6 ms·

China is communist in name only at this point. The government is authoritarian but the economy works in a pretty familiar way as far as business ownership and f

China is communist in name only at this point. The government is authoritarian but the economy works in a pretty familiar way as far as business ownership and financial transactions.

tyingq 7y ago
Does everyone have a job, no homelessness, etc?
- Apfel 7y ago
  It's extremely easy to find a job in Chinese cities, generally speaking. There's lots of jobs for jobs sake - most restaurants have far too many staff, and there's lots of security guards everywhere who run away at the first sign of real trouble. Regarding homelessness, it definitely exists, although differently from the US etc. If you go into a 24hr McDonalds or KFC you'll see lots of homeless people slumped over tables sleeping because nobody there will kick them out. It's also very common to see homeless people congregating in the lower levels of major railway stations at night.
- mikeash 7y ago
  No, people search for jobs just like they would anywhere else, and if they don’t find one then they get to be unemployed and broke. Homelessness is definitely a thing. If you can’t afford a place to live then you’ll just have to make do.
  - tyingq 7y ago
    Ah, yeah. Not sure "Communist" means much then.
    - vkou 7y ago
      1. In both China, and the Soviet Union, nobody would guarantee you a job. You had to find one for yourself. [1] 2. But because of funny accounting (When your business can operate at a loss, it's easy to overhire), there was no shortage of jobs. There was a shortage of good jobs. 3. Food and housing (At least in the USSR) was very heavily subsidized. [1] Unless you were a collectivized rural farmer, in which case, you had very few options for leaving the kolhoz. It was shitty, hard work, that paid very little, and most of the people doing it, as well as their children had few alternatives.
- fspeech 7y ago
  If you have rural hukou you are entitled to a piece of land for building a home and a piece of land for farming. But it is possible that you could have sold off these rights. In cities there is 低保 https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E4%BD%8E%E4%BF%9D https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E4%BD%8E%E4%BF%9D If you are really resourceful you may be able to survive on it. But if you are really resourceful you are unlikely to need it in the first place.
- lph 7y ago
  You don't see visible homelessness nearly as much as in US big cities. Chinese friends I've discussed this with attribute it to familial piety acting as a much stronger safety net; people will make big sacrifices to save their relatives from total failure. It's expected, and a stark contrast to the American notion of extreme individualism. There's also no opiod epidemic.
  - tyingq 7y ago
    That's interesting...so more societal than government structure. Anyone know what the closest remaining country is to actual communist dogma is? Vietnam? Cuba? Also interested in what the most purely socialist country might be.
    - Erlich_Bachman 7y ago
      Venezuela?
  - Apfel 7y ago
    Homelessness in China is visible and universal, but you have to know where to look. There's a lot of shame associated with it, just like disability (I'm sure you've probably noticed you don't see many disabled people in China either). https://aeon.co/essays/what-is-life-like-for-disabled-people-in-china https://aeon.co/essays/what-is-life-like-for-disabled-people... I fundamentally reject that filial piety is the reason for this (filial piety causes all sorts of other social problems, too). People in Confucian cultures hide things they see as shameful to protect their 面子. If anything, I think this indicates there are far darker unseen truths in Chinese society that we are insulated from through the 'face' system.
bluemaster 7y ago
Chinese people can't even own land. No fair legal system. No freedom of speech. Great firewall will block any web site considered "subversive". It's pretty much crony capitalism or Facism at this point.

China is communist in name only at this point. The government is authoritarian but the economy works in a pretty familiar way as far as business ownership and financial transactions.

tyingq 7y ago

Does everyone have a job, no homelessness, etc?

Apfel 7y ago
It's extremely easy to find a job in Chinese cities, generally speaking. There's lots of jobs for jobs sake - most restaurants have far too many staff, and there's lots of security guards everywhere who run away at the first sign of real trouble. Regarding homelessness, it definitely exists, although differently from the US etc. If you go into a 24hr McDonalds or KFC you'll see lots of homeless people slumped over tables sleeping because nobody there will kick them out. It's also very common to see homeless people congregating in the lower levels of major railway stations at night.
mikeash 7y ago
No, people search for jobs just like they would anywhere else, and if they don’t find one then they get to be unemployed and broke. Homelessness is definitely a thing. If you can’t afford a place to live then you’ll just have to make do.
- tyingq 7y ago
  Ah, yeah. Not sure "Communist" means much then.
  - vkou 7y ago
    1. In both China, and the Soviet Union, nobody would guarantee you a job. You had to find one for yourself. [1] 2. But because of funny accounting (When your business can operate at a loss, it's easy to overhire), there was no shortage of jobs. There was a shortage of good jobs. 3. Food and housing (At least in the USSR) was very heavily subsidized. [1] Unless you were a collectivized rural farmer, in which case, you had very few options for leaving the kolhoz. It was shitty, hard work, that paid very little, and most of the people doing it, as well as their children had few alternatives.
fspeech 7y ago
If you have rural hukou you are entitled to a piece of land for building a home and a piece of land for farming. But it is possible that you could have sold off these rights. In cities there is 低保 https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E4%BD%8E%E4%BF%9D https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E4%BD%8E%E4%BF%9D If you are really resourceful you may be able to survive on it. But if you are really resourceful you are unlikely to need it in the first place.
lph 7y ago
You don't see visible homelessness nearly as much as in US big cities. Chinese friends I've discussed this with attribute it to familial piety acting as a much stronger safety net; people will make big sacrifices to save their relatives from total failure. It's expected, and a stark contrast to the American notion of extreme individualism. There's also no opiod epidemic.
- tyingq 7y ago
  That's interesting...so more societal than government structure. Anyone know what the closest remaining country is to actual communist dogma is? Vietnam? Cuba? Also interested in what the most purely socialist country might be.
  - Erlich_Bachman 7y ago
    Venezuela?
- Apfel 7y ago
  Homelessness in China is visible and universal, but you have to know where to look. There's a lot of shame associated with it, just like disability (I'm sure you've probably noticed you don't see many disabled people in China either). https://aeon.co/essays/what-is-life-like-for-disabled-people-in-china https://aeon.co/essays/what-is-life-like-for-disabled-people... I fundamentally reject that filial piety is the reason for this (filial piety causes all sorts of other social problems, too). People in Confucian cultures hide things they see as shameful to protect their 面子. If anything, I think this indicates there are far darker unseen truths in Chinese society that we are insulated from through the 'face' system.

bluemaster 7y ago

Chinese people can't even own land. No fair legal system. No freedom of speech. Great firewall will block any web site considered "subversive". It's pretty much crony capitalism or Facism at this point.