Spot the difference
Spot the difference
Spot the difference
Working class executing CEOs that work against them
Ruling class executing CEOs who don't work for them
Slight difference
There is never a case of a working class party conquering political power, that hasn't been demonized by western anti-communist society.
When the US and its media tells you that the leaders China or Cuba or Vietnam are just "dictators", why do you believe them?
That's an anti-Marxist view of class. What is the "ruling class" you speak of in the PRC? Government isn't class, but an extension of the class in power, so which class is in power?
It's the latter part of "no god's no masters"
I'm sorry if I've insulted Marxist purity
One is authoritarian in nature, the other is protestant in nature. These are not the same thing
The authorization of CEO execution sounds like a good thing. People are clearly singing for it, so why not make it policy?
bc when the gubmint do thing it makes it communist and that's literally like that book with the animals at the farm
What are you talking about?
Luigi's alleged actions were an attempt at drawing attention to social issues. Xi Jinping's actions on the other hand are attempts at violently suppressing opposition ergo authoritarianism.
In China, Xi is the CEO.
What does this even mean?
It means the parent commenter thinks "socialism with Chinese characteristics" looks an awful lot like state capitalism.
A tale of two countries
Bro but they did it dictatorshiply 😭 in a real democracy you'd yell at them online, get arrested by Homeland Security, and politicians give them another 500 million in subsidies and tax breaks.
How many non billionaires do they execute?
Not sure. But the US just executed an innocent man, Marcellus Williams, just a few months ago.
Some more US legal system fun facts!
One is a regular person taking out a person of huge authority, balancing power.
The other is the biggest authority taking out a smaller one to consolidate power.
Consolidate ? he's the leader of a 90 million strong party and been at the reins for more than 14 years lmao. I stg libs' understanding of politics can be directly mapped to Harry Potter.
You think I’m a lib?
Hahahahaha
Greed is never satisfied?
Please show your work. What is the proof that it was done to consolidate power?
This isn't to mention that your use of the word authority is strange. How exactly do you determine who has more authority between a US house representative vs. a CEO?
The former acted because he was personally affected by a person supporting exploitation within a liberal system, the latter leads an authoritarian regime that allowed their CEOs to do what they do until they got annoying for whatever reasons.
So if you want to talk objective results here, sure, one of them got a higher kill count. However, who has the moral high ground here is not even up to debate IMO
Luigi acted out of emotional response to individual trauma of a horribly cruel system, but very little will fundamentally change. The PRC punishes billionaires guilty of massive crimes, such as massive corruption. Which one does have the moral high ground, the one executing of his own volition in a manner that won't change anything, or the justice system of another country repeatedly working in favor of the people?
I'd say neither, if you start framing it in terms of morals and not material improvements for the working class you accept that Luigi didn't change anything, just did what we all want to do. I'm against the.death penalty either way but I'd rather the working class be empowered overall.
if by "annoying" you mean exploitative in ways that are tolerated in liberal systems but not in a sane, well-planned system that actually represents its people, sure
One has a 95% approval rate, which amounts to some 900 million working age adults alone, and is the leader of a party of over 93 million. His actions also don't stop there, but rather continue in the monumental BRI uplifting hundreds of millions in Africa and Central Asia, as well as the total eradication of poverty in China and the development of twice as much green energy than the rest of the world combined.
I liked Brian Thompson getting his due, absolutely, but let's fucking pipe down lmao. The point was if y'all want to really stick it to CEOs, you better start organizing so y'all can get em in a way the pigs would be helpless to stop.
allowed their CEOs to do what they do until they got annoying for whatever reasons.
Again, libs just going by vibes and absolutely zero investigation, let alone evidence.
The one which has the high approval rate has a very good working relationship with billionaires which kisses the government's feet, the type of government we will be seeing in the USA for the next four years.
The difference is that Xi is now the CEO.
What does that even mean? Do you think he personally plans and runs all of the public sector of the PRC that take's up over half of the economy?
government runs half the economy
'But how is dear leader like a CEO, unless he signs every paycheck by hand?'
Xi can disappear anyone he doesn't like. He doesn't need to personally oversee every company, the threat of being visited by police is enough to keep them in line.
Who told you that?
Western supremacists think every country they're in a trade war with doesn't even elect their leaders.
All those uyghur CEOs man.
Laughs in temu/shein
25 of the 2,975 deputies attending the second session of the 13th NPC were Uygur, making them have roughly the attendence as a proportion of their polulation overall. The Han ethnicity represented 2,538 seats, and was the second least represented by ratio of the population overall.
