Please, someone explain to me why liberals are mad at China's trade policies. What do they base their unhinged conspiracy theories about China trying to "destroy world trade" on? What do you even say to these liberals who thinks China is going to "dominate" the world and do unspecified bad things?
I was hearing some lib stuff like this on NPR. Essentially, China's development is so robust that they don't have a severe dependence on any single country. However, many countries are dependent on importing Chinese goods (especially the United States).
Because of this, there are no easy ways to counter or subvert or compete with China in many respects. American manufacturing firms simply must bite the bullet and do business with China, or risk annihilation by competing against an ascendant Chinese sector. It reinforces the growing dependency on China. Every ball is falling into their court.
Libs, naturally, look at that situation and say it's bad. It's a world economy that's spinning without Western hands. There aren't many steps left for it to be spinning without Western profits in mind. They are right to point out that it would generally be devastating for America, but they will never commit to the painful work of building any lasting industry or infrastructure at home. American capitalists and politicians don't want to do the work China is doing. It's far easier to carry on in this sadistic decay for them, and they're voicing their fever dreams of booting China out of the world economy in their deranged screeds in media.
edit: you said ELI5, sorry. China has money that it uses for good things. America has money it uses for pothole picture NFTs. American rich people wasted many years doing nothing but play with computers. It will now bite them in the ass, and they want to blame China rather than themselves for the failure.
The result of neoliberal free trade reforms biting them in the ass and their confused screaming about it is quite funny.
I often go back to that one video of Hillary talking about how America can't compete and giving the communists the means of production was a bad thing. I get a solid laugh every time
The 1.4-billion consumers of the Chinese market is also too lucrative for international capital to ignore and so acts as a black hole drawing in international investment regardless of greater changes in the political situation.
Exactly, while the US was trying to deindustrialize and outsource production while we rigged the global financial capital game in our favor we undermined all of our real productive capacity. The US literally can only exist in its current form by holding the global south hostage.
Strong agree with the rest and I wouldn't use the word "encroaching", but China has been extremely aggressive in the South China Sea. Over the past 10 years the PRC has on several occasions, violated treaties they ratified within the past few years and using military force and the threat of military force to take oil platforms and fishing grounds from Vietnam and the Philippines that were in Vietnamese and Filipino exclusive economic zones.
Like, clearly the US shouldn't have anything to do with it but the PRC has been kind of shitty to its maritime neighbors.
I mean, China invaded Vietnam in 1979 and didn't fully withdraw or stop shelling them until 1991.
I don't know what bullshit the BBC dredged up, but things are in no way done and dusted between Vietnam and the PRC.
What do you even say to these liberals who thinks China is going to “dominate” the world and do unspecified bad things?
Yeah, it would suck for a global hegemon to use its power to exploit the third world and its substantial military to secure resources for it to use in places like the Middle East, for example. Good thing The US has been at war for all but 21 years of its existence and China hasn't been involved in a war in the last 40 years :amerikkka-clap:
Honestly pointing out something similar to the above. I'd ask them to specify what bad things they're worried about China doing and then point out that there's no precedent for whatever it is and they're just projecting.
All the China stuff is projecting. Look what they do to their minorities!! Theyre going to invade!! Its all just self conscious americans.
What do you even say to these liberals who thinks China is going to “dominate” the world and do unspecified bad things?
I thought free trade brings prosperity to every market participant? You say you're a capitalist yet you use a communist iPhone. Curious. :very-intelligent:
`if thing is bad or thing is "China":
logger.warning("BAD! CHINA!")`hard to do python
Not all rich are the same in the case study of what to do with China if you're an American capitalist pig. As I see it: there are the rich who see China as an evil competitor (MyPillow; American motor companies); those who see China prospering and want to catch that gravy train (Shark Tank capitalists); and those who profit from dropping bombs and general warmongering.
The interests of these 3 groups aren't necessarily the same (bit of a Venn Diagram) so there's a struggle sesh happening way above us to capture the attention of the gen pop and drive the narrative.
National bourgeoisie versus international bourgeoisie versus war profiteers.
Butthurtness mixed with cope, mixed with A LOT of racism, and heavily seasoned with projection.
political economics in college
Is that a thing? Usually referring to economics as political is verboten to liberals, and political economy typically means Marxism, no?
It also means classical liberalism :jordan-eboy-peterson:
Which you know, it's funny when right wingers go around calling themselves classical liberals because then it's like, so you subscribe to the labor theory of value? You know there was a guy who wrote a few deep critiques of that stuff and pointed out some very uncomfortable political implications.
Then they'll go like, marginal revolution! Real capitalism has never been tried! Communism 10 billion!
Which means that they think the neoclassical economists did an endrun around Marx and cut politics completely out of the picture. So "classical liberals" today like neoclassical economics. Which makes them classical liberals with neoclassical characteristics, you know... neo...liberals...
Anyway, I was thinking about this stuff yesterday and it made me laugh.
Intellectual Property (IP). I've already had a liberal rant at me about this earlier in the year. They think China unfair to make iphones without paying Steve Jobs. What really shuts them up is when you ask about Western pharmaceutical companies refusing to share IP for corona vaccines to 3rd world producers. Ask them point blank if hundreds of thousands of Africans and Asians should die so J&J can make more money. Ask them to justify the "profit over people" mindset they lean on.
most are not consciously aware of this, but they are coping with the resentment of every exploiter who begins to realize they are losing their grip.
