this post was submitted on 26 Aug 2023
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Not a fan of capitalism myself, but I'd take western (somewhat) liberal capitalism over the authoritarian alternatives (kleptocratic, imperialist oligarchy in Russia or fake-communist dictatorship in China) that are being pushed here on Lemmy.
China is the only country that is on track to hit the goals stated in the Paris Agreement.
China has invested trillions in combating climate change.
75% of people alleviated from poverty are chinese citizens.
China has a higher life expectancy than the US.
China has a higher median wage than several european countries.
The US has the largest prisoner population in the world.
Slavery is legal in the US as a punishment for a crime.
The leaders of the riots in Ferguson were all murdered. Several political leaders have disappeared or died mysteriously over the years in the US.
The US "used to have" a project by the name of COINTELPRO which focused on suppressing political dissidents.
Why exactly would you take the western system over China?
What makes China authoritarian, yet the country with the largest prisoner population in the world and a proven record of suppressing and murdering political dissidents not authoritarian?
I don't like how you make it seem like the US is the average western country.
It is one of the worst in terms of everything except money and military.
If you compare China with an actual average western country, like France or Spain. Then China looks a lot less hospitable. With its giant face tracking infrastructure, the anti-privacy devices and apps, the genocides of Uyghurs and castrations of Muslims.
I like how China is improving massively, but it still is closer to the US than it is to Finland in terms of population happiness and freedom.
The US is the hegemon of the West, they call the shots. It's reasonable to talk about US in place of the west.
love how you euros pretend to give a shit about muslims
As a European, we're definitely leagues ahead of the US, but we also have giant face tracking infrastructure, anti privacy devices and apps, and we just recently did massive invasions resulting in the deaths of millions of innocent civilians in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan. And at least hundreds of thousands of those deaths are actually provable and well-documented.
I don't think anyone is pushing modern capitalist Russia, although kleprocratic, imperialist oligarchy describes the US and western liberal democracy at large as much as it does the Russian Federation.
China though has a better democracy than the US. Calling it a dictatorship is pure western brainworms.
Edit: Why do you think the US is not a kleptocratic, imperialist oligarchy? And why do you think liberal democracy is more democratic than full process democracy in China?
| China though has a better democracy than the US.
Anyone in the US can try to be elected, in China the government chooses who can be elected. Equal representation is a cornerstone of democracy.
The whole point of government is to be authoritarian. That authority is what separates tax collectors from muggers. That authority is what allows for public good such as welfare programs and public bad such as a militarized police force that brutally defends the capitalist class and their capital. Under "liberal" capitalism, that authority is concentrated in the hands of the dictators that own the means of production.
Do you know anything about how their system actually works or are you just repeating something you've seen in reddit comments over and over again?
We're fucking our planet and all its species regardless, and arguing about the amount of lube being used.
Yes😎
I mean, probably.
We don’t get tortured and re-educated though! Gotta count your blessings!