I guess if you can survive the camps and can be virtuously re-educated you deserve to be a sycophant.
So happy for them 🥳🙌 this means there wasn't any crimes against humanity after all, must have all been a big western propaganda operation. 🤡
Laughs in you don’t know what you’re talking about.
Deny discredit defend
Are you dumb libs still claiming an Uyghur genocide despite being like 10 years, zero evidence, and multiple western sources calling out the atrocity propaganda? How does that look like, if Xinjiang's economy is growing enormously, there's tons of video evidence from travel bloggers of the bustling cultural and religious activities there? Plugging your eyes and ears to let the state department guide you doesn't seem like a wise way to go about anything.
The people boosting claims of an Uyghur genocide are still denying and aiding the fucking Palestinian genocide ffs.
Yessss, bring on the personal insults. That'll show me for speaking the truth!
I wonder if it has anything to do with PRC's punishment towards citizens who have been critical of their government. Who knows man.
I wonder that too. Do you have proof that it does?
I have shared some links further in the thread, here you go.
The people of the PRC approve of Beijing to a far greater degree than western countries, with an over 90% approval rate. If we ask Harvard themselves about the results of their study, they say "We find that first, since the start of the survey in 2003, Chinese citizen satisfaction with government has increased virtually across the board. From the impact of broad national policies to the conduct of local town officials, Chinese citizens rate the government as more capable and effective than ever before. Interestingly, more marginalized groups in poorer, inland regions are actually comparatively more likely to report increases in satisfaction. Second, the attitudes of Chinese citizens appear to respond (both positively and negatively) to real changes in their material well-being, which suggests that support could be undermined by the twin challenges of declining economic growth and a deteriorating natural environment." This directly goes against claims of "social credit" preventing this, moreover the "Orwellian Social Credit System" hinted at doesn't even exist, at least not in the manner most think it does. Even more overtly, they state "Although state censorship and propaganda are widespread, our survey reveals that citizen perceptions of governmental performance respond most to real, measurable changes in individuals’ material well-being."
Again, unfalsifiable nonsense, both A and the opposite of A are proof that China bad, no need for evidence.
What's more, why do they have to be critical? What are they missing from their lives? Their government actually works lmao. More than 700 million pulled out of poverty, corrupt officials at all levels get jailed or executed, most young people own their house, everyone has a job and very cheap food and cultural activities, as well as the best public transit in the world and well maintained infrastructure, not to mention billionaires keep their fucking mouths shut unless it is to pay lip service to the people's government.
You know who punishes their citizens, verifiably often and viciously? Say it with me: the USA. The Ferguson protesters were murdered one by one in the following months with no investigation, the occupy wall street organizers were detained by Homeland security, the black panther party was infiltrated and their leaders murdered by police whether openly or covertly, the Gaza protests had students beaten, arrested and tried en masse and the US passes new surveillance and protest crackdown laws every other day it seems.
And, on the opposite side, what good does "being allowed to be critical" do, in and of itself? About 30% of Americans approve of the government at any given time, corrupt officials are openly insider trading, passing laws for bribes that they don't even have to hide, and big business is allowed to KILL YOU FOR PROFIT.
You liberals are delusional, you buy that you live in the best country ever and shit is almost impossible to change for the better and assume the rest of us must have it so much worse, facts be damned.
There are people upset enough with Chinese imperialism and rule that they light themselves on fire in the neighboring country as a way to try and get attention and assistance.
That doesn't come from nowhere even if it's not a majority.
Multiple things can be true such as different governments can be each doing their own form of abuse. It doesn't excuse one to admit to the other and there can be positives to all relationships.
Be upset with what you have and what's around you but don't use that to imagine a fantasy of greener grass on the other side of the fence. Do it to will a better existence around you.
I base my opinion on multiple people I personally know who moved from China to SG, because they were unhappy with the kind of control government maintained over any public criticism. I won't pretend that I remember all the instances they've mentioned, but I know better than to reject the claims of the countries citizen when they have some concerns. I won't pretend that I know better than the people living in the damned country.
Punching down vs punching up
Won't somebody think of the corrupt billionaires 😭
Won't someone think of the poor billionaires?! 😭 Communism is scary... I don't think I want the Proletariat to have power after all, those billionaires seem so cool and fun... /s
Nothing is more terrifying to liberals, than a government having capitalists under their thumb, and serving the people, rather than the other way around as is normal in their "superior" capitalist dictatorships.
This thread is funny because it’s filled with a bunch of libs criticizing but bringing nothing of value to the table except vibes, and communists and comrades providing extensive source material to support their arguments, while avoiding low-hanging fruit like ad hominem.
