This is an important difference that always gets left out in these articles.
Of course people will be anti-China when the CCP is making the movies (edit, I meant "moves" but movies works too haha). It's one thing to ask for companies to make a version of media specifically for your country, but using your weight to make that the version? That is an insanely big red flag when Tencent has roots in everything and also goes by the whim of the party.
On the flip side, my friend from college moved to China a couple years after we graduated and he's been doing really, really well. He loves it there. Ironically he ended up getting a job with Tencent and is a pretty big part of their last released Synced. So I'm glad he's doing well, but it's also been weird talking about certain topics with him. It was also weird when I was asking about how he was talking with me and he's like "oh I just have to get on a VPN and etc so I that's why I'm not around much, but it's cool lol." Kinda freaky when I also just see the articles about a company getting fined for using a VPN. I'm sure he'll be fine but it's still slightly worrying.
Which ultimately kind of sums up the situation. My friend loved his experience in China so much so that he moved back there seemingly permanently and set himself up with a nice life with the culture seeming to be a big part of that. And then there's the actions of the government. Many of the same criticisms can absolutely be held toward the U.S. regarding housing and towards a not-so-small portion our political actions, however it seems the difference is that we don't have a knitted corporate government quite yet. I dunno, the sway of Apple, MS, whoever else just doesn't have the same weight as the CCP and Tencent. That generally seems to be peoples issue
I dunno, the sway of Apple, MS, whoever else just doesn't have the same weight as the CCP and Tencent.
The fact that you name Apple and Microsoft makes me think there is a blind spot here. If you are taking about big tech with it's tendrils in US policy I'd go for Google and Facebook. Big pharma and the military industrial complex are even bigger issues. These industries don't just undermine the US but harm the global community as well. Then you have think tanks, often funded by capital, shaping narratives and foreign policy.
I more just didn't want to list more than 3 companies, hence "whoever else". You're right that Google and Facebook are closer to the tendrils of Tencent than MS or Apple, or well, Apple at least.
The government of the United States is also highly untrustworthy, but plenty of other nation's governments engage and cooperate with the US. This isn't whataboutism, it's evidence that there must be other factors.
certain factions within the US government have been untrustworthy.
between far-right, corporate factions and those groups that actually defend some semblance of democratic liberty.
This just sounds like a whole lot of liberal US apologia. It isn't actually far off from regressive phrases like MAGA or A Few Bad Apples. There was no golden time when the US has been a bastion of freedom and human welfare and it mostly shows signs of getting worse, and you cannot fix the US by removing a few politicians.
Are they at all comparable as reflections of the viability of each respective state's potential to sustain human liberty? No.
I don't see what the point is of picking two specific events when we are discussing nations and governments as a whole. Taken in totality the US does not and has not ever shown signs of sustaining liberty as you put it. The law and order system is a joke, human welfare is a joke, safety is a joke, education is a joke, foreign policy is a joke. A lot of these fundamental issues are completely ignorable for the privileged, and the last one ignorable if you live in the US itself, but I am not looking to have liberty for some and not others.
You're not required to sing the praises of the US, but acknowledging the meaningful degree of difference is critical to preventing the world sliding further into an authoritarian paradigm.
I disagree. I think what you're doing right now is what strengthens authoritarianism in "Western" countries. Always framing Western countries, especially the US, as the lesser of two evils just justifies nationalism and militarism and downplays the need for radical change. What's the point of this liberty you speak of if we don't use it to criticize our own governments, and why stop at just criticism? The truth is you'll only realize how thin your liberty actually is when you actually pose a threat.
But I'm not sure how we got on this tangent. I was simply responding to the notion of geopolitical trust and how that relates to the US and China. The US reneges on international agreements all the time or simply does not adhere to them. The government also partakes in the manipulation of foreign governments, extrajudicial murders in foreign countries in "times of peace", and sabotages countries with embargos. All of this should make the US untrustworthy, but the unspoken part is that when we talk about trust we are taking about among Western countries. These nations have some shared geopolitical goals and because the US's violations aren't against these nations but against ones where say the common religion is different or the people have a darker average complexion they can be ignored.
What's the point of this liberty you speak of if we don't use it to criticize our own governments, and why stop at just criticism? The truth is you'll only realize how thin your liberty actually is when you actually pose a threat.
You're conflating a comparison with an endorsement.
One can say the US is unquestionably better than China while still acknowledging the US has issues.
I'd challenge you to find any country that's truly "trustworthy." That doesn't mean I think it's impossible, I just think historically humans suck at governorship.
