Do you believe that a widespread and cataclysmic event such as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution could occur again in China today? Yes.
Why? The Cultural Revolution was a revolution to start a new regime and to return to the original socialist agenda. Today, we are in a global market with China as one of the major players. In my opinion, China is moving more and more toward a capitalism. China building and investing industries are booming. As was stated in the movie, Wallstreet, "greed" is a driving factor. I believe that "greed" will fuel China's quest for success in the global market but someday, someone will insist that China return to its origins and path of communism. This move could be fueled by the "have-nots" formerly known as peasants. I believe that if the Chinese people demand change, they will have no problem with initiating the change, even if through revolution. If the people get desparate for change and change does not come, desparate people will do desparate things.
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I agree that China is moving towards Capitalism. But I'm not so sure that a return to the "good ol' days" of Socialism is inevitable. And yes, I would argue that China never achieved its goal of Communism. I call it unibrow Socialism instead.
Much of what socialism has to offer is both appealing and reasonable. When you consider that 90% of the population of any nation generates the wealth for a miniscule minority, it isn't hard to see that the people who actually own the country really are THE PEOPLE, and not some demagogue who stands atop an ivory tower whose very foundation, whose very survival depends on the hard working proletariat.
I think the proletariat is absolutely responsible for their own lives of quiet desperation. They voluntarily wear chains because it feels safe. They feel the weight, but they think the trade-off is well balanced.
All that said, I don't see China back-sliding towards Socialism. Instead, I see them following a course more in synch with the Capitalist model.
Well all know the Capitalist model doesn't work. Even in America, most of us would agree that the majority of jobs available represent death without dignity. In fact, I would even go so far as to say that we all *hate* our jobs. It's an overstatement, I know. In the Capitalist model, our masters leave enough on the plate to buy our obedient consent. They leave us enough to pay for the bare essentials, and a small slivver more. So we buy televisions and Xboxes and microwave ovens and all this other junk that we don’t need. Some of us are even fortunate enough to have the luxury of extra money (after everything else has been paid). It feels fair enough. It feels like there is enough balance; that there is enough there that none of us feel so oppressed that we are compelled to rush out and symbolically burn the county courthouse to the ground. We don’t break and burn stuff. We don’t write letters. We don’t attend political rallies and make trouble. The majority of us don’t even bother to vote. Instead, we sit home and watch our favorite program on television. Or we sit home and watch just for the sake of watching.
We don’t get off our doughboy asses and make any noise about anything at all. Americans are the most passive slaves in world history. Capitalism has found a balance where workers will work because our slavers leave us enough to buy our silent, obedient consent. It really is that simple.
It's also SAFE.
The ruling class in China are smart enough to realize that they will find the greatest stability if they ensure the highest quality of living possible for the commonwealth. Consumer goods are the ultimate opium of the masses. This is the direction of New China.
MC, phd - I am a single 115 lb. 48 yo woman with three children (ages 17, 14, 11) who is really politically active and votes every time I have been allowed since I turned 18 in 1978. As a proletariat, I have no outright encumbering vices and I am making all the noise that I can. I'm disappointed with consumerism and capitalism, and their blatant downfalls in social and economic struture; China will find this out if we don't. What else is available out there?
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