutely every fragment of their rule.
I should be allowed to think their economic system isn’t perfect without getting berated that “you just don’t get it, it’s all part of the plan man, just wait a few more years, you’ll see.” I’m not calling for the destruction of Chinese communism or saying the U.S.'s system is better for fucks sake.
Why are you telling us this and not bringing your vague concerns to the CPC itself?
What is this even supposed to mean???
What is the reason any western leftist even brings this up in the first place anyway?
Because you’re allowed to criticize stuff you support dude. What, if China tomorrow started, I don’t know, killing gay people for example, should I just not talk about it ever?? Come on, don’t be such babies. Or if you have a friend that you love and support, is it a sin to criticize them or call them out when they’re doing something bad?
OK, and so that means you can’t say 1 bad thing about China?
You can. You’ve already done it, several times in fact. Don’t focus on can, focus on should. Where does this urgent desire to say bad things about the PRC come from anyway? What I’m really asking you is: When you exercise your speech, what do you hope to accomplish by saying PRC is bad sometimes? Who are the people you hope understands and agrees with you that the PRC is bad sometimes? What do you think is most likely to result from you saying that the PRC is bad sometimes?
But I don’t understand why a leftist shouldn’t be able to bring up the number of billionaires in China, for example, when talking to other leftists without being labeled as some sort of traitor or propagandist or some other dumb bullshit. “They have less and more regulated billionaires than the U.S.” – yeah, I think that’s awesome, I would still prefer if billionaires didn’t exist though. And me saying that doesn’t mean I’m equating China to the U.S.
Why should you bring it up in the first place?
Or human rights – yeah, I know and constantly criticize the U.S. on their human rights violations – what kind of hypocrite would I be if then I stay silent or just says “well, the U.S. is worse” when China is brought up. Fuck that.
You would indeed be a hypocrite if you believed that the PRC was a particularly egregious offender of human rights or are anywhere near the level of the US. Do you?
Leftists that don’t support American/western bullshit should absolutely have a right to level reasonable criticism towards China or any Marxist country.
Sure. Make sure it is constructive though. To make a constructive effort in criticizing, you should be taking your concerns to the CPC itself, built on an educated foundation and with viable solutions taking into account the material conditions. What you’ve been doing so far has been complaining to us. Congratulations, you’ve felled a tree in the forest while the CPC was away in the city. There are 2 ways this criticism can go. You can go tell the CPC that you’ve felled the tree, or you can fashion a spear from the bark of the tree with which to stab the CPC with (destructive criticism). This latter thing is what the libs/China watchers do btw, which is complain to Big Brother (US gov) so that he hurts (regime change) that meanie (PRC) over there. We socialists actually do the same thing but with regards to the US instead: complain to Big Brother (US masses) so that he hurts (revolution) that meanie (US gov) over there. Why? Because we seek its destruction, hence destructive criticism, just as the libs seek the destruction of the PRC. Now apply this logic to when the left sets its sight on the PRC and does what you’re doing. Can you see why I’m your questioning your intentions?
Because you’re allowed to criticize stuff you support dude. What, if China tomorrow started, I don’t know, killing gay people for example, should I just not talk about it ever?? Come on, don’t be such babies.
This is not a reason and you probably know it already. This is just doing it for the sake of doing it. I didn’t ask whether or not you were allowed to do whatever. You spent so much time wondering if you could, you never stopped to think if you should. Again, when you exercise your speech, what do you hope to accomplish by saying PRC is bad sometimes? I want to know why you just HAD to let us know that the PRC is bad sometimes, when “PRC isn’t perfect” has probably been repeated a million times in every defense ever made at this point.
Or if you have a friend that you love and support, is it a sin to criticize them or call them out when they’re doing something bad?
No, but in this scenario, you actually have the power to do a constructive critique. Because here you have a better understanding (educated foundation) of your friend and you’re more aware of their material conditions and can hence come up with proper solutions. Most importantly, you are talking to them directly and not rallying a group of bullies to denounce your friend. The citizens of the PRC are in this position whilst you on an online forum in the heart of Empire are not.
I don’t support China
They’re aren’t perfect but they’re a force of damn good over all with building projects in their nation along with others vs bombing and instigating battles, standing up the US and mostly being chill rather than outright hostile, not to mention they care a lot more about their people than the US does, lifting the most out of poverty and all. Even if they weren’t socialist as few here have written, you have to admit that’s laudable.
Even going back to Engels you don’t get from socialism to communism overnight, its a multistep process. I think Xi has helped soften some of the contradictions Deng left sharp with opening trade, but back in the day that just had to be done to adjust to material conditions of the time and prepare for the turn of the century and the US hegemony. To have the people ultimately control the market is a good step toward getting to later stages of socialism and some future time, communism. Deng’s method wasn’t pretty and errorless, but reality rarely is, you can’t daydream of the best instant-communism perfect no-error just add revolution, its just not founded in reality, we’re working in a material earth with a complex history and relations between people. They don’t simply ‘go away’.
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.)
