This argument chain was on whether or not the proles are empowered under Chinese capitalism (they aren’t) not whether or not their standard of living is above $2/day.
Everyone who responded to my initial comment was getting caught up on the existence of billionaires in Chinese society, so that’s what I responded to.
As to whether or not Chinese people are empowered under the Chinese system, let’s ask them their feelings instead of projecting our assumptions onto them from the other side of the world!
People’s participation in top-level decision-making
Just after the Chinese New Year in 2022, citizen representatives from Hongqiao subdistrict in Changning district of Shanghai started to “give their opinions to the government”. It had been seven years since Hongqiao subdistrict began seeking public opinions on legislative and community affairs from representatives of citizens and institutions. As early as 2015, the Legislative Affairs Commission under the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress established the first community-level legislative contact point at Hongqiao subdistrict.
Zhu Guoping, a NPC delegate, is an intermediary of the community-level legislative contact point based at Hongqiao subdistrict. When the NPC Standing Committee was selecting contact points for community-level legislation in Shanghai, it was she who strongly recommended Hongqiao subdistrict. The Gubei community under the subdistrict is home to residents from more than 50 countries and regions, perfectly representing Shanghai as an “international community”.
Behind a community-level legislative contact point are more than 310 intermediaries coming from all walks of life. The contact points cover 16 neighborhoods and 50 institutions within the subdistrict. Once the intermediaries receive their survey questions, they solicit opinions from the public through letters, interviews, and forums. For every new draft of law, at least four forums are held.
The community-level legislative contact point has become a “direct access” for people to participate in legislation. “With the establishment of the contact points, the NPC Standing Committee can directly hear the real community voices. Many of the suggestions made by residents are adopted. We listen to the people’s voices, meet their demands, and protect their rights and interests. This is a big step forward in our legislation,” said Zhu Guoping.
This is just a small part of a very informative piece. The Chinese system actively seeks to integrate public opinion and average people’s voices at all levels of decision making, empowering them far more than any other democracy on the planet. This is called “whole-process democracy”, and is the only system of its kind and scale where the citizens’ participation in their government doesn’t stop at selecting a representative.
That’s literally what a town hall style meeting is. Every Western democracy does that. It’s the bare fucking minimum. It’s very strange that you’re treating that as radical or an innovation.
Everyone who responded to my initial comment was getting caught up on the existence of billionaires in Chinese society, so that’s what I responded to.
As to whether or not Chinese people are empowered under the Chinese system, let’s ask them their feelings instead of projecting our assumptions onto them from the other side of the world!
This is just a small part of a very informative piece. The Chinese system actively seeks to integrate public opinion and average people’s voices at all levels of decision making, empowering them far more than any other democracy on the planet. This is called “whole-process democracy”, and is the only system of its kind and scale where the citizens’ participation in their government doesn’t stop at selecting a representative.
That’s literally what a town hall style meeting is. Every Western democracy does that. It’s the bare fucking minimum. It’s very strange that you’re treating that as radical or an innovation.