Well, I happen to believe that capitalism at its worst does veer on pseudo-totalitarianism. I think the anti-West critics are mostly correct in their criticism

Well, I happen to believe that capitalism at its worst does veer on pseudo-totalitarianism. I think the anti-West critics are mostly correct in their criticism even while they are typically wrong in their defenses/apologies for situations in Russia or China. They play a biased game where they focus on the failings elsewhere and the successes on their side instead of giving a fair critique all around. Freedoms to think freely, protest, have free media, these things are deeply and profoundly important. But so is real economic democracy. China has neither, the U.S. has the former freedoms but a very crappy practically-absent economic democracy. By economic democracy, I don't mean dogmatic libertarian laissez-faire free markets (though that would be better than corrupt markets with regulatory capture dictated by monopolists). I mean where regular citizens have the whole combo of informed power to set economic policy rather than have it dictated to them by the elite. Stuff like participatory-budgeting. Anyway, I'm just saying that my critique and concerns about Russia have NO connection to any defense of the West, though I will readily give credit wherever it is due for the things that are good and fair, which the West has some of. And yes, I agree completely that just giving blunt labels is not a helpful way to discuss things with anyone. The tact we need is to be interested in people's views enough that we can describe them and have people say "that's right, that's my view" and only from there can we start discussing where and why our views differ.