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China Blocks WhatsApp

nytimes.com

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Re: China Blocks WhatsApp

#3
Well, at least Mark didn't sacrifice his child for that.

What's the end game here? In the early 2000s it seemed like China was going to become this liberal democracy, but it just seems like the government is getting more and more power and control. Is there any sign this (and the rise of several authoritarians) is gonna stop?

This made me think of Fukuyama (1989):

What we may be witnessing is not just the end of the Cold War, or the passing of a particular period of post-war history, but the end of history as such: that is, the end point of mankind's ideological evolution and the universalization of Western liberal democracy as the final form of human government.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_End_of_History_and_the_Las...

That looks really funny in hindsight. He's actually changed his position:

http://www.npr.org/2017/04/04/522554630/francis-fukuyama-on-...

Re: China Blocks WhatsApp

#5

Well, at least Mark didn't sacrifice his child for that. What's the end game here? In the early 2000s it seemed like China was going to become this liberal democracy, but it just seems like the government is getting more and more power and control. Is there any sign this (and the rise of several authoritarians) is gonna stop? This made me think of Fukuyama (1989): What we may be witnessing is not just the end of the…

I don't think there's any sign it will stop. The standard prediction used to be that prosperity would bring democracy, but that's looking to be either wishful thinking or bad extrapolation from past events.

Re: China Blocks WhatsApp

#6
post #4

How does the blocking actually happen? What if people used a decentralized service, that worked over https?

>What if people used a decentralized service, that worked over https?

that sounds great until you realize that most people don't run tls servers on their computers/phones. so running one would immediately raise suspicion. not to mention that if they can block tor/vpn, they can block whatever tls chat service you have as well.

Re: China Blocks WhatsApp

#7
post #5

Well, at least Mark didn't sacrifice his child for that. What's the end game here? In the early 2000s it seemed like China was going to become this liberal democracy, but it just seems like the government is getting more and more power and control. Is there any sign this (and the rise of several authoritarians) is gonna stop? This made me think of Fukuyama (1989): What we may be witnessing is not just the end of the…

I don't think there's any sign it will stop. The standard prediction used to be that prosperity would bring democracy, but that's looking to be either wishful thinking or bad extrapolation from past events.

It feels to me that stability brings prosperity, and democracy represents one of several paths to stability.

Re: China Blocks WhatsApp

#10

Well, at least Mark didn't sacrifice his child for that. What's the end game here? In the early 2000s it seemed like China was going to become this liberal democracy, but it just seems like the government is getting more and more power and control. Is there any sign this (and the rise of several authoritarians) is gonna stop? This made me think of Fukuyama (1989): What we may be witnessing is not just the end of the…

The whole world is in a giant financial bubble.

These acts are desperate measures to control people because they know how bad things are going to get.

They need to be able to control the channels of communication to stamp out dissent.

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