I mean… I kinda get it, but nowadays it’s starting to get absurd.
(EDIT: This was supposed to be a “blow air out my nose and get on with my life” meme…)
I mean… I kinda get it, but nowadays it’s starting to get absurd.
(EDIT: This was supposed to be a “blow air out my nose and get on with my life” meme…)
these are the reasons I think this happens:
edit: reworked comment into bulleted list instead of run-on sentence
I would love to discuss this with anyone that’s willing. If their government is as awful and fucked up as everyone says why does the average Chinese citizen generally have a better life than the average American in their respective societal totem pole (in cities specifically) ?
They have far more purchasing power for food, rent. Their healthcare is affordable. While censorship is a thing towards certain topics, there certainly isn’t a lack of discussion. They have far better public transit systems, far more parks, and public utilities, absolute ownership (no property tax).
To me it seems we’re continuously demonizing the lives of those we don’t understand who are actually far better off than most of us in the states.
I lived and worked outside Shanghai for a bit, but it was a while ago and probably has changed a good bit. What makes you think their lives are far better off than those in the states?
Not necessarily disagreeing, but it absolutely was not the case 15 years ago. American life is on a downhill though, zero argument there.
Right now I look at my life in the late 20s in the states and even despite having a well paying tech job, I will have to sacrifice everything in my life in order to have a family or even own a house and those two are exclusive of each other. Although not in deep debt, I’ve definitely had to pay my fair share towards medical and student debt.
I’m watching critical infrastructure projects that could impact so many people take 30 years to build.
The amount of homeless we see on the streets is our own governmental failure and the increased crime associated with it. Seeing what I see in US streets really can wear an empathetic person down, it’s a cruel world here.
Our diet and price to eat healthy in the US is continuously worsening (yes this is a choice to an extent but also a cultural problem that grows over time)
And even though it’s absolutely recency bias, the deportation of Latinos does not strike confidence in me given my heritage.
I do think China has changed a lot in the last 15-30 years, and don’t get me wrong I don’t think it’s a perfect life, I understand there’s an infinite amount of competition for well paying jobs, and housing prices are extremely high (albeit not as high relative to ours). But when you show me how China has effectively succeeded at each of these topics compared to our own governmental failures that I experience on the daily, it makes me question my own life here and why people immediately criticize China without nuance.
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I do feel for you, I know life in the US has gotten much worse recently and I feel that’s accelerating.
I’m not so sure life in China is better per se, but it is different.
I will probably blanket statement this and say life in the EU seems a lot better than in the US now, though with plenty of problems depending on where you go. I say this as someone who left the US for the EU.
Quite frankly, I think you’re failing to see that a major part of American culture, a literal founding principle, is “live free or die”. Americans are obviously not going to take that censorship as just a small downside.
Quality of life is less important than freedom.
This is also just a lie. They don’t own land.
We, in fact, do own land. We just have an explicit contract with our government vs the implicit one people in the US have. Look into imminent domain seizures in the US.
…you know that a lease isn’t ownership right?
Yes, they can take land you own… That doesn’t mean you don’t own it lol. Just because you can lose something doesn’t mean you don’t own it. And that’s a lot more niche a situation then you’re thinking it is
…the ‘lease’ is that you don’t own it independent of the government, as in despite owning the land you’re not your own country. You’ll find this in every country, except in China it’s spelled out. It has an expiration since, you know, China tends to reform itself over time. None have expired, and right now under current law none of them can expire, they are automatically renewed to the owner at the time of expiry, with the assumption the owner isn’t going to commit treason.
Like the ‘social credit score’ nonsense you people made up, it’s a gross misinterpretation of reality that you believe because you fundamentally believe Chinese people are different than you.
??? Fascist government vs democracy (fingers crossed we stay one) and you think there isn’t a difference? Man you’ve been swallowing some serious propaganda. It’s not about the people, it’s about the government.
No, you won’t. It’s a different system. I’m not going to say it’s a worse system, because it’s not really, it’s just a different system. But you need to recognize that it is substantially different. A lease is different from pure ownership. There’s a lot less guarantees involved.
By no definition of fascism is China fascist. Reread your Eco.
The government is the people. A fifth of the Chinese public are cpc members. It costs nothing to join, there are no requirements besides being a citizen and not being a convicted traitor. Anyone can join and start voting and participating.
And again, no, it’s not a different system. I get that you’re angry you’ll never own your home in the US, whereas 92% of Chinese adults over 21 own their own home, but that doesn’t change reality. The ‘lease’ is that your land is under the Chinese government, not the US government or Russians government, and thus subject to the laws in China and can be revoked if you use your land in a revolution against China.
Every single country on earth has this clause. Every single one. China assigns it per deed, rather than an overarching law, because of the autonomous districts that have different leases, like Tibet or Xinjiang.
It’s clear you’ve been extensively propagandized to think china isn’t fascist. I’m not sure if I can discuss with someone who cannot see how their own country is run …
The government is not the people .
… I’m on track to get one in 2 years.
…no
You’re still ignoring how china can and has disappeared or block people from the country simply for expressing their views, and used “police forces” to enforce their laws upon citizens in other territories
Pointing out Americans system of live free or dying to avert censorship while also repeating US propaganda about China is hilariously ironic
What happens to the land/house you own if you don’t pay property tax in the US? Chinas 70 year lease is effectively a more solidified ownership than the US.
That’s pure philosophy. I would argue that complete legal ownership is more ownership…
None of what I said was propaganda lmfao. Lease is just pure facts, and censorship is something that you’d have to be blind to think isn’t real.
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Is this only for well paying jobs like software engineering or is this also true for shittier service/factory style jobs?
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Because the social contract of 21st century authoritarian societies is “We give you prosperity, you do politics through gov-approved channels.” Punishment for dissent depends on how insecure the state feels right now.
On the plus side, the government cares about your prosperity. As long as it lasts, elites can divide power among themselves however they like.
On the minus – society doesn’t control its government (power transition happens by committee, not elections) and it can’t force any kind of change when elites are against it. Modern states have so much repression power, they can shut down any activism when they don’t mind bloodstains.
And when prosperity ends, the new contract will be “Do as we say and nobody gets tortured”.