this post was submitted on 19 May 2024
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Ah, the true path to socialism! (lemmy.world)
submitted 6 months ago by PugJesus@lemmy.world to c/politicalmemes@lemmy.world
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[–] Objection@lemmy.ml 5 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago) (1 children)

Also, are you aware that some of these people “lifted out of poverty” were folks in rural areas who were totally fine where they were at.

That's... certainly a take, alright. I suppose it's possible that hundreds of millions of rural Chinese were voluntarily choosing to live in extreme poverty out of some sort of commitment to asceticism. I'll admit that this was not a possibility I had considered before.

I think a correct path forward for China economically is somewhere close to where they’re at now but with more civil liberties.

So then the billionaires aren't the problem you have with China then, if I'm understanding you.

[–] papertowels@lemmy.one 1 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago) (1 children)

Yeah it turns out they're just forcibly uprooting people who are happy where they're at.

But Liu and other residents allege that the authorities are coercing them into signing away their older, much larger farm homes, demolishing them by force if necessary and not adequately compensating residents for their homes. The residents say the new, smaller houses or high-rise apartments they are being moved into are either too far from their fields, too expensive or ill-suited for their needs as farmers.

[–] Objection@lemmy.ml 4 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago) (1 children)

I don't doubt that there were some cases of the government overstepping, or that you can find a couple people out of the hundreds of millions who are dissatisfied. But the figure of hundred of millions refers to people who were living in extreme poverty, which is defined as less than $2 per day, some of the poorest people on the planet. That's not a lifestyle that's worth preserving.

Coming back from that tangent though, am I correct that the general economic system and the existence of billionaires are not the problems that you have with China?

[–] papertowels@lemmy.one 0 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago) (1 children)

Since you bring up their income, do you have some data for the flip side of the coin - how much was cost of living for those people? I grew up with my Chinese dad telling me about buying the day's vegetables for like a nickel. Granted that was before the 80s, so I'd be interested in any data you have to share.

I'm not op.

Also, a bit of a wry aside, you might actually struggle to find people voicing their dissatisfaction due to the fear of the government relayed multiple times in the article :)

[–] Objection@lemmy.ml 2 points 6 months ago (1 children)

The $2 per day is a figure used by the World Bank. According to this page:

The welfare of people living in different countries can be compared by adjusting for differences in the purchasing power of their currencies.

I don't know the exact details of the World Bank's methodology, but I believe the $2 figure is adjusted based on purchasing power.

[–] papertowels@lemmy.one 3 points 6 months ago

That sent me down a cool rabbit hole, thanks!

Industrialization is a hell of a drug. During the same period apparently the wealth gap shot up, so chinas got that to contend with. Best of luck to them.