As for what's different between the US and China, your original point, I think a lot of it is just what's available/who has the better deal. The US historically has the better innovations, the better weaponry, and in the case of Europe, bidirectional cultural influences, and there's just a lot more history with the US as a partner and a lot more families with folks in both locations.
deleted by creator
This is an important difference that always gets left out in these articles.
Of course people will be anti-China when the CCP is making the movies (edit, I meant "moves" but movies works too haha). It's one thing to ask for companies to make a version of media specifically for your country, but using your weight to make that the version? That is an insanely big red flag when Tencent has roots in everything and also goes by the whim of the party.
On the flip side, my friend from college moved to China a couple years after we graduated and he's been doing really, really well. He loves it there. Ironically he ended up getting a job with Tencent and is a pretty big part of their last released Synced. So I'm glad he's doing well, but it's also been weird talking about certain topics with him. It was also weird when I was asking about how he was talking with me and he's like "oh I just have to get on a VPN and etc so I that's why I'm not around much, but it's cool lol." Kinda freaky when I also just see the articles about a company getting fined for using a VPN. I'm sure he'll be fine but it's still slightly worrying.
Which ultimately kind of sums up the situation. My friend loved his experience in China so much so that he moved back there seemingly permanently and set himself up with a nice life with the culture seeming to be a big part of that. And then there's the actions of the government. Many of the same criticisms can absolutely be held toward the U.S. regarding housing and towards a not-so-small portion our political actions, however it seems the difference is that we don't have a knitted corporate government quite yet. I dunno, the sway of Apple, MS, whoever else just doesn't have the same weight as the CCP and Tencent. That generally seems to be peoples issue
deleted by creator
The fact that you name Apple and Microsoft makes me think there is a blind spot here. If you are taking about big tech with it's tendrils in US policy I'd go for Google and Facebook. Big pharma and the military industrial complex are even bigger issues. These industries don't just undermine the US but harm the global community as well. Then you have think tanks, often funded by capital, shaping narratives and foreign policy.
I more just didn't want to list more than 3 companies, hence "whoever else". You're right that Google and Facebook are closer to the tendrils of Tencent than MS or Apple, or well, Apple at least.
The government of the United States is also highly untrustworthy, but plenty of other nation's governments engage and cooperate with the US. This isn't whataboutism, it's evidence that there must be other factors.
deleted by creator
This just sounds like a whole lot of liberal US apologia. It isn't actually far off from regressive phrases like MAGA or A Few Bad Apples. There was no golden time when the US has been a bastion of freedom and human welfare and it mostly shows signs of getting worse, and you cannot fix the US by removing a few politicians.
I don't see what the point is of picking two specific events when we are discussing nations and governments as a whole. Taken in totality the US does not and has not ever shown signs of sustaining liberty as you put it. The law and order system is a joke, human welfare is a joke, safety is a joke, education is a joke, foreign policy is a joke. A lot of these fundamental issues are completely ignorable for the privileged, and the last one ignorable if you live in the US itself, but I am not looking to have liberty for some and not others.
I disagree. I think what you're doing right now is what strengthens authoritarianism in "Western" countries. Always framing Western countries, especially the US, as the lesser of two evils just justifies nationalism and militarism and downplays the need for radical change. What's the point of this liberty you speak of if we don't use it to criticize our own governments, and why stop at just criticism? The truth is you'll only realize how thin your liberty actually is when you actually pose a threat.
But I'm not sure how we got on this tangent. I was simply responding to the notion of geopolitical trust and how that relates to the US and China. The US reneges on international agreements all the time or simply does not adhere to them. The government also partakes in the manipulation of foreign governments, extrajudicial murders in foreign countries in "times of peace", and sabotages countries with embargos. All of this should make the US untrustworthy, but the unspoken part is that when we talk about trust we are taking about among Western countries. These nations have some shared geopolitical goals and because the US's violations aren't against these nations but against ones where say the common religion is different or the people have a darker average complexion they can be ignored.
You're conflating a comparison with an endorsement.
One can say the US is unquestionably better than China while still acknowledging the US has issues.
I'd challenge you to find any country that's truly "trustworthy." That doesn't mean I think it's impossible, I just think historically humans suck at governorship.
As for what's different between the US and China, your original point, I think a lot of it is just what's available/who has the better deal. The US historically has the better innovations, the better weaponry, and in the case of Europe, bidirectional cultural influences, and there's just a lot more history with the US as a partner and a lot more families with folks in both locations.