The paragraph in question uses wordplay to poke fun at John Locke, the Chinese Communist Party and American-style capitalism. It requires historical context to understand.
“Communism” describes an economic system, a political party, a political theory, an ideology and so on. China is ruled by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which is a political party. China is “Communist” in the sense it is ruled by the “Communists” [political party]. China was communist [economic system] in the decades after the CCP took power in 1949. However, in recent decades, the CCP has dismantled the communist economic system in favor of a capitalist economic system. Nixon’s 1972 visit to China is a useful landmark for when the communist Chinese Community Party began turning itself into the capitalist Chinese Communist Party.
Today’s China is hands-off when it comes to small-scale business matters. Compared to the United States, there is less government regulation in China of everything except speech, guns and politics. Ironically, China is now more capitalist [economic system] than the United States and the European Union.
That’s the joke poking fun at American-style capitalism and the CCP. What about John Locke?
John Locke is famous for his idea of “natural law”. His idea of “natural law” is not based in science and is therefore not based in nature. It is based on a particular artificial political philosophy. “Natural law” is relevant to the capitalism-communism joke because the capitalist ideology is philosophically entangled with the Enlightenment myth of natural law. I poke fun at John Locke by comparing his idea of “natural law” to what really happens in the absence of intervention by Leviathan (government).
Today’s China is hands-off when it comes to small-scale business matters. Compared to the United States, there is less government regulation in China of everything except speech, guns and politics. Ironically, China is now more capitalist [economic system] than the United States and the European Union.
Isn’t there more regulation of internal movement? People from the country being blocked from moving to the cities, etc.?
Also, while there may be less regulation, it also seems that the government is in general more powerful in China. It has more license to arrest people, shut down businesses, install political operatives in businesses, surveil people, order lockdowns, etc. than western governments, which struggle to cut through their own red tape when they do those things. Or is this a wrong impression?
You’re not wrong. I forgot about the hukou system. It’s also true that China’s government is more involved with large-scale businesses. You have to play more politics to build a business empire in China than in the USA.
Otherwise, especially when it comes down to small fry (which are the majority of businesses), national politics is just one aspect of the business environment. Also important to small businesses is things like paperwork, regulation and—perhaps most importantly—the chance of getting sued. The United States is a very litigious society where you (usually) have to pay high legal fees even if you win. China is less litigious because it is rare for anyone in their right mind to willingly call down attention from the government.
China is not known for its worker protections and environmental regulations. There are far fewer zoning laws in China than the United States. I reckon mundane annoyances are more likely to kill a small business than is a visit from the secret police. (This is not necessarily a bad thing. I like living in a city with breathable air.)
I also suspect organized crime plays a bigger role in China than in the United States for small businesses. This isn’t a good thing, but it does technically fall under “low government involvement”.
The paragraph in question uses wordplay to poke fun at John Locke, the Chinese Communist Party and American-style capitalism. It requires historical context to understand.
“Communism” describes an economic system, a political party, a political theory, an ideology and so on. China is ruled by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which is a political party. China is “Communist” in the sense it is ruled by the “Communists” [political party]. China was communist [economic system] in the decades after the CCP took power in 1949. However, in recent decades, the CCP has dismantled the communist economic system in favor of a capitalist economic system. Nixon’s 1972 visit to China is a useful landmark for when the communist Chinese Community Party began turning itself into the capitalist Chinese Communist Party.
Today’s China is hands-off when it comes to small-scale business matters. Compared to the United States, there is less government regulation in China of everything except speech, guns and politics. Ironically, China is now more capitalist [economic system] than the United States and the European Union.
That’s the joke poking fun at American-style capitalism and the CCP. What about John Locke?
John Locke is famous for his idea of “natural law”. His idea of “natural law” is not based in science and is therefore not based in nature. It is based on a particular artificial political philosophy. “Natural law” is relevant to the capitalism-communism joke because the capitalist ideology is philosophically entangled with the Enlightenment myth of natural law. I poke fun at John Locke by comparing his idea of “natural law” to what really happens in the absence of intervention by Leviathan (government).
Isn’t there more regulation of internal movement? People from the country being blocked from moving to the cities, etc.?
Also, while there may be less regulation, it also seems that the government is in general more powerful in China. It has more license to arrest people, shut down businesses, install political operatives in businesses, surveil people, order lockdowns, etc. than western governments, which struggle to cut through their own red tape when they do those things. Or is this a wrong impression?
You’re not wrong. I forgot about the hukou system. It’s also true that China’s government is more involved with large-scale businesses. You have to play more politics to build a business empire in China than in the USA.
Otherwise, especially when it comes down to small fry (which are the majority of businesses), national politics is just one aspect of the business environment. Also important to small businesses is things like paperwork, regulation and—perhaps most importantly—the chance of getting sued. The United States is a very litigious society where you (usually) have to pay high legal fees even if you win. China is less litigious because it is rare for anyone in their right mind to willingly call down attention from the government.
China is not known for its worker protections and environmental regulations. There are far fewer zoning laws in China than the United States. I reckon mundane annoyances are more likely to kill a small business than is a visit from the secret police. (This is not necessarily a bad thing. I like living in a city with breathable air.)
I also suspect organized crime plays a bigger role in China than in the United States for small businesses. This isn’t a good thing, but it does technically fall under “low government involvement”.
[Edit: Fixed typo.]
According to the World Economic Forum website:
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/05/why-chinas-state-owned-companies-still-have-a-key-role-to-play/