Interesting article. Although it seems to me like a lot of the “chaos” described here is a product of using markets to manage distribution and production rather than central planning. Or rather, it only looks like chaos if you look at individual parts of the system in isolation through the lens of market logic, but you miss the overarching planning that is happening on national level in China. A “can’t see the forest for the trees” situation. I see a lot of hand-wringing about firms not being able to make enough profits for this or that reason, but perhaps profit is not the priority that is being pursued here? Which is why the article talks of “bizarre dynamics”. They are looking at everything through their market lens and it’s not making sense, it’s “bizarre”.
Who benefits, aside from the environment? It’s actually hard to say.
The only beneficiary is the environment? How tragic.
The people enjoying cheap electricity are not benefiting?
Plus, apparently China is also causing chaos in the automobile industry with their out of control EV revolution:
But China’s electrical system hasn’t figured out the rules and pricing to push battery capacity onto the grid fast enough to keep up. And besides, the vast majority of the batteries that China is churning out do not end up in grid storage. They’re revolutionizing another increasingly Chinese-dominated green industry that is going fast, cheap, and out of control: automobiles.
[…] As with solar, a wave of entrants battled for market share, causing profits to evaporate but giving consumers great choices at excellent prices.
RIP those poor innocent profits. They never stood a chance.
Other countries have begun to panic that their own auto sectors could be eviscerated by the competition of cheaper, cleaner vehicles from China.
Panic on the streets of London! Oh the humanity!
Mao Zedong famously declared that a revolution is not a dinner party. It is an insurrection, an act of violence by which one class overthrows another. The green tech revolution—whose violence is principally financial, a withering assault on the value of fossil firms’ assets—is not a dinner party.
I laughed out loud when i read this. No comment. Chef’s kiss.
That last quote is just plain awesome, especially considering what sort of site is saying it. This must be one of the best “China is bad”/ cope articles I have read in a while.
Holy shit they suddenly acknowledged that something like “financial violence” exist, while it was just sparkling freedom, liberty and equality when the spiked fist of market socially murders workers for centuries
I agree. Overall surprisingly good. Or maybe not so surprising, because most of what i’ve read so far from Wired’s new China issue has been quite decent.
I reckon they must be using AI to do quick searches on marxist literature for choice quotes which honestly I am perfectly fine with. I might start reading Wire again just for this series.
Interesting article. Although it seems to me like a lot of the “chaos” described here is a product of using markets to manage distribution and production rather than central planning. Or rather, it only looks like chaos if you look at individual parts of the system in isolation through the lens of market logic, but you miss the overarching planning that is happening on national level in China. A “can’t see the forest for the trees” situation. I see a lot of hand-wringing about firms not being able to make enough profits for this or that reason, but perhaps profit is not the priority that is being pursued here? Which is why the article talks of “bizarre dynamics”. They are looking at everything through their market lens and it’s not making sense, it’s “bizarre”.
The whole won’t somebody think of the profits thing was pretty funny, but pretty good overall.
I especially liked this sentence:
The only beneficiary is the environment? How tragic.
The people enjoying cheap electricity are not benefiting?
Plus, apparently China is also causing chaos in the automobile industry with their out of control EV revolution:
RIP those poor innocent profits. They never stood a chance.
Panic on the streets of London! Oh the humanity!
I laughed out loud when i read this. No comment. Chef’s kiss.
and also later on it just straight up says that everybody benefits
The whole article basically explains how capitalism is harmful if you read it critically. 🤣
That last quote is just plain awesome, especially considering what sort of site is saying it. This must be one of the best “China is bad”/ cope articles I have read in a while.
Holy shit they suddenly acknowledged that something like “financial violence” exist, while it was just sparkling freedom, liberty and equality when the spiked fist of market socially murders workers for centuries
It’s only economic violence when it hurts the bottom line of corporations.
if nobody can profit from saving the world then nobody will do it!
china casually saving the world simply by not seeking a profit
OMG NOT LIKE THAT
I agree. Overall surprisingly good. Or maybe not so surprising, because most of what i’ve read so far from Wired’s new China issue has been quite decent.
I reckon they must be using AI to do quick searches on marxist literature for choice quotes which honestly I am perfectly fine with. I might start reading Wire again just for this series.