https://archive.md/2021.11.09-212822/https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2021-11-09/china-s-economic-model-is-probably-broken

  • comi [he/him]
    ·
    3 years ago

    Yes, but I think it illustrates troubling thing - working class can just decide to chill and be exploited. Very weird thing, but then again, language barrier likely hides some undercurrents inside japan

    • Express [any,none/use name]
      ·
      3 years ago

      Everyone is getting poorer, but no one has any real plan of how to fix it so no collective action can be taken. Communism is seen as unviable because of it’s historical failures in Japan following the US occupation and also Japan’s geopolitical rival is a “communist” nation. Without any decent proposed ways to get to something society trends towards what works even if their lives are slowly getting worse by it.

      • comi [he/him]
        ·
        3 years ago

        But it is, in medieval towns guild members had fair expectation to become masters and get their own apprentices, in villages - to marry and get a house and/or dowry with some animals to start them with. There was clear progression of exploited->exploiter/self-employed, when it broke down due to material factors - there were rebellions and riots. But as a worker you don’t get to this by the age of 30-40, you get there by 70. Which, assuming extra exploitation could mean you material conditions still improve during your work, but now that process have reversed, with housing stuff

    • zifnab25 [he/him, any]
      ·
      3 years ago

      working class can just decide to chill and be exploited

      The working class can chill so long as the treats flow and the lights stay on. But there's a breaking point (just ask folks in the UK). Enough poor economic management will eventually stress infrastructure and institutions past the point of functionality.

      We saw that in Texas, during the Big Freeze. Hundreds of people died in their homes, because we couldn't keep the lights on. Businesses were shuttered for weeks. Grocery stores were stripped bare. Buildings were wrecked by frozen pipes. We're talking about billions of dollars in damages, because we couldn't be bothered to spend a few million upfront weatherizing. And we still haven't, as the sudden spike in energy prices was viewed as a windfall for finance guys rather than a massive waste of domestic capital.

      You can only chill for so long before you experience real suffering.