It really does seem like there’s a requirement to have at least some China bashing in any article that’s even slightly anti-capitalist. I suspect that criticizing capitalism isn’t actually seen as any sort of a real threat to the system. In fact, it can even be seen as a pressure release valve. People read this stuff and get to feel intellectually superior, that they really get how bad the system is and they see past the obvious propaganda others fall for.
However, acknowledging that there are viable alternatives to capitalism that exist today is dangerous. Ultimately, the whole capitalist realism is premised on the idea that capitalism sucks, but everything else is worse. Therefore, we need a constant stream of messaging assuring us that no matter how bad things are in the west, we’re lucky that we’re not living in China where we’d be rounded up and thrown in a gulag for our courageous free thinking. This notion also helps stroke people’s egos because it implies that whatever it is they have to say is so profound that it would have to be silenced.
I had a similar thought, albeit less eloquently, when I saw this ‘ancap reading list’. This is apparently a revolutionary philosophy that seeks to abolish the status quo and liquidate all existing states. And yet you can do as much of it as you like – backed by whatever mainstream publishers you choose – and the CIA will not even write your name in pencil on the back of an envelope. Because none of it is at all a serious attempt to change capitalism. It just, as you say, acts as another kind of release valve.
Indeed, what ends up being censored and suppressed is generally a very good indicator of what actually works in practice. Incidentally, it’s very notable that a lot of shows tend to promote anarchism and antiauthoritarianism as a positive way to rebel while demonizing USSR and communism.
It really does seem like there’s a requirement to have at least some China bashing in any article that’s even slightly anti-capitalist. I suspect that criticizing capitalism isn’t actually seen as any sort of a real threat to the system. In fact, it can even be seen as a pressure release valve. People read this stuff and get to feel intellectually superior, that they really get how bad the system is and they see past the obvious propaganda others fall for.
However, acknowledging that there are viable alternatives to capitalism that exist today is dangerous. Ultimately, the whole capitalist realism is premised on the idea that capitalism sucks, but everything else is worse. Therefore, we need a constant stream of messaging assuring us that no matter how bad things are in the west, we’re lucky that we’re not living in China where we’d be rounded up and thrown in a gulag for our courageous free thinking. This notion also helps stroke people’s egos because it implies that whatever it is they have to say is so profound that it would have to be silenced.
I had a similar thought, albeit less eloquently, when I saw this ‘ancap reading list’. This is apparently a revolutionary philosophy that seeks to abolish the status quo and liquidate all existing states. And yet you can do as much of it as you like – backed by whatever mainstream publishers you choose – and the CIA will not even write your name in pencil on the back of an envelope. Because none of it is at all a serious attempt to change capitalism. It just, as you say, acts as another kind of release valve.
Indeed, what ends up being censored and suppressed is generally a very good indicator of what actually works in practice. Incidentally, it’s very notable that a lot of shows tend to promote anarchism and antiauthoritarianism as a positive way to rebel while demonizing USSR and communism.