• Greenleaf [he/him]
    ·
    7 months ago

    What I have found most effective in arguing with American libs about China is to point to the polls about how more people in China feel they live in a democracy than the US, and A LOT more have trust in their government than Americans do.

    You can argue with them all day about free political expression, democratic centralism, de jure one party versus de facto one party, etc. But at the end of the day, if more people believe their system is democratic, they like it more and have more trust in the government… that should really be all that matters.

    And it backs libs into a corner of either saying they think Chinese people are too afraid to answer honestly (strains credulity) or that Chinese people are brainwashed (racist).

    • MayoPete [he/him, comrade/them]
      ·
      edit-2
      7 months ago

      It might be because libs aren't used to seeing real inter-party conflict. After seeing Bernie crushed, twice, and the entire DNC coalescing the corporate candidates into Biden so fast, I get the fear of "one party" having control.

      I assume in the PRC Xi can't call up a few friends and end the elections like Obama did in 2020 or the Dem party did in many states this year.

      • Greenleaf [he/him]
        ·
        7 months ago

        But my point is, what does it even matter? Like, let’s just say the CPC is as “authoritarian” as American libs think they are. If the people of China overwhelmingly believe in their democracy and trust in their government, what does not having western liberal “democracy” even matter?

        • Philosoraptor [he/him, comrade/them]
          ·
          7 months ago

          Because they're idealists: the point of the system, on their view, is to embody the Best Ideas, not to actually help people or do things. The American system is good even if everyone is poor and miserable because liberal democracy is a Good Idea, and that Chinese system is bad even if people are happy and comfortable because Communism is a Bad Idea. Material analysis never even gets considered: Western system good, other systems bad.

    • RedDawn [he/him]
      ·
      7 months ago

      Yeah they literally will all just say something like “of course they say that, if you speak against the government in China they murder you”. Just totally made up shit but they all seem to believe it

      • Bartsbigbugbag@lemmy.ml
        ·
        7 months ago

        Then you point out how the US government murders more than 500x the people of the Chinese government per year, and how we’re finding mass graves around the US outside prisons like in Mississippi. And then they’ll just turn their brains off and revert to their regularly scheduled programming and you sigh.

    • 2Password2Remember [he/him]
      ·
      7 months ago

      when's a lib ever had a problem with straining credulity or being racist? they're libs, that's what they do

      Death to America