Summary
Russian state TV hosts are celebrating Donald Trump’s Cabinet picks, claiming they could “dismantle America.”
Figures like Vladimir Solovyov praised the nominees, including Kash Patel for FBI director and Tulsi Gabbard for intelligence, as a “radical dream team” likely to undermine U.S. institutions.
Critics in the U.S. warn that Trump’s selections, including conspiracy theorists and controversial figures like Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Pete Hegseth, signal plans to weaken federal agencies.
I haven’t read much on the subject, but from what I understand, similar to the way the landlords were liquidated, during the cultural revolution it wasn’t Mao going “kill these people” so much as the party telling villages “Set up courts and try the <reactionaries>, we’ll support whatever punishments you deem necessary. Here’s why this is needed, these are some punishments we’ve seen effective at achieving the desired result” and they did.
Giving this kind of autonomy to the locals tends to result in people using the system to settle old scores or get promotions, especially when the scope was expanded to potentially target anyone during the cultural revolution. Similar mechanisms resulted in “Stalin’s” terror.
As far as I can gather, Mao was a great revolutionary but a garbage administrator who probably would be remembered like Lenin if he died in the late 50s.
I’m glad we’re kind of on the same page about Mao. What do you think about the rest of my comment though? Modern China seems like a capitalist country in a communist hat to me. Which comes back to the beginning of the debate about the US giving away all its production to a ML nation.
Don’t get me wrong, I very much wish America didn’t offshore everything. If they hadn’t, it would be good for inequality and better for the climate.
I don’t know enough on the subject to make any strong claims, but actions since the Hu Jintao era seem somewhat consistent with the “bird cage economy” idea where capitalism exists within specific bounds as a tool to develop the means of production and the capitalist class is subservient to the state rather than the other way around.
Why would you expect a capitalist country whose ruling class believe they can insulate themselves from the effects of climate change be better on the climate than a socialist country with 5x more people whose breadbasket is in danger?
I’d never heard of the bird cage economy idea, I’ll definitely look into it.
Sure, the offshoring was all but inevitable due to capitalism. I’m just wishing pointlessly.
China is doing great on renewables and bringing prices down for the world. At least until the ridiculous tariffs start up.
Would you DM me if your Chinese friend recommends any english-language works?
I would. I’ll ask him. But he’s not much of a reader. He was there teaching art. What kind of books are you looking for?
Oh and he’s American. He just moved to Shanghai for about three years to teach. His Mandarin is decent but not fantastic. But what can I say, I don’t speak a word of it myself.
History, politics, anything that would help understand modern China really.