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The coronavirus is devastating for the Chinese Communist Party. Basically, the deal with the populace was people gave up their freedom in exchange for competen

The coronavirus is devastating for the Chinese Communist Party. Basically, the deal with the populace was people gave up their freedom in exchange for competent government and economic growth. In the last several decades, this was seen as a good deal, by a lot of people both inside and outside China. China had massive economic growth and modernization. Now, however, the handling of coronavirus was a huge blow to the perception of competency of the government, and is likely to have big economic implications as well, thereby threatening the foundations of this deal.

tvanantwerp 7y ago
I don't know that the populace has ever perceived the government as particularly competent. Powerful and dangerous if you cross them, sure--but competent?
- dwheeler 7y ago
  My understanding is that they've been viewed by many of their populace as competent in gaining substantial economic growth. Many other countries have had far less growth than China in the last few decades.
deleted 7y ago
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koheripbal 7y ago
I'm not so sure. Could a western country initiate entire city-wide quarantines at the drop of a hat? Could a western country pull sick people off the streets and forcibly put them into quarantine centers? Unilaterally shut down schools, factories, and transportation at a whim? Maybe. ...but, to be honest, despite their clear dishonestly about the number of infected/dying, they are also clearly taking some definitive actions to contain this.
- tal8d 7y ago
  The propensity for lying, in order to protect the power structure, results in a major constraint on future options - requiring more lies. It is a vicious cycle that completely obliterates any potential strong-arm advantage a single party system may have. If for no other reason: this is why you don't lie, you have no idea how badly you screw your future self. Also, and I'm looking at you World Health Organization, anyone trying to soften the blowback from lying suffers major damage to their credibility.
  - beamatronic 7y ago
    The WHO fucked everyone. “No alarm” from WHO is my new “red flag”.
    - DarthGhandi 7y ago
      People who think the WHO is somehow corrupted scare me. They are easily one of the most honest and forthright global organisations around, made up of competing professionals in their field from around the globe. They would be the first to be ringing alarm bells if there was a problem. The onus is on you to prove they are being dishonest, not the other way around friendly internet commentator.
      - tal8d 7y ago
        Unlike the WHO, this friendly internet commentator hasn't appointed Robert Mugabe as a goodwill ambassador. So you'd be better served appealing to my authority, not theirs.
        DarthGhandi 7y ago
        It was honestly a good move, with all upside and no downside, influence moves in subtle ways. The rabid internet mobs who move from one issue to the next with no concern for the bigger picture made quick work of it though. I truly wonder if these people reflect on what they did, was it in the interest of human suffering or simply petty signalling? Was nothing more than a title, much like the CEO's and Senior engineers in startups. Saying this as a code artisan. Please read the statement on the matter: https://www.who.int/news-room/detail/22-10-2017-director-general-rescinds-goodwill-ambassador-appointment https://www.who.int/news-room/detail/22-10-2017-director-gen...
- me_me_me 7y ago
  Could a western country initiate 100k open plate banquet after multiple cases of virus have been detected?
- himinlomax 7y ago
  They demonstrably lost at the very least a whole week due to their censorship of early reports. You can debate how significant it was, but it's pretty obvious that 1. more liberal countries would typically not have lost that week and 2. swift response is essential in this kind of crisis.

tvanantwerp 7y ago

I don't know that the populace has ever perceived the government as particularly competent. Powerful and dangerous if you cross them, sure--but competent?

dwheeler 7y ago
My understanding is that they've been viewed by many of their populace as competent in gaining substantial economic growth. Many other countries have had far less growth than China in the last few decades.

deleted 7y ago

[deleted]

koheripbal 7y ago

I'm not so sure. Could a western country initiate entire city-wide quarantines at the drop of a hat? Could a western country pull sick people off the streets and forcibly put them into quarantine centers? Unilaterally shut down schools, factories, and transportation at a whim? Maybe. ...but, to be honest, despite their clear dishonestly about the number of infected/dying, they are also clearly taking some definitive actions to contain this.

tal8d 7y ago
The propensity for lying, in order to protect the power structure, results in a major constraint on future options - requiring more lies. It is a vicious cycle that completely obliterates any potential strong-arm advantage a single party system may have. If for no other reason: this is why you don't lie, you have no idea how badly you screw your future self. Also, and I'm looking at you World Health Organization, anyone trying to soften the blowback from lying suffers major damage to their credibility.
- beamatronic 7y ago
  The WHO fucked everyone. “No alarm” from WHO is my new “red flag”.
  - DarthGhandi 7y ago
    People who think the WHO is somehow corrupted scare me. They are easily one of the most honest and forthright global organisations around, made up of competing professionals in their field from around the globe. They would be the first to be ringing alarm bells if there was a problem. The onus is on you to prove they are being dishonest, not the other way around friendly internet commentator.
    - tal8d 7y ago
      Unlike the WHO, this friendly internet commentator hasn't appointed Robert Mugabe as a goodwill ambassador. So you'd be better served appealing to my authority, not theirs.
      - DarthGhandi 7y ago
        It was honestly a good move, with all upside and no downside, influence moves in subtle ways. The rabid internet mobs who move from one issue to the next with no concern for the bigger picture made quick work of it though. I truly wonder if these people reflect on what they did, was it in the interest of human suffering or simply petty signalling? Was nothing more than a title, much like the CEO's and Senior engineers in startups. Saying this as a code artisan. Please read the statement on the matter: https://www.who.int/news-room/detail/22-10-2017-director-general-rescinds-goodwill-ambassador-appointment https://www.who.int/news-room/detail/22-10-2017-director-gen...
me_me_me 7y ago
Could a western country initiate 100k open plate banquet after multiple cases of virus have been detected?
himinlomax 7y ago
They demonstrably lost at the very least a whole week due to their censorship of early reports. You can debate how significant it was, but it's pretty obvious that 1. more liberal countries would typically not have lost that week and 2. swift response is essential in this kind of crisis.