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> Are you uncomfortable with China's aggressive censorship, human rights abuses, and surveillance? Stop buying shit from them. China is buying up realestate an

> Are you uncomfortable with China's aggressive censorship, human rights abuses, and surveillance? Stop buying shit from them. China is buying up realestate and farm land in every major western nation. China is buying critical infrastructure across the globe via the Belt and Road initiative[1][2]. China has become too big and too powerful to be stopped by mere consumer action. They are not planning to wage a war on democracy, they're planning to simply subsume it with soft power and emigration. To stop China's hellish vision of the future from becoming reality, the leaders of the developed world need to hit it with trade controls as hard as they did Cuba. But so far it seems that everyone is choosing to sell out their own country for those sweet Chinese RMB[3]. I see the sign of the times when I go to the largest shopping centre in the Southern Hemisphere (Chadstone, Melbourne, Australia) and see little stands advertising AU realestate in all-Chinese banners, staffed by Chinese agents who don't even speak English. The citizens of the country they're selling are not worth talking to. [1] https://www.africanliberty.org/2018/09/10/like-zambia-sri-lanka-also-handed-over-port-to-china-to-pay-off-debt/ https://www.africanliberty.org/2018/09/10/like-zambia-sri-la... [2] https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2016/04/16/a-despots-guide-to-foreign-aid https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2016/04/16/... [3] https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-02-08/chinese-billionaire-huang-xiangmo-wants-political-donations-back/10794726 https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-02-08/chinese-billionaire-h...

Brain_Thief 8y ago
While I understand your point, I strongly disagree with the implication that individual actions are meaningless. People should not accept a "death by a thousand cuts" behavioral paradigm when it comes to moral decisions in the realm of consumption. Voting is a part of the situation, but voting is an individual choice just like purchasing decisions.
- skybrian 8y ago
  The thing is, spontaneous order mostly doesn't happen. You need organized campaigns to make voting meaningful; if everyone votes for a different candidate you're not going to get anywhere and will usually lose to parties that are organized. The same is true in the market; individuals can't make good buying decisions about things that aren't visible without labeling by standards organizations or stores that set standards themselves. While having popular support is essential, an organization is more than just the sum of individual actions and this is what leadership is about.

Brain_Thief 8y ago

While I understand your point, I strongly disagree with the implication that individual actions are meaningless. People should not accept a "death by a thousand cuts" behavioral paradigm when it comes to moral decisions in the realm of consumption. Voting is a part of the situation, but voting is an individual choice just like purchasing decisions.

skybrian 8y ago
The thing is, spontaneous order mostly doesn't happen. You need organized campaigns to make voting meaningful; if everyone votes for a different candidate you're not going to get anywhere and will usually lose to parties that are organized. The same is true in the market; individuals can't make good buying decisions about things that aren't visible without labeling by standards organizations or stores that set standards themselves. While having popular support is essential, an organization is more than just the sum of individual actions and this is what leadership is about.