Wall Street Journal: China’s Xi Ramps Up Control of Private Sector. ‘We Have No Choice but to Follow the Party.’ 👀

  • Gay_Wrath [fae/faer]
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    edit-2
    4 years ago

    I love these articles, i get to tear their little propaganda filled seams open :)

    The government is installing more Communist Party officials inside private firms, starving some of credit

    won't someone please think of the CEOs who won't be getting credit

    and demanding executives tailor their businesses to achieve state goals.

    this sentence could be written about the USA forcing for example, covid-infected slaughterhouses to remain open so line keeps going up. But it never will be!

    The view that state planners are better at running a complex economy has gained currency this year,

    dang i wonder what made them think that, unplanned going economies great rn wym

    Mr. Xi personally intervened to block the $34 billion initial public offering of one of China’s biggest private firms, Ant Group, partly out of concerns it was too focused on its own profits

    This exact sentence could be written about bernie if you swap the nouns out, and probably has

    “For us small businesses, we have no choice but to follow the party,” says Li Jun Mr. Li recently closed down a seafood-processing plant because it couldn’t get bank loans

    won't someone please think of the little guy, you know, the ones that own seafood processing plants :sadness:

    China’s economy as a result has become less efficient. The amount of capital input needed to generate one unit of economic growth has nearly doubled since 2012

    Oh no!!!! NOT THE UNDEFINED UNITS OF ECONOMIC GROWTH BECOMING MORE EXPENSIVE! That's far more important than reducing homelessness!!!!

    Mr. Xi’s brand of state capitalism, which mixes markets with stepped-up state intervention, has survived a trade war with the U.S. and outperformed free-market economies recently, based on economic growth rates.

    :thinkin-lenin: :curious-marx: :xi:

    The party committee has directed the company to set aside more funds to help the poor even though the profits of Baowu’s listed arm declined 42% in the previous year. Eliminating poverty is a top political objective of Mr. Xi.

    How Nefarious!!!!! CHINA BAD BECAUSE IT'S MAKING COMPANIES HELP THE POOR

    “The market-reform camp is all but gone,” says an economist who advises the government. “By now, it’s pretty clear what kind of reform the top guy really wants.”

    Fucking based. Cool, i love China even more now.

    • penguin_von_doom [she/her]
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      4 years ago

      Mr. Xi’s brand of state capitalism, which mixes markets with stepped-up state intervention, has survived a trade war with the U.S. and outperformed free-market economies recently, based on economic growth rates.

      Isnt this sentence all you need to basically debunk the rest of the article.

      • Gay_Wrath [fae/faer]
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        4 years ago

        yep! Wanna see the neoliberal cope?

        https://www.reddit.com/r/neoliberal/comments/kapp47/chinas_xi_ramps_up_control_of_private_sector_we/

        • penguin_von_doom [she/her]
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          4 years ago

          Imagine if the US government jailed Elon Musk and a whole bunch of Silicon Valley executives and told them that any disobedience or free-thinking will result in them being purged from society.

          Lol, this but unironically...

        • ChairmanXi [none/use name]
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          edit-2
          4 years ago

          "This is incredibly stupid but unsurprising for Xi to commit to, and will likely backfire badly. Private businesses are the engines of economic growth and innovation. Imagine if the US government jailed Elon Musk and a whole bunch of Silicon Valley executives and told them that any disobedience or free-thinking will result in them being purged from society. I couldn't possibly imagine anything more damaging to the economy than something as insane as that.

          If China keeps that up, a whole generation of scared entrepreneurs too terrified of being ambitious, imaginative, resourceful, innovative and free-thinking will grow up leading a morbose and stagnant economy deprived of drive or motivation. Frankly in a strategic sense I welcome this greatly and hope China keeps doing this if it means the rest of the world can demonstrate why 'state capitalism' is an unbelievably stupid idea."

          Guys, Professor-Reddit(not a bit) debunked my plan, i'm not doing it anymore.

            • KarlBarx [they/them,he/him]
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              4 years ago

              This is why I'm convinced that Biden will be a boon to the communists. Imagine the economy shifting itself even more as the capitalists have to contract the social welfare programs they were forced to give us. But instead of a charismatic Obama to dull hate its decaying Biden. I mean literally the last part of gen z and gen alpha are going to grow up in the death spasm of empire. It will be far easier to be a communist than either a Neolib fuck or a fascist.

              • Sphincter_Spartan [any,comrade/them]
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                4 years ago

                Well the main issue with biden I think is that his election demonstrated that the democrats need give nothing at all to be elected, so there's no reason for them to keep tolerating any progressives in the party at all. These progressives would never be allowed to change anything, but they can be useful if they keep mainstreaming left idea that the democrats have to publicly reject. If he had lost, the democrats may have budged a little, for the sake of being elected, they won't get as much money from the rich if they're never in office after all. They would never have given much, but they might have even gone as far as an Elizabeth Warren type and tolerated some in the party who will move discussions left, out of necessity. You may be right though, thats an interesting point, definitely the only good point I've seen towards voting for biden

                • invalidusernamelol [he/him]
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                  4 years ago

                  Democrats lost 14 seats this election lol. They would have lost 35 if not for socialist endorsed candidates sweeping their elections.

