281–290 of 323 posts
I agree completely. In European/Anglo countries, the ruling elite give back. Check out Grand Central, Rockefeller Center, the large parks and gardens throughout the great countries of the world. The ruling elite in Asia don't care about others.
We detached this subthread from https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14665498 and marked it off-topic.
As someone lived in Hong Kong for quite a while (during the tail of its heydays) but now in the US, Hong Kong is indeed in big trouble. But not for the reasons mentioned/implied in this article. It's very easy to buy into narratives such as authoritarianism vs democracy, communism vs capitalism, China vs Britain/West, tight control vs freedom as the reasons for Hong Kong's decline, but that's just short-circuited thi…
Looks like this is the state of affairs in every "capitalist" state on the planet. Singapore, check. China, check. Japan, check. US, check. Corporate oligarchies will stomp on our faces for eternity, it'd seem.
Poor sportsmanship is present in all states no matter the economic system.
I never understood why the UK didn't let Hong Kong declare independence. They could have then choosen their own protector to keep China away if the UK was too scared to do so.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
>Today, HK's GDP is barely 3% of China's, and the ports of Shanghai and Shenzhen together have 3x the throughput of HK. (Just have a look at these pictures: I am really waiting for a NY Times article that has some angle about what China can teach us, not what they should learn from us. For the last 30 years we have been getting continuous dispatches that Communism with Chinese characteristics will fail into economic…
Good point. The enormous strides China has made in recent decades, the hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of millions of people lifted out of poverty - extremely impressive, and unambiguously good. Other things, not so much.
And speaking of "democracy" is a two party system really all that much better or different than a one party system?
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yes this is exactly correct. Which is why rising income inequality is hugely bad news for the US. But short of going back to higher taxation, I don't see the situation improving for the US. The rich will Marshall all their significant resources to fight tax increases. Just see the amount of money and effort Koch brothers have put into corrupting the system! It is deeply disturbing. Also, titans of economy should not…
In the US titans of the economy are given the reins of the country even being totally unqualified . In fact, the anti-intellectual streak is so strong, that incomprehensible slogan babble has proven to be a very successful strategy in convincing the average blue collar worker that the most elite of the elite silver-spoon nepotists will somehow represent their interests. Frankly with the level which facts and reason h…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Good point. The enormous strides China has made in recent decades, the hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of millions of people lifted out of poverty - extremely impressive, and unambiguously good. Other things, not so much.
The thought of a truly democratic China today should be a terrifying thought to the rest of the world. It's a risky prospect compared to the current stability and growth. I'm sure they'll grow into their own version of democracy when necessary. And speaking of "democracy" is a two party system really all that much better or different than a one party system?
But, yes, even a two party democracy is better than a one party authoritarian regime.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yes. But that's a far cry from somebody in Brussels creating laws and policies.
You mean the European Parliament? The body to whom British citizens did in fact elect members to?
Earlier quoted context omitted.
No: - Britain's own level of freedom doesn't reflect how they've treated colonies in the past. See: all of history. - The UK isn't as free as many other Western nations. See: their track record on surveillance (although everyone is catching up there), or even Theresa May literally saying "I’ll rip up human rights laws that impede new terror legislation" quite recently. - Founding documents rarely mean anything when i…
>The UK isn't as free as many other Western nations. This is certainly true. I will note that in 2009 Parliament demonstrated that it has no problem with making illegal mere possession of certain drawings (even if you drew them yourself from your imagination), and there have been proposals by MPs to illegalise (with penalty of prison) possession of certain text. >I'd argue freedom has more to do with economic prosper…
As for the point on constitutional rights, etc, I was being a bit dramatic. I'd point to the NSA's unconstitutional surveillance and the lack of transparency and accountability as an example of constitutional freedoms being ignored. I'd also argue minorities in the USA frequently have rights ignored without consequence, although abuses of power can happen to anyone.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Very interesting. It touches on something I've been thinking about lately. The book Why Nations Fail [1][2] makes an argument very similar to yours that there are two factors that determine (economic) success of a nation: 1) inclusive economic systems and 2) inclusive political systems. They argue that these can form a virtuous cycle where they enhance themselves. However, if nations don't have inclusive systems, the…
But Hong Kong became prosperous during a time when it didn't have either of those. During the booming 70s-90s, just about all high level government officials were appointed by the British. In addition, most of the upper class were British as well. Local Hongkongers were often second class citizens. Likewise, when Singapore, Korea, and Taiwan were booming, they were essentially dictatorships. Heck, compare South Afric…
Chauvinists don't like to admit it but they are at least partly responsible for the ROC and ROK's success too.
> Heck, compare South Africa and Zimbabwe during the apartheid era to now.
What happened a shame but the whites in those country are now sleeping in the bed they made.
I never understood why the UK didn't let Hong Kong declare independence. They could have then choosen their own protector to keep China away if the UK was too scared to do so.