I was just musing on the trajectory of decline in the old Soviet Union. After WW2, the populace was very proud that they had defeated the Nazis, and most pulled together to rebuild the USSR and make communism work. But by the end of the 1960s, it was clear that it wasn’t working at all. By the seventies, the rate of alcoholism in Russia was soaring. By the eighties, the rate of alcoholism in Soviet males was so alarmingly high that the Authorities tried to limit consumption of vodka (that policy didn’t go over well). The USSR had become a nation of dispirited, hopeless people who were mired in despair. And then the whole Soviet mess collapsed!
No matter how many economic statistics came out regarding wheat production or new factories built,the most telling statistic emerging from the USSR was the skyrocketing alcoholism rate. Any psychologist, sociologist, or man on the street could see it’s significance.
I believe a similar trajectory is happening in China now. We’ve seen the cultural trend of ‘lying flat’, then ‘let it rot’. Now the new cultural buzzword is ‘run’. Wow!
The problem with all totalitarian ideologies is that they necessarily demand a rejection of the self. The State is primary. The State comes first in all things. That renders the self inconsequential.
This invariably is doomed to failure, because the self is at the core all that we desire and all that we hold dear. Even love of country must arise from the self as an expression of self.
All understanding begins with one single solitary word, syllable, and letter: "I".
Totalitarian systems reject this foundational principle--and thus their ideologies are doomed to failure.
When I was in college one of my research papers was into the collapse of the Ceausescu regime in Romania in 1989. Nicolai Ceausescu was perhaps the most narcissistic of the Warsaw Pact dictators, and the collapse of his government in a few weeks just before Christmas, 1989, shocked the world. In assessing how Ceausescu implemented Bolshevik-style Socialism/Communism, and how that ultimately contributed to his downfall, one of my conclusions even then was that Socialism is simply unable to fathom the nature of economic demand.
Socialism fails because it cannot acknowledge the individual self. Socialism cannot celebrate the individual self. Socialism cannot celebrate personal wins and personal defeats. Socialism can never allow people their little moments, both good and bad.
As a consequence, Socialism sucks the life out of people. It strips away everything that motivates a person to do more than just survive--and when the people of any nation decide to "opt out" of participating in its civic society, that nation is on the short route to Hell.
The Chinese government is trying to paint an optimistic picture, but there’s some qualitative data not being provided by the CCP. More people are traveling, albeit on a tight budget, but WHY? How many are traveling during the Lunar New Year because they fear that this year will be their last chance to visit relatives before they can no longer afford to do so, or will no longer be allowed to travel? How many are traveling to say permanent goodbyes to relatives because they are going to try to leave China? When people are driven by such emotional top priorities, they will see their beloved friends and relatives one last time even if they have to go into debt to do so.
Sure, some of this is anecdotal and biased against The CCP, but reports like these help to flesh out the picture of what’s actually happening in China. The larger data, as you have repeatedly shown us, Peter, indicates that China is in deep, long-term trouble.
Anecdotal evidence is, by itself, unreliable evidence.
However, anecdotal evidence can be a powerful confirmation of trends identified by the empirical data. When it confirms that the larger data set already has said, anecdotal evidence is very relevant evidence indeed, and not to be taken lightly.
I was just musing on the trajectory of decline in the old Soviet Union. After WW2, the populace was very proud that they had defeated the Nazis, and most pulled together to rebuild the USSR and make communism work. But by the end of the 1960s, it was clear that it wasn’t working at all. By the seventies, the rate of alcoholism in Russia was soaring. By the eighties, the rate of alcoholism in Soviet males was so alarmingly high that the Authorities tried to limit consumption of vodka (that policy didn’t go over well). The USSR had become a nation of dispirited, hopeless people who were mired in despair. And then the whole Soviet mess collapsed!
No matter how many economic statistics came out regarding wheat production or new factories built,the most telling statistic emerging from the USSR was the skyrocketing alcoholism rate. Any psychologist, sociologist, or man on the street could see it’s significance.
I believe a similar trajectory is happening in China now. We’ve seen the cultural trend of ‘lying flat’, then ‘let it rot’. Now the new cultural buzzword is ‘run’. Wow!
The problem with all totalitarian ideologies is that they necessarily demand a rejection of the self. The State is primary. The State comes first in all things. That renders the self inconsequential.
This invariably is doomed to failure, because the self is at the core all that we desire and all that we hold dear. Even love of country must arise from the self as an expression of self.
All understanding begins with one single solitary word, syllable, and letter: "I".
Totalitarian systems reject this foundational principle--and thus their ideologies are doomed to failure.
When I was in college one of my research papers was into the collapse of the Ceausescu regime in Romania in 1989. Nicolai Ceausescu was perhaps the most narcissistic of the Warsaw Pact dictators, and the collapse of his government in a few weeks just before Christmas, 1989, shocked the world. In assessing how Ceausescu implemented Bolshevik-style Socialism/Communism, and how that ultimately contributed to his downfall, one of my conclusions even then was that Socialism is simply unable to fathom the nature of economic demand.
Socialism fails because it cannot acknowledge the individual self. Socialism cannot celebrate the individual self. Socialism cannot celebrate personal wins and personal defeats. Socialism can never allow people their little moments, both good and bad.
As a consequence, Socialism sucks the life out of people. It strips away everything that motivates a person to do more than just survive--and when the people of any nation decide to "opt out" of participating in its civic society, that nation is on the short route to Hell.
Peter, you’re amazing. My high opinion of you just continues to strengthen, deepen and intensify.
The Chinese government is trying to paint an optimistic picture, but there’s some qualitative data not being provided by the CCP. More people are traveling, albeit on a tight budget, but WHY? How many are traveling during the Lunar New Year because they fear that this year will be their last chance to visit relatives before they can no longer afford to do so, or will no longer be allowed to travel? How many are traveling to say permanent goodbyes to relatives because they are going to try to leave China? When people are driven by such emotional top priorities, they will see their beloved friends and relatives one last time even if they have to go into debt to do so.
https://www.theepochtimes.com/china/ccp-tightens-exit-controls-amid-sharp-increase-in-citizens-fleeing-china-5589479?utm_source=ref_share&utm_campaign=copy
https://www.theepochtimes.com/china/chinas-largest-ever-mortgage-rate-cut-may-not-matter-5591007?utm_source=ref_share&utm_campaign=copy
Sure, some of this is anecdotal and biased against The CCP, but reports like these help to flesh out the picture of what’s actually happening in China. The larger data, as you have repeatedly shown us, Peter, indicates that China is in deep, long-term trouble.
Anecdotal evidence is, by itself, unreliable evidence.
However, anecdotal evidence can be a powerful confirmation of trends identified by the empirical data. When it confirms that the larger data set already has said, anecdotal evidence is very relevant evidence indeed, and not to be taken lightly.