                  • Sphincter_Spartan [any,comrade/them]
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                    4 years ago

                    Yeah, they still need progressives to an extent, but Biden being elected without even really pretending to be progressive won't be good for them. They won't allow those progressives to gain too much ground either, we've seen how fruitless it is to try to take over a bourgeois party. They'll tolerate them only as much as they need to, for the sake of remaining the "opposition" to republicans that get plenty of donations

            • shitstorm [he/him]
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              4 years ago

              The same thing that's keeping it afloat right now, the CA government subsidizing Tesla.

          • shitstorm [he/him]
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            4 years ago

            Imagine if the US government jailed Elon Musk and a whole bunch of Silicon Valley executives and told them that any disobedience or free-thinking will result in them being purged from society. I couldn’t possibly imagine anything more damaging to the economy than something as insane as that.

            I have said this before, but the neoliberals always default to imaginary scenarios to attack the left. I'm not talking Black book of communism, but everything bad about current situations is always a strained hypothetical situation.

        • keki_ya [none/use name]
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          4 years ago

          This will totally backfire!!! China is finished now!!!

          They've been saying this for years lmao

          • Elohim [comrade/them]
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            4 years ago

            Ah, well nevertheless...

            Is there any political group as consistently incorrect as neoliberals? Every one of their prophecies fails. When they are given free reign over an economy it is a complete disaster, Chile and the former USSR basically became a shitshow under the Chicago boys. They didn’t even face embargo or sanction

        • square [none/use name]
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          4 years ago

          I don’t know about you, but I see the writing on the wall and I don’t like the country I love, and the system I believed in, being humiliated by genocidal communists

          lol get fucked loser

        • shitstorm [he/him]
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          4 years ago

          Oh god, some of those sickos are stanning Margaret Thatcher.

          • Gay_Wrath [fae/faer]
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            4 years ago

            Xi Jinping has clearly never read Rand. If a government gets in the way of its Entrepreneurs, the engine of the world comes to a halt and everything gets worse.

        • invalidusernamelol [he/him]
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          4 years ago

          I like the guy who said "so people can stop saying China disproves neoliberalism" after posting a 2 paragraph fantasy about Elon Musk being cancelled and innovation in the world stagnating because of it.

      • CoralMarks [he/him]
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        4 years ago

        The enemy is both strong and weak at the same time.

        Where have I heard this before? :thinkin-lenin:

    • CoralMarks [he/him]
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      4 years ago

      China’s economy as a result has become less efficient. The amount of capital input needed to generate one unit of economic growth has nearly doubled since 2012

      Oh no!!! NOT THE UNDEFINED UNITS OF ECONOMIC GROWTH BECOMING MORE EXPENSIVE! That’s far more important than reducing homelessness!!!

      Isn’t that just a feature of China growing and further growth always being more expensive because it requires more or scarcer resources or more specialized forms of labor?

      Like isn’t that the case in any economy?

      • CountryRoads [fae/faer,it/its]
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        4 years ago

        The Rate of Profit doesn't have a tendency to decline, silly. That would imply that Capitalism is unsustainable and inevitably leads to crises!

      • ImperativeMandates [none/use name]
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        4 years ago

        For a large part yes, but you try in western economics to look at the variables as unconnected to the world and unconnected to consequences.

      • Elohim [comrade/them]
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        4 years ago

        It’s the tendency of the rate of profit to fall, and is a tendency in every market long term

    • late90smullbowl [they/them]
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      4 years ago

      Eliminating poverty is a top political objective of Mr. Xi.

      These damned asians acting in co-operation and achieving their political objectives. This can't be happening.

        • space_comrade [he/him]
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          4 years ago

          Um have you stupid radical idealistic commies ever heard of compromise and doing what's doable?

          No I will not explain why we can't go further than my weak compromise, it's too complicated for you dirty proles.

    • shitstorm [he/him]
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      4 years ago

      I love the graph that shows investments in firms from private equity going down. Nope, no graph on productive output.

  • wombat [none/use name]
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    4 years ago

    the maoist uprising against the landlords was the largest and most comprehensive proletarian revolution in history, and led to almost totally-equal redistribution of land among the peasantry

    • PhaseFour [he/him]
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      4 years ago

      the struggle continues and is, unfortunately, dictated by top-level party bureaucrats more than a robust people’s movement

      This is true to a degree. Although I'd say it's quite over-stated in the CPC. The Party is a robust peoples' movement. It has 90 million members and millions of organizations within it, which represent labor, the peasantry, and countless advocacy groups.

      The CPC released the class characteristics of their party not too long ago. It showed that the vast majority of the party's 90 million members were peasants. The white-collar bureaucrats made up a slim minority in the party. I'm trying to find this data right now.