If you’ve ever done any sort of research into democratic socialism, you’d quickly learn that this is the way. Criticism and self-criticism are at the forefront of cadre training and will make you a better person. If you view a person trying to provide you with educational material as your enemy while you spout off vibe-driven nonsense, you’re not getting the picture and are still hindered by your country’s propaganda, as well your own apathy and ignorance. You’re criticizing people that are passionate because they see a chance to have a better world for all working class—you included—while responding with empty words.
Unchain yourself from the criticisms of figures your country has implanted in you over your lifetime, and think in terms of ideas.
and communists and comrades providing extensive source material to support their arguments, while avoiding low-hanging fruit like ad hominem.
sorry I'm late
Really, I think anyone considering themselves a Leftist needs to read False Witnesses and Masses, Elites, and Rebels: The Theory of "Brainwashing." Both are excellent examples of why people don't change their minds when seeing indisputable evidence, they willingly go along with narratives that they find more comfortable. It explains the outright anger liberals express when anticommunism is debunked. That doesn't mean Communists don't do the same thing, but as we live in a liberal dominated west (most likely, assuming demographics) this happens to a much lesser extent because liberalism is that which supplies these "licenses" to go along, while Communism requires hard work to begin to accept. This explains the mountains of sources Communists keep on hand, and the lack thereof from liberals who argue from happenstance and vibes.
Huh, I’ve come across this False Witness article before, years ago.
In retrospect, this desperate, shotgun appeal to religious authority demonstrated why the dossier itself was probably futile. It was an acknowledgment that the people they were attempting to convince were beyond the reach of mere fact or reason — people who did not find reality compelling.
This reminds me of the requisite Parenti quote:
During the Cold War, the anti-communist ideological framework could transform any data about existing communist societies into hostile evidence. If the Soviets refused to negotiate a point, they were intransigent and belligerent; if they appeared willing to make concessions, this was but a skillful ploy to put us off our guard. By opposing arms limitations, they would have demonstrated their aggressive intent; but when in fact they supported most armament treaties, it was because they were mendacious and manipulative. If the churches in the USSR were empty, this demonstrated that religion was suppressed; but if the churches were full, this meant the people were rejecting the regime’s atheistic ideology. If the workers went on strike (as happened on infrequent occasions), this was evidence of their alienation from the collectivist system; if they didn’t go on strike, this was because they were intimidated and lacked freedom. A scarcity of consumer goods demonstrated the failure of the economic system; an improvement in consumer supplies meant only that the leaders were attempting to placate a restive population and so maintain a firmer hold over them. If communists in the United States played an important role struggling for the rights of workers, the poor, African-Americans, women, and others, this was only their guileful way of gathering support among disfranchised groups and gaining power for themselves. How one gained power by fighting for the rights of powerless groups was never explained. What we are dealing with is a nonfalsifiable orthodoxy, so assiduously marketed by the ruling interests that it affected people across the entire political spectrum.
Unchain yourself from the criticisms of figures your country has implanted in you over your lifetime, and think in terms of ideas.
Realistically, that's not gonna happen for most people. Hear me out:
In 1500s when the printing press was invented, Martin Luther (not to be confused with Martin Luther King) saw the opportunity to print "bibles for everyone" to transform everybody into a priest - an enlightened being that always (or at least mostly) does the good/right thing.
We know from history that that didn't succeed. Not everybody turned into a priest, not even close. Instead, he caused Evangelism, and is partially causal for the Thirty Years' War.
Realistically, people thinking in terms of ideas is an inclination you're born with (or so I believe). There's just a lot of people who are not gonna do that. Especially if people see themselves at a (economic) disadvantage because of it. Most people just wanna live through ordinary life.
BTW, I guess something similar happened with the internet. When the internet was first invented, people guessed that it would lead to the total education of all human beings. Instead, it has caused smartphones, "social" media (which is more antisocial media tbh), and a lot of spreading dumb narratives. So i'm not sure it really "enlightened" the people.
One isn't a corrupt dictator killing or imprisoning anyone who complains about him. If you think the little guy isn't getting hurt in China I want the drugs you're on.
There's 1.4 billion Chinese citizens. Do y'all think this is Star Wars and you can just jail tens of millions with nobody noticing or complaining? Terminally unserious.
