In the presence of hierarchy, there will always be those in the underclasses who will betray anyone to secure their place as "first of the least". It is why white women vote republican in such large numbers. It is why so many among the working class clamor to defend billionaires. 'Notice me, senpai' as ideology.
frustrated
joined 1 day ago
They arent cops but they do derive their authority the same way cops do: the govt imbues them with that authority.
I suppose it really depends on what freedoms you consider important and how much you weigh things. It is true, in china, you cant be openly critical of the regime. FWIW, that is increasingly true in the US.
However, in china, you are free to not be killed by violence. You are free to get affordable healthcare. You are free to get affordable high quality food. You are free to get affordable housing (outside of Beijing and a few other financial centers). You are free to get an affordable high quality education. I dunno. There are tradeoffs. The US is increasingly offering less and less by way of substantive freedoms and is becoming more and more authoritarian.
Also, have you actually been to china? How much of what you know about china is based in outdated information from 30 years ago or might just be straight up propaganda? I have been in the last 10 years and it blew my mind and changed a lot about how viewed the country.