this post was submitted on 04 Dec 2023
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A Boring Dystopia
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But perhaps China is indeed Capitalist.
China's economic system is very much capitalist these days.
Why do you think that China's per capita carbon footprint is higher? I'll give you a hint: it rhymes with "Manufacturing all of the toys and treats that Capitalism is selling". But also yes, China is capitalist. They weren't really ever communist by definition. Just like how North Korea isn't a democracy, despite calling themselves one.
Actually, that graph isn't adjusted to per capita. If it was, the US would be on top.
I think it's slightly insulting towards chinese people to think as you imply that they're unthinking animals who are completely guided by what the west does. They are smart human beings just like everyone else (or smarter if you believe some IQ studies), so they should be able to make responsible decisions.
And as I point out in another reply, they seem to be in process of making good decisions right now. This has a good chance of absolving their guilt if they keep progressing like that.
Rest of the world moves their dirty manufacturing over to China
Rest of the world: "How can you pollute like this?"
That was indeed a mistake in many levels. Nevertheless, China is responsible of China's pollution output, nobody else. Unlike you seem to imply, the chinese are not unthinking animals, but regular people -- with even higher than average IQ compared to west according to some studies. They were perfectly capable of making good decisions instead of bad ones.
And in fact, they seem to be in the process of making such good decisions now. The Economist believes that their CO2 levels will peak this year and start to go down in the near future due to China's investments in clean energy.
https://www.economist.com/china/2023/11/27/will-china-save-the-planet-or-destroy-it
China made their decision based on the rules of the game, as set by the dominating economic power of the world (i.e. the US). They could've turned down being the world's manufacturer, but they wouldn't have had a clear path to get to where they have come to this point. Now that they have economic power, they're better able to make some changes. Like you pointed out, China is making huge investments in clean energy. Granted, a huge driving force behind that is their lack of domestic petrol production and their desire for energy dependence, but they're still the leader when in comes to investments in clean energy. It's embarrassing how far behind the US is and even more embarrassing when you take that graph from before and adjust it to per-capita emissions. A real letdown from the richest country in the world.