seen some pro-ccp western leftists sharing this @ForeignPolicy article praising prc response to covid. the author is a venture capitalist and investment bank exec who has defended the tiananmen massacre for creating "a generation of growth and prosperity" https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/05/14/xi-jinping-good-emperor-coronavirus/

what none of these pro-ccp western leftists get is the vast majority of the stories they share about the prc system's triumph reflect the perspective of the WINNERS (and in the case of this FP article, the literal 1%). if you're an investor in shanghai ofc you're pretty happy rn.

i've talked to ardent pro-ccp western leftists who literally have never heard of the hukou system or get how migrant labor works in the prc. or realize the pro-ccp stories they share represent the people profiting off of this system. of course they like it lmao why wouldn't they

then there's the pro-ccp western leftists who will literally quote their "cousin who owns a factory in china" to make some point about how china's great. the lack of self-awareness is truly amazing

one point about this FP article: it sets up premise that the pandemic proves the triumph of state + capital, and that this is somehow in opposition to neoliberal orthodoxy. but neoliberalism IS the idea of enshrouding capital in institutions. the prc just takes it even further.

there's no denying PRC controls capital, resources, and labor in ways that make western neoliberals envious. what's wild is that we have western leftists who somehow think this is great, or that there aren't hundreds of millions of losers on the other side of the equation.

and not only that, but the PRC's persistent war on labor at both macro and local levels helps fuel the global race to the bottom that makes it that much harder for labor organizers in the west to win. like watch american factory it's on netflix lol

if i've learned anything about western so-called anti-imperialist pro-ccp leftists, it's they often lack the most basic understanding, much less critical analysis of the global economy or china's role in it. you can get way sharper takes from chinese business school undergrads

my other hot take is this is what happens when the academy quarantines critical, postcolonial studies, lefty disciplines away from quantitative fields (which are far better funded and filled with people paid massive sums to know exactly what the economy's doing right this second)

that still doesn't excuse how pro-ccp western leftists will confidently tell you the ccp is not the ruling elite "because it's run by workers." i'm talking real name western activists who do otherwise good work. like bruh. even pro-govt chinese people know that's completely false

i am more than happy to acknowledge that many folks in the prc love it, have friends and family who love it, believe the system is fully working. i just want us to also acknowledge that a lot of them are getting rich off of people who can't write op-eds in foreign fucking policy

last point i want to make is i critique anti-imperialists because I AM ONE. and it is tiring to see what should be a powerful critique of US hegemony turned into this ridiculous capitalism of color apologia that does nothing but exacerbate confusion in an already distressing time