Do you have any source on the PRC killing or imprisoning anyone who complains about it? Moreover, what do you think about 95%+ Chinese citizens supporting the CPC? If we ask Harvard themselves about the results of their study, they say "We find that first, since the start of the survey in 2003, Chinese citizen satisfaction with government has increased virtually across the board. From the impact of broad national policies to the conduct of local town officials, Chinese citizens rate the government as more capable and effective than ever before. Interestingly, more marginalized groups in poorer, inland regions are actually comparatively more likely to report increases in satisfaction. Second, the attitudes of Chinese citizens appear to respond (both positively and negatively) to real changes in their material well-being, which suggests that support could be undermined by the twin challenges of declining economic growth and a deteriorating natural environment." This directly goes against claims of "social credit" preventing this, moreover the "Orwellian Social Credit System" hinted at doesn't even exist, at least not in the manner most think it does. Even more overtly, they state "Although state censorship and propaganda are widespread, our survey reveals that citizen perceptions of governmental performance respond most to real, measurable changes in individuals’ material well-being."
Any "leftist" that thinks the fact that China has billionaires means it therefore isn't actually Socialist needs to read Marx and Engels. There are many such liberals here in these comments. Marx predicted Socialism to be the next mode of production because markets centralize and create intricate methods of planning. As such, he stated that folding private into the public would be gradual, and by the degree to which industry would develop. From the Manifesto:
The essential condition for the existence, and for the sway of the bourgeois class, is the formation and augmentation of capital; the condition for capital is wage-labour. Wage-labour rests exclusively on competition between the labourers. The advance of industry, whose involuntary promoter is the bourgeoisie, replaces the isolation of the labourers, due to competition, by their revolutionary combination, due to association. The development of Modern Industry, therefore, cuts from under its feet the very foundation on which the bourgeoisie produces and appropriates products. What the bourgeoisie, therefore, produces, above all, are its own grave-diggers. Its fall and the victory of the proletariat are equally inevitable.
In even simpler terms, from Engels in Principles of Communism:
Question 17 : Will it be possible to abolish private property at one stroke?
Answer : No, no more than the existing productive forces can at one stroke be multiplied to the extent necessary for the creation of a communal society. Hence, the proletarian revolution, which in all probability is approaching, will be able gradually to transform existing society and abolish private property only when the necessary means of production have been created in sufficient quantity.
That doesn't mean billionaires are good to have, necessarily, either. It remains a contradiction, but not an uncalculated one. I highly recommend anyone here read China has Billionaires. As much as Marxists want to lower wealth inequality eventually as much as possible (insofar as thr principle "from each according to ability, to each according to needs applies, Marx was no "equalitarian" and railed against them), in the stage of developmemt the PRC is at this would get in the way of development, and could cause Capital Flight and brain drain. Moreover, billionaires provide an easy scapegoat that the USSR didn't have, and thus all problems of society were directed at the state. It's important to consider why a Marxist country does what it does, and not immediately assume you know better. The CPC has an over 95% approval rate, you can't just assume you know what's best.
The phrase "from each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs" is meant to depict higher stage Communism. Until that is possible, the answer becomes "to each according to his work," because as Marx said in Critique of the Gotha Programme:
these defects are inevitable in the first phase of communist society as it is when it has just emerged after prolonged birth pangs from capitalist society. Right can never be higher than the economic structure of society and its cultural development conditioned thereby.
At least take a consistent stance, if you believe the PRC to not be Socialist simply because it has billionaires either you disagree with Marx or you have flawed analysis. There are genuine Marxist critiques of the PRC that don't rely on nonsense. If you consider yourself a Marxist, correct your study. I have an introductory Marxist reading list if you need one.
Edit: oh, hello MeanwhileOnGrad users! Why is it that you intentionally cut off 80% of my comment? Moreover, if you disagree, why not comment here directly and counter, rather than hide behind an anticommunist drama post and downvote? Guess my fanclub just isn't feeling it today, sadly...
Thank you for your service comrade. o7
No problem comrade 🫡
You really pissed off the .world neolibs with this one. Good work.
The corporate media has been consistent in their response to both.
which is why it boggles my mind that liberals don't connect the dots
Some resources for a lot of the people below claiming that China is just like any other capitalist country.
smd admin
Playing connect-the-dots by just scribbling whatever we want on top of the dots
What are you on about
It is indeed possible for a person/entity to do a good thing and a bad thing. Who would've guessed, it's actually incredibly likely. I'm sure Luigi was no angel and can be criticized about many things, though he likely didn't have the power to perform systematic human rights transgressions.
I bet he's a shit surfer and just hangs out on his board looking cool, but bails when a big wave comes in.
Wow this one really brought out the votes, both kinds 😂
Putting the agitation in agitprop
All this comment section proves is that if the only thing that changed was that Thompson was a Chinese healthcare CEO called Zhao Qiang and got clapped by the government libs would be calling him a working class hero and a martyr like the fucking NYT.
