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Why China Could Surprise the World by Being the First Country to Adopt Universal Basic Income
(www.scottsantens.com)
The thumbnail picture is Japan, not China
this post was submitted on 29 Jan 2024
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Just don't focus on the details
A truly universal basic income would indeed be surprising.
Something tells me the universality of such a system will be tied to social credit or some other measurement system to weed out the "bad thought" having Chinese folks.
It isn't mentioned in this article, but Chinese planning is very specific about the idea of robots taking over the economy and replacing the shrinking number of humans. Another reason for thinking UBI might work there first.
They're not really likely to pass the West any time soon on that, though. We're still king when it comes to high tech and innovation, just as a byproduct of accumulated institutional knowledge and an economic system that prioritises fostering innovation over almost all else.
China is not a democracy. It wise to think about that before declaring them the future.
I certainly don't want them to be the future, anyway. I'm pretty big on things like equality and rule for the interest of the people.
The alternative is for a democratic nations to step forward and lead. The United States, and other western nations, are hamstrung by corporate-purchased-politicians who will sabatoge efforts to step forward.
Those corporations are giving China the head start.
As a westerner, I am given the choice of corporate indentured servitude, or cheering for China. I would love a world where the west can lead, but apparently we don't live in that world.
The lesser of evils seems to be to embrace China's global leadership.
Never thought I'd take this stance, but here we are. No one else is helping as my generation drowns in debt.
TLDR, The west is sabatoging itself.
Article has some logic that makes sense, as does UBI in general.
However currently China is still far away from this, welfare is low compared to most european countries, lack of reliable welfare has contributed to their massive housing bubble, now deflating. Also, I read that Xi J is anti-welfare.
Also, I read that Xi J is anti-welfare.
Really? He's interventionist in general, so that surprises me.
I love the silence of the tankies who can't figure out how to twist this to fit within their wilfully ignorant insistence that China is a communist country lol...