Like Uber, for socialism: Chinese leader calls for more use of AI, big data and sharing economy Chinese leader Xi Jinping has outlined the nation's technological ambitions in his opening address to the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC). The Congress is staged every five years and commences with an address from the leader, in which he (always he, so far) outlines past accomplishments, gives …
If you insert some corporations name in place of "China" you would easily win bullshit bingo during the conference. What's "bingo!" in Mandarin?
Another sociopathic ruler/CEO wanting to square the circle: progress, advance and be top cocky of the yard, while keeping ultimate control over information flow, the peons - and who gets the riches. Was it Robert A. Wilson who wrote "true communication is only possible among equals"?
Somewhere the ghost of Mao is laughing and Deng Xiao Ping is spinning in his grave.
Somewhere the ghost of Mao is laughing and Deng Xiao Ping is spinning in his grave.
I doubt that. Read what he said and realize that these were their goals... Control first and foremost to eliminate "erroneous viewpoints". Couple that with big data and Big Brother is approaching adulthood. Add in “develop China into a great modern socialist country that is prosperous, strong, democratic, culturally advanced, harmonious, and beautiful.” and you have the goals from day one but are more economic oriented in their control than physical border expansion. Big data will here again be used to their advantage.
As for the "socialist" part...like most countries that call themselves "socialist", I'm not sure that we in the West truly understand the meaning and implications as they don't use evil "communist" word. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/socialism.
As for the "socialist" part...like most countries that call themselves "socialist", I'm not sure that we in the West truly understand the meaning and implications
The meaning is straightforward enough. It is a collectivist world view, much like fascism or the human body. You probably try to avoid injury and you have an immune system, but do you really agonize over all the individual cells in your body that expire every day? Would you hesitate (presuming you had the choice) to send millions of leukocytes on a suicide mission to repel an infection? Of course not. The integrity of your body as a whole is of paramount concern and the individual living cells that make up that collective exist only to further the interests of the whole. Even the neurons forming these thoughts are disinterested in their own survival per se - they are just better protected because they are functionally more valuable.
Fascism, Nationalism and Theocracy are essentially the same, they just use different metaphors. Whenever people embrace the concept of there being something "greater than themselves" there is a tendency to try to make individuals service that "greater good".
Socialism at its most fundamental level is about the (democratic) ownership/control of the means of production by the people. What China has, much like the USSR before it, is a form of "state capitalism", albeit in a more flexible form than in the old days.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_capitalism#People.27s_Republic_of_China
Socialism at its most fundamental level is about the (democratic) ownership/control of the means of production by the people.
socialism: "a political and economic theory of social organization which advocates that the means of production, distribution, and exchange should be owned or regulated by the community as a whole."
I don't see the word "democracy" there and, if it were universally seen as a fundamental characteristic of socialism, why would anyone ever feel the need to call themselves a "Democratic Socialist" or "Social Democrat"?
However this is just splitting hairs. Majoritarianism is perfectly democratic and the Chinese Communist Party would have no difficulty winning an election and then using its democratic mandate to pack everyone who voted "erroneously" off to re-education camps. Pairing collectivist priorities with democracy ("the dictatorship of the proletariat") is simply "mob rule". Stalin might not have been democratically elected, but one of his contemporaries was.
Socialism is a very broad umbrella, which covers both democratic and non-democratic systems.
It's worth noting that the Chinese system does involve elections (that's part of the reason for this conference), whether one considers them to democratic or not probably depends more on one's own culture. Certainly the average Chinese citizen probably has about as much say about the highest levels of their government as in any other country (ie bugger all).
Capitalism is where the roads, police, fire, military, environmental protection and child education are the province of government.
Communism is where the roads, police, fire, military, environmental protection, child education and health care are the province of government.
It is easy for some people in the West to see through the words being used to describe a system in which individuals will face great difficulty in China, at least those individuals that fail to follow the party line.
At the same time people in the West cannot see through the words being used by their own leaders, business and industry to describe a similar system already in place and being expanded. The West already has many controls in place, to isolate conversations, control the masses, censor and manipulate if required.
Even this discussion is censored, moderated, controlled to ensure the messages meets acceptable standards. Posts at this site are censored because of content (rather than profanity or other reasons) and you are reading this only because this post hasn't violated whatever those content restrictions are.
In this announcement China is following a path well trampled by Western Nations, and while they may hope to push forward they are not changing the direction we are all headed. That will not change until people are able to see through the words being used by their own Nations, and while a few might our systems are self protecting and can handle ever greater awareness by individuals.
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