Earlier quoted context omitted.
Really poor countries will probably not have strong liberal institutions needed for free speech, just like they won't have the best pride parades or provocative comedians. But there's not much in the way of an authoritarian place producing a lot. The left doesn't bat an eye on how unionizing is illegal in China.
> The left doesn't bat an eye on how unionizing is illegal in China. It is hard to say what counts as left in America. Apart from a few real old-timey nostalgists, I don't think that people look to China as providing a model these days. The heyday of the upper middle class Maoist was probably forty years ago.
Going by social media/academia/big tech I'd say they're making a comeback.