This is not a defense of bret in the least because he clearly has no idea what he's talking about, but doesn't Dengism diverge a decent amount from "classical" Marxism?
Not really, it just accommodates the reality of a world wholly dominated by capitalist ideologues and tries to use the forces that destroyed the Soviet Union to its advantage.
Capitalist exuberance after the destruction of the Soviet Union gave Dengists an opportunity to move China into the heart of all the world's production. America, still wet with the blood of the Soviet people willingly gave China so many of its factories - its literal means of production - and flooded the country with the hard currencies (and technologies) that it had previously deprived the Soviet Union of using the entire weight of the entire NATO apparatus. Deng invited the American capitalists to give China all that advantaged America during the cold war and they actually did it.
It was a very practical application of Marxist theory and allowed the Communist Party of China to play American Capitalists like a fiddle. It takes the world much closer toward the international communist revolution that Marx believed was necessary to overthrow Capitalism. Now communists are in an infinitely better position to agitate for communism in advanced nations (as well as impoverished nations) with China as the shining city in the hill than they were advocating for the degenerating Soviet Union.
Sometimes you need optimism. Also, China is a very unique case. We're seeing a country basically go from the 1600s in some places to space in under a century. The speed with which they're able to develop is literally unprecedented. Bridges in hours, buildings in days, hundreds of km of HSR in weeks.
No one really talks about this in the west beyond some passing interest news pieces, but as the infrastructure here begins to crumble while Chinese infrastructure blossoms the contradictions will become incredibly hard for the average person to ignore. The "shining city" thing will be more than just a metaphor.
This is not a defense of bret in the least because he clearly has no idea what he's talking about, but doesn't Dengism diverge a decent amount from "classical" Marxism?
Not really, it just accommodates the reality of a world wholly dominated by capitalist ideologues and tries to use the forces that destroyed the Soviet Union to its advantage.
Capitalist exuberance after the destruction of the Soviet Union gave Dengists an opportunity to move China into the heart of all the world's production. America, still wet with the blood of the Soviet people willingly gave China so many of its factories - its literal means of production - and flooded the country with the hard currencies (and technologies) that it had previously deprived the Soviet Union of using the entire weight of the entire NATO apparatus. Deng invited the American capitalists to give China all that advantaged America during the cold war and they actually did it.
It was a very practical application of Marxist theory and allowed the Communist Party of China to play American Capitalists like a fiddle. It takes the world much closer toward the international communist revolution that Marx believed was necessary to overthrow Capitalism. Now communists are in an infinitely better position to agitate for communism in advanced nations (as well as impoverished nations) with China as the shining city in the hill than they were advocating for the degenerating Soviet Union.
This is a very optimistic take
Sometimes you need optimism. Also, China is a very unique case. We're seeing a country basically go from the 1600s in some places to space in under a century. The speed with which they're able to develop is literally unprecedented. Bridges in hours, buildings in days, hundreds of km of HSR in weeks.
No one really talks about this in the west beyond some passing interest news pieces, but as the infrastructure here begins to crumble while Chinese infrastructure blossoms the contradictions will become incredibly hard for the average person to ignore. The "shining city" thing will be more than just a metaphor.
:deng-cowboy:
hell yeah
:deng-salute:
the capitalist will sell you the rope which you will hang him with :inshallah: