CAPITALISM & SOCIALISM

It seems the middle class is scared of a possible indefinite wave of social and economic disruptions. Their instinctive conservatism is kicking in, creating a possible social stasis with no easy resolution.  El estallido social de 2019 hizo que las posturas de los ciudadanos se radicalizaran sobre temas como la inseguridad, lo que llevó a que posturas como la José Antonio Kast, pese a ser muchas veces políticamente incorrectas, se popularizaran de cara a las elecciones presidenciales. Les contamos desde Santiago.

The social outburst of 2019 made citizens’ positions radicalize on issues such as insecurity, which led to positions such as José Antonio Kast’s, despite often being politically incorrect, to become popular in the run-up to the presidential elections. We tell you about it from Santiago.

EDWARD J CURTIN—Despite a treasure trove of new research and information having emerged over the last fifty-seven years, there are many people who still think who killed President John Fitzgerald Kennedy and why are unanswerable questions. They have drunk what Dr. Martin Schotz has called “the waters of uncertainty” that results “in a state of confusion in which anything can be believed but nothing can be known, nothing of significance that is.” 

Then there are others who cling to the Lee Harvey Oswald “lone-nut” explanation proffered by the Warren Commission. 

JEFF J. BROWN—For Westerners and the #MeToo movement, what Peng did was absolutely normal. Take it public, shout it out to the world. Create a media storm to garner attention.

Nevertheless, that is not how it is done in Chinese culture, going back thousands of years. If you want a really good explanation, read The China Trilogy (see below), where during my many years in-country, on a number of occasions I was the accuser and the accused, so I’m speaking from feet-on-the-ground experience.

In China’s Confucian-Daoist-Buddhist society, keeping face and maintaining social stability and economic prosperity for the people takes precedence over individual needs and demands.

PEPE ESCOBAR—Make Trade, Not War: that would be the motto of a Pax Sinica under Xi. The crucial aspect is that Beijing does not aim to replace Pax Americana, which always relied on the Pentagon’s variant of gunboat diplomacy.

The declaration subtly reinforced that Beijing is not interested in becoming a new hegemon. What matters above all is to remove any possible constraints that the outside world may impose over its own internal decisions, and especially over its unique political setup.

The West may embark on hysteria fits over anything – from Tibet and Hong Kong to Xinjiang and Taiwan. It won’t change a thing.

RAMIN MAZAHERI—Many are surprised at how far to the right Biden and the Democratic Party have moved since January 2021 because conservatism (fiscal, political, foreign policy) is the only policy allowed in what is truly a uniparty system, which is the direct result of the forced duopoly. 

Indeed, politically-active Americans would rather rabidly shout at non-believers that the other side is on the side of Satan rather than honestly discuss the obvious pattern of overwhelming similarities in the actions of Republicans and Democrats. Political reporting is far more interesting in France, where at least there’s a multiparty system and proportional (not first-past-the-post, winner-take-all) voting.