      When compared to the classic example of bureaucratic rot in a Communist Party, mid-to-late era CPSU, the CPC is in a much better position. In 1956, the CPSU was 51% bureaucrats, 32% proletariat, 17% peasants. These percentages did not change much for the rest of thee party's existence. [1]

      From Khrushchev to Gorbachev, political power in the CPSU was expressed through bureaucracy and back-door deals. As a result, the party became unpopular and alienated from the masses. In contrast, the CPC has been carrying out a massively popular line.

      Capitalist reforms are justified insofar as China's national bourgeoisie can learn from the capitalist West's technology and expertise. As China becomes moderately prosperous & independent on the capitalist west, the national bourgeoisie no longer serve a use, and must be marginalized.

      One would assume if the reforms strengthened the bureaucratic hold on the CPC, we would see accelerated capitalist reforms as China's national wealth increased, since the bureaucrats are easy to buy. Instead, we are seeing continued marginalization of their bourgeoisie.

      I'm hopeful that their organs of mass participation in the party continue to direct the party in a direction popular with the workers and peasants.

        • PhaseFour [he/him]
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          4 years ago

          A caveat is that membership in the CCP does not imply power.

          I'd say being a member in the Party implies more power than not being a member.

          There is a reason that the CPC's support with peasants and workers continue to rise, while the CPSU's fell. The most obvious explanation is that these parties are beholden to democracy (which, they are). The CPC has a membership which represents the country at-large, whereas the CPSU represented white-collar bureaucrats.

          you’re not seeing increased worker ownership, workplace democracy, worker collectives, unions, or local planned economies.

          The membership of their national trade union has increased 250% since 2006 [1]. I don't know where to read about worker ownership or local economic planning in China. Where did you read that there was no progress on these fronts?

          I kinda think you just made that up, since their unionization rates have skyrocketed, and you said that was not happening...

            • PhaseFour [he/him]
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              edit-2
              4 years ago

              But not any significant amount over top leadership, which is what I’m talking about.

              There is democracy in China, but its primary influence is at the local and county level, and even that is something that was established from above.

              What are these claims coming from? Their democracy stops at the county level, but the national politics continues to represent the Democratic will of the people. ???

              There’s a lot more going on than democratic interests alone. Party membership is also tied to being generally in good standing, it has ties to career paths, etc.

              Yes, I'm not saying the CPC is a perfect democracy. I'm saying that they are a mass political party with millions of grass-roots organizations within it. And their national party line represents the masses better than any ruling political party, demonstrated by their +90% approval rating. These are related. The organized masses are more capable of advocated for their class.

              This is not relevant to the point I’m making

              Here is exactly what you said:

              Increasing party power over a company is one lever for controlling aspects of capitalism, but you’re not seeing increased worker ownership, workplace democracy, worker collectives, unions, or local planned economies. Instead, the reforms addressed by the article are centralized through that top-down bureaucracy and are a subtle (and effective) means for directing production towards projects deemed to be in the national interest.

              Most people, myself included, would read this statement as: The CPC is consolidating their political control over major industries, however, they are not pursuing other means of worker power.

              In reality, both are happening. The Party is strengthening their control over industry, while strengthening organized labor. That is relevant to the point you are making. The changes in China are not just top-down bureaucrats enforcing their will.

              In addition, that national trade union does not actually represent workers’ interests so much as act as a national HR program.

              Are you going to substantiate that claim? I do not trust the organizations pushing that line.

              US-China Business Council mentioned it, and they are a US-based NGO which has a pretty clear motivation for undermining the ACFTU.

              China Labor Bulletin is a Hong Kong-based NGO, whose founder was an NED funded "labor leader". Meanwhile, the Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions - the largest federation of trade unions in the region - is extremely supportive of the CPC and their relationship with AFTCU.

              Lastly, I saw the International Trade Union Confederation pushing this line. They are an anti-communist confederation, which has only ever been led by people from the Global North. They do not recognize the trade unions in Cuba, DPRK, Vietnam, Laos, or China as legitimate.

              Other unions are banned.

              Good.

              Labor unions are more successful when all branches of labor are united. Allowing unions to split into regional unions or trade-specific unions without a unified organization is disastrous to labor's political power.

              Anyone who recognizes the working class has a shared interest in challenging capitalism should advocating for one big union. This has been the case in every single communist country. This has been advocating by radicals in the Global North, such as the Wobblies.

    • KarlBarx [they/them,he/him]
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      4 years ago

      But at least unlike in the USSR the youth of China have the ability to watch as capitalism not only enriches the national bourgeoisie like Jack Ma but also destroys the US from within. This is why I wouldn't be as worried like the current Chinese youth at least going by social media hate capitalism and don't see it as offering them anything in potential benefit.

  • cresspacito [he/him]
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    4 years ago

    demanding executives tailor their businesses to achieve state goals

    those poor corporations having to give back to the country they're making bank in. horrible evil communists demanding cooperation instead of wanton exploitation :(