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If this is the trade-off that Western democracies are going to force on their citizens, then frankly they're going to lose. Because guess what: # of times in t

by imgabe 8y ago

If this is the trade-off that Western democracies are going to force on their citizens, then frankly they're going to lose. Because guess what: # of times in the average person's day when it is useful to be able to Google Tienneman Square: ~0 # of times when functioning public infrastructure is useful: All day every day. So shrugging your shoulders and saying "whelp, that's the price you pay for freedom of expression" is not a good enough answer. Sooner or later people are going to decide the price isn't worth it if their government isnt capable of doing anything that actually benefits them

sho 8y ago
You're being downvoted, probably for the flip Tiananmen Square reference, but I think there's a lot of truth to it. The Chinese are not dumb - they know a lot of bad stuff went down back in the day, and they're not supposed to ask too many questions, and for the most part they shrug and get on with their day. I'd say the attitude is like what most Americans might think about the Kent State "incident". Yes, it was horrible, but it was so long ago and nothing like that could ever happen again. And frankly it couldn't, the bloody PLA are not going to run over students in tanks in broad daylight being streamed live in HD around the world by every drone in Beijing. That said, there's a lot of fear in China about how long the government can keep the house of cards standing. The CCP derives its legitimacy from its successes - if things really start to go badly, there could be internal strife well beyond anything imaginable in the west. Their attempt to totally control information is really an indicator of weakness and paranoia, not strength. One would hope that if they can actually navigate the coming storms and build a genuinely healthy economy, the need for all that will gradually diminish. Of course, if they can't... well, I can see how being able to technologically inhibit massive rioting might be an appealing tool in the belt.

by imgabe 8y ago

sho 8y ago

You're being downvoted, probably for the flip Tiananmen Square reference, but I think there's a lot of truth to it. The Chinese are not dumb - they know a lot of bad stuff went down back in the day, and they're not supposed to ask too many questions, and for the most part they shrug and get on with their day. I'd say the attitude is like what most Americans might think about the Kent State "incident". Yes, it was horrible, but it was so long ago and nothing like that could ever happen again. And frankly it couldn't, the bloody PLA are not going to run over students in tanks in broad daylight being streamed live in HD around the world by every drone in Beijing. That said, there's a lot of fear in China about how long the government can keep the house of cards standing. The CCP derives its legitimacy from its successes - if things really start to go badly, there could be internal strife well beyond anything imaginable in the west. Their attempt to totally control information is really an indicator of weakness and paranoia, not strength. One would hope that if they can actually navigate the coming storms and build a genuinely healthy economy, the need for all that will gradually diminish. Of course, if they can't... well, I can see how being able to technologically inhibit massive rioting might be an appealing tool in the belt.