Chinese imperialism and future Australian sovereignty

[stui magpie]

[think positive]

Yes we do deserve the truth, Chinas government is an absolute criminal disgrace that makes Donald look good.

Just as an aside another post like that I’m calling you Stuitid

[stui magpie]

Yes we do deserve the truth, Chinas government is an absolute criminal disgrace that makes Donald look good.

Just as an aside another post like that I’m calling you Stuitid

Oi, I didn't type all that, just quoted it so people would actually look at it rather than not clicking on the link.

But you're right, I will be Stui till I die.

[pietillidie]

^Yeah, I feel cheated; I waste hours of my life fruitlessly typing my screeds!

The obvious test of Biden is to see how broad and successful an alliance, and sustainable a new agreement, he can put together here. Unfortunately, the usual set of far-right crazies will make anything to do with China a matter of apocalyptic hysteria, but he took the job.

[stui magpie]

^

We have different training.

Working with Deloitte consultants for 12 months, everything needs a 100 page PowerPoint pack full of graphics.

Me, if I can't put a business case on 1 A4 piece of paper (2 sides) in a word doc there's something wrong.

[pietillidie]

^Short is definitely the goal. It just takes me ages to get to the final draft!

[think positive]

^Short is definitely the goal. It just takes me ages to get to the final draft!

godhelp is all if you go long

[think positive]

https://9now.nine.com.au/today/china-co ... -ninedaily

[stui magpie]

^

SNAFU. (Situation Normal All F'd Up)

China has been in damage control since day 1, now they're trying to airbrush history and deny it even started in China.

They've let the mask slip, the world now knows what they're dealing with and as our exporters find alternative markets they will find their leverage dramatically reduced.

[think positive]

I damn hope so, because I really don’t think the backlash has been enough, and seriously the world needs a kick up the bum when it comes to cheap shit on the market that lasts 10 min and gets replaced and the shit just adds to the pile of rubbish polluting the earth. Make it better, make it last. Pay a living wage.

[roar]

Agree, TP. I do hope it's clever bureaucracy and politics that is the reason for not holding them to account but I fear it's simply greed and self interest.

[pietillidie]

Agree, TP. I do hope it's clever bureaucracy and politics that is the reason for not holding them to account but I fear it's simply greed and self interest.

It's a mix of things. Incentive to buy and sell things at a better price is a central driver of economic activity (we talk of 'better, faster, cheaper', but 'value' always involves price even where 'better and faster' are the material advantages).

You can't attack a communist regime on the basis of the very economic motivation that built and indeed maintains your own economy. So, I know what you both mean about consumerism and its junk, but that shouldn't be confused with the fundamental economic incentive.

Similarly, a 'buy local' message is mostly (but not always) nonsense, because in far more cases than people are willing to admit it means 'buy worse' (i.e., worse value).

The right approach is to force the cost of production to include externalities, such as pollution, and to set minimum labour standards. Not disingenuously and mischievously to price the developing nation out of the game, because that again is a violence. But standards done right don't undermine incentives, but instead makes them more realistic and sustainable. There is always some play in incentive (which is why we know we can tax the very wealthy more and they won't simply 'quit' in a huff).

Along the same lines, the idea that you would want to protect your industry from bright and talented Chinese kids, or hard-working peasants trying to make good, is an egregious communism-like violence against others, as is discounting the hundreds of millions who have escaped from dire poverty to zero, as if it were a bad thing. Forgetting how we became wealthy usually goes hand-in-hand, as we discount the ills and realities of our own inglorious rise to zero.

The solution is to accept that everything outside war and violence is negotiation, and to set standards without differentially applying ethics and principle and becoming a mirror authoritarian regime. To deal with an entity as large and powerful as China means dealing with it as a block, and that implies a broad-based multilateral agreement.

[pietillidie]

^Here's an example of a (massive) company committing to only dealing with suppliers who pay a living wage by 2030 (which is a genius way of getting PR mileage from not committing to do it for another nine years ).

Even so, imagine scaling this to the level of a multilateral TPP across a range of important quality measures:

We will work with our suppliers, other businesses, governments and NGOs - through purchasing practices, collaboration and advocacy - to create systemic change and global adoption of living wage practices," it added.

It has more than 60,000 direct suppliers worldwide, from smallholder farmers to major companies.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-55735108

Of course, countries can cut their noses to spite their faces, but then they would be penalised accordingly, like the fist-waving idiots of Brexit (and every other poor sod they dragged down by them). There's no other way to avert the pitfalls of fasco-protectionism, whether in its imperialist, nationalist, communist, or populist Trumpist guise. The push and pull of treaties, negotiations and agreements, genuinely pursued, are democracy, decency, wealth and stability genuinely pursued. This also gives a world grappling with shrinking government revenues a shot at properly taxing capital.

Alternatively, we could join another creepy conman in pursuit of a wealth-destroying, opportunity-wrecking, resentment-stoking, runaway trade war that soon evolves into a world war.

[pietillidie]

^Here's an example of a (massive) company committing to only dealing with suppliers who pay a living wage by 2030 (which is a genius way of getting PR mileage from not committing to do it for another nine years ).

As an aside, here's another company riding a similar 2030 PR stunt:

Boeing says it will make planes able to fly on 100% biofuel by 2030

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/202 ... el-by-2030

Again, it happening is better than it not happening, I'm just amused at the stunt element.

[Tannin]

China just went seriously over the top, uttering explicit threats against Taiwan. Make no mistake, China intends war. They need to be smacked down hard when they cross the line - and cross the line they will.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-01-28/ ... r/13100738