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While no country is perfect, the USA is still leaps and bounds ahead of China on human rights. As an example, what does the USA do that compares to this linked

While no country is perfect, the USA is still leaps and bounds ahead of China on human rights. As an example, what does the USA do that compares to this linked story? I don’t know how convinced I am by this any more. Between the many wars, the torture, and slavery in the largest prison system on Earth it’s harder to argue. I still don’t want to live in a China, but I don’t want to live in the US either.

virmundi 8y ago
The difference lies in the citizens' ability to fix the problems. Florida, my state, has a problem with not returning voter rights to convicts once they get out. There is a group spearheading a correction. The governor isn't too keen to help, but the people can exert their will and correct the issue. Hard to do the same in China.
- DmenshunlAnlsis 8y ago
  In China the power to “reform” an issue is in the hands of a very few political elites. In the US it’s in the hands of a very few wealthy elites. It’s true that you can hope to have some influence through lobbying in a way that would be unthinkable in China, but it requires connections and vast sums of money. If you try to challenge power structures in China directly they roll over you with tanks. The last time people em masse did the same in the US they were beaten, lynched, killed, jailed, firehosed and attacked with dogs.
  - sametmax 8y ago
    Well, yes and no. It's true that the US is more an oligarchy that a democracy, but the people have the possibility to vote with their wallet. The US literally takes the direction its people choose to consume, because the corporation have so much power, and they are only interested in things they can sell.
    - DmenshunlAnlsis 8y ago
      In theory, but the wallets of a few hundred families are deeper than everyone else’s combined. All it takes then, to make “vote with your wallet meaningless” is to introduce one or two major divisions in society and the elites can rest easy knowing they control lobbying as well. It would take a society-wide alliance to fight the influence of the Koch brothers, George Soros (and of course about half of the population only wants to fight one of them and not the other). When you factor in the money and power of corporations like Goldman Sachs and Exxon... well... don’t bother.
sametmax 8y ago
I'm the first person to criticize the US, but I've been to the US and to China, and no, it's not the same level. A higher percent of the US population enjoy a lot of freedom and comfort than the chinese population. In China, only the very rich have what the american middle class has. Also the US hasn't been employing children to manufacture things on his soil for a while (well, it does delegate that to China, but it's another debate). So no, definitely not on the same scale. But if I had to pick which one is the most dangerous for the world, I'd pick the US. They are very aggressive, they always have been, and they think they are the best country in the world and that everything they do, no matter how bad, is justify because of how awesome they are. If you read some of the comments of the threads, you'll see that some people completely dismiss their military activity like it's nothing. Like was is not a huge terrible deal. Like they had to do it, and it was right. My favorite is "we only invaded Irak twice". So yeah, for WWIII, the US is definitly in my favorite pool. Especially with their social and economical crisis, that will be easier to distract from using scape goats and guns than to solve.

virmundi 8y ago

The difference lies in the citizens' ability to fix the problems. Florida, my state, has a problem with not returning voter rights to convicts once they get out. There is a group spearheading a correction. The governor isn't too keen to help, but the people can exert their will and correct the issue. Hard to do the same in China.

DmenshunlAnlsis 8y ago
In China the power to “reform” an issue is in the hands of a very few political elites. In the US it’s in the hands of a very few wealthy elites. It’s true that you can hope to have some influence through lobbying in a way that would be unthinkable in China, but it requires connections and vast sums of money. If you try to challenge power structures in China directly they roll over you with tanks. The last time people em masse did the same in the US they were beaten, lynched, killed, jailed, firehosed and attacked with dogs.
- sametmax 8y ago
  Well, yes and no. It's true that the US is more an oligarchy that a democracy, but the people have the possibility to vote with their wallet. The US literally takes the direction its people choose to consume, because the corporation have so much power, and they are only interested in things they can sell.
  - DmenshunlAnlsis 8y ago
    In theory, but the wallets of a few hundred families are deeper than everyone else’s combined. All it takes then, to make “vote with your wallet meaningless” is to introduce one or two major divisions in society and the elites can rest easy knowing they control lobbying as well. It would take a society-wide alliance to fight the influence of the Koch brothers, George Soros (and of course about half of the population only wants to fight one of them and not the other). When you factor in the money and power of corporations like Goldman Sachs and Exxon... well... don’t bother.

sametmax 8y ago

I'm the first person to criticize the US, but I've been to the US and to China, and no, it's not the same level. A higher percent of the US population enjoy a lot of freedom and comfort than the chinese population. In China, only the very rich have what the american middle class has. Also the US hasn't been employing children to manufacture things on his soil for a while (well, it does delegate that to China, but it's another debate). So no, definitely not on the same scale. But if I had to pick which one is the most dangerous for the world, I'd pick the US. They are very aggressive, they always have been, and they think they are the best country in the world and that everything they do, no matter how bad, is justify because of how awesome they are. If you read some of the comments of the threads, you'll see that some people completely dismiss their military activity like it's nothing. Like was is not a huge terrible deal. Like they had to do it, and it was right. My favorite is "we only invaded Irak twice". So yeah, for WWIII, the US is definitly in my favorite pool. Especially with their social and economical crisis, that will be easier to distract from using scape goats and guns than to solve.