I have not seen a single Marxist make this claim. Deng wasn't pro-billionaire, but wished to return to a Marxist analysis of the PRC's economy. It had taken on an ultraleft character and was unstable, they had socialized more than they should have with their level of productive forces, and have consistently been working their way back to that level of socialization now that the Socialist Market Economy has proven wildly successful. Without doing so, extreme poverty could not have been eradicated like it has been.
great thread OP
It really hit the right balance, it prompted discussion in what is (hopefully) a productive manner by highlighting mass support for violence against billionaires compared to the actions of AES states. Hopefully people start reading Marx after this.
This is good agitation. Im not a blanket supporter but its been a good thread with a lot of decent links worthy of critical support. Lemmy world needed this lmao
When you see them seethe through the entire script and react to articles like you showed a cross to nosferatu you know they're learning without their consent
i used to feel badly blocking accounts
If you're that shook just from somebody mentioning the commies I don't think you're gonna provide much in the way of productive discussion anyway, so, by all means.
Working class rebel vs Elite class looking for more control
What the heck is an "elite class?" Where did Marx talk about it?
Believe it or not, things can exist independently of Marx having described them.
This is your brain on a lack of class analysis
Please show your work. What is the proof that it was done for more control?
Are you asking for proof of Occupied China being a planned economy or that the party controls it?
That's why you should all do one each.
One is fat?
Many of the chronically online social media poster (read: western professional class) are closer to the CEO than they are to any other group. The temporarily embarrassed millionaires as they're also known.
Statistically a not insignificant number of them are millionaires by net worth. Especially when we consider demographics where it's mainly tech workers. But of course that doesn't count because of some indeterminate line between evil CEO and average Joe who worked hard.
The cognitive dissonance is that they're all part of the same system. Climbing the same ladder. In any other context these people are bragging about being executive of some random startup or whatever.
They're not, they just think they are. They're every bit as oppressed and the sharing of the imperial spoils hasn't been a thing since at least the fall of the USSR, once there was literally no alternative. Now there is an alternative but the population has been so thoroughly propagandized that you mention any enemy of the State Dept and they start frothing at the mouth.
Non-westerners' view on what life is like here always amaze me. Then they complain they're not rich besides earning "a lot", because they're fed the propaganda that we're all dirty imperialists exploiting them. No, most of us are not millionaires. Most of us can't even buy a place to live without enslaving ourselves for half our life to bankers. But OK buddy
Which is why the rest of us is confused about why most of y'all so rabidly do the propaganda work for your oppressors. Y'all consistently get to the line of class consciousness and then do a 180 and sprint in the opposite direction whenever it concerns foreigners.
I am a westerner. No other comment. You've already made up your mind. And I can't be assed to talk over what ever incronguencies you have of mindset.
we’re all dirty imperialists exploiting them
Okay just one comment I'll have to withold else I'll probably get banned for insulting your intelligence
The difference is whether or not the CEO is working against the people or against the government.
Over 95% of people support the CPC, so it's fair to say that the people approve of the way the CPC is handling billionaires that are highly corrupt or otherwise guilty of mass crimes. If we ask Harvard themselves about the results of their study, they say "We find that first, since the start of the survey in 2003, Chinese citizen satisfaction with government has increased virtually across the board. From the impact of broad national policies to the conduct of local town officials, Chinese citizens rate the government as more capable and effective than ever before. Interestingly, more marginalized groups in poorer, inland regions are actually comparatively more likely to report increases in satisfaction. Second, the attitudes of Chinese citizens appear to respond (both positively and negatively) to real changes in their material well-being, which suggests that support could be undermined by the twin challenges of declining economic growth and a deteriorating natural environment." This directly goes against claims of "social credit" preventing this, moreover the "Orwellian Social Credit System" hinted at doesn't even exist, at least not in the manner most think it does. Even more overtly, they state "Although state censorship and propaganda are widespread, our survey reveals that citizen perceptions of governmental performance respond most to real, measurable changes in individuals’ material well-being."
95% of the people in a dictatorship like the dictator! That's crazy
Official gweilo post
Actually, Hitler did the same. So you’re saying that what he did was not wrong?
What are you talking about. Hitler and the nazis were just as much about empowering corporations and suppressing workers movements, as the US is.
Equating Communism with fascism is false thinking, because it ignores the real classes served by each and therefore the direction of power and the consequences of their implementation. Communism has always corresponded with dramatic working class improvements while fascism has served the bourgeoisie. I highly recommend Blackshirts and Reds.