this post was submitted on 02 Jun 2025
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Fuck Cars

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Yes I know China is also technically capitalist but you understand the idea

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[–] fenpy@lemmy.world 2 points 6 days ago

USA, the biggest commies then, and now.

[–] NaibofTabr@infosec.pub 108 points 1 week ago (6 children)

right right... which part of China is communist again? is it the permanent oligarchy? the reeducation camps? the low-paying factory jobs that make the owner class rich?

[–] regul@lemm.ee 31 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Well we've got all that in the US already, so can we just do the version where we get trains in addition to the other stuff, instead of just the other stuff?

[–] NaibofTabr@infosec.pub 19 points 1 week ago

Ha ha, no. Petroleum lobby needs a new pair of shoes.

[–] 52fighters@lemmy.sdf.org 30 points 1 week ago (2 children)

China is about a fascist as they come. One virtue doesn't eliminate 100 vices.

[–] NaibofTabr@infosec.pub 17 points 1 week ago (3 children)

Say what you want about the PRC, they make the trains run on time.

(the secret ingredient is slave labor!)

[–] regul@lemm.ee 8 points 1 week ago (1 children)

The US has slave labor and all they do is pick cotton and staff call centers. If I'm living in a state with slave labor either way I'd probably take the one with the trains.

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[–] infinitesunrise@slrpnk.net 9 points 1 week ago (1 children)

China's nationwide passenger rail network doesn't really care if you have a valid point or not.

[–] NaibofTabr@infosec.pub 1 points 6 days ago

Yes, comrade, we have the best trains. They are most efficient for getting workers to the labor camps. We must work hard to build the glorious future for ~~dear leader~~ our people!

[–] Goldholz@lemmy.blahaj.zone 7 points 1 week ago (1 children)

"Reeducation camps". You spelled concentration camps wrong. Greetings from germany

[–] NaibofTabr@infosec.pub 1 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago)

Potato, tomato...

Concentration camp is where you go when you really need to focus on learning to be a better ~~wage slave~~ ~~party member~~ ~~patriot~~ ~~nationalist lunatic~~ citizen.

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[–] Goldholz@lemmy.blahaj.zone 29 points 1 week ago (5 children)

China is as communist as the vatican is good for kids

But sure let us be blinded by propaganda and ignore that the trains in china are held together by ducktape, rails are unsafe and got build with slave labor :)

[–] nandeEbisu@lemmy.world 1 points 6 days ago

The rails are good, but a bit rushed planning wise. Haven't been to China, but the biggest complaints I've heard are more "they stuck a station in a super inconvenient spot so they could show progress on the project"

The trains and track seem to have been well built though.

[–] GoodOleAmerika@lemmy.world 9 points 1 week ago (3 children)

Don't think u have travelled to china. Their rail system is fantastic. All out train in US looks like came from steel mill from Philadelphia. Boxy trash and slow af

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[–] BrainInABox@lemmy.ml 8 points 1 week ago (2 children)

trains in china are held together by ducktape, rails are unsafe and got build with slave labor :)

Speaking of being blinded by propaganda...

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[–] mojofrododojo@lemmy.world 8 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (1 children)

nd ignore that the trains in china are held together by ducktape, rails are unsafe and got build with slave labor :)

?? I don't love china but ignoring the enormous amount of investment they've made is silly. that's what it is, investment. The amount of roads and rail in the last 20 years should give anyone pause, instead of discounting it.

[–] OrteilGenou@lemmy.world 1 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago)

To be fair, they played a significant part in building American railroads too, so that original point is a bit off to begin with

[–] Cowbee@lemmy.ml 4 points 1 week ago (1 children)

China is a Socialist country run by a Communist party, which is why the overwhelming majority of major Communist orgs recognize it as such. The economy is dominated by the public sector, which controls the large majority of key industries and large firms. They aren't fully developed post-scarcity Communist yet, but they are developing through Socialism.

Further, Chinese infrastructure is good. The rails are safe and the trains aren't held together with duct tape, and they aren't made with slave labor. This is just chauvanism.

[–] will_steal_your_username@lemmy.blahaj.zone 8 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (3 children)

They are not socialist in the slightest. That requires the workers to own the means of production, which they do not.

Edit: To expand on this companies are organized the same way as in capitalism because they are capitalist. Workers at the bottom, management in the middle, and rich capitalists at the top.

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[–] Justas@sh.itjust.works 23 points 1 week ago (2 children)

Spain is better at building high speed rail infrastructure than China is. The problem is not the economic system, it's what lobby groups are in charge.

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[–] Donkter@lemmy.world 22 points 1 week ago (3 children)

And all the libertarians cry about is how it's not real free markets and that's why we don't have nice trains and public education etc. not understanding that it's government funding and regulations that's just barely keeping everything (pun intended) on the rails in the first place.

[–] InternetCitizen2@lemmy.world 27 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Libertarians are like house cats. Completely dependent on a system they neither understand nor appreciate and fiercely confident of their own independence.

fiercely confident of their own independence

In fairness, if you let the average cat out into nature it would be fine. Dump the average libertarian into nature and they wont last the night.

[–] blarghly@lemmy.world 7 points 1 week ago (2 children)

I've never heard any libertarian say the free market would provide trains. Maybe an ancap would go so far...

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[–] bort@aussie.zone 21 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

Now do Vietnam vs Japan or Switzerland

[–] magic_lobster_party@fedia.io 18 points 1 week ago (2 children)

It’s more like American car centric culture vs rest of the world.

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[–] lemmy12369@midwest.social 17 points 1 week ago

I’d trade all parking spots for more trains in my city.

[–] caboose2006@lemm.ee 17 points 1 week ago

We should also put "communism" in quotations too.

[–] Melonpoly@lemmy.world 15 points 1 week ago (10 children)

I guess the rest of Asia and Europe don't count?

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[–] tonytins@pawb.social 10 points 1 week ago (5 children)

As much as I love Amtrak, I have to agree.

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[–] remon@ani.social 9 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Really, your example for the "free market" transportation in the US is Amtrack? ... in a car community?

This is just a tanky shitpost.

[–] destructdisc@lemmy.world 4 points 1 week ago (2 children)

In an anti car community. Considering the US proudly proclaims itself the champion of the free market, yeah, it's only fitting to use Amtrak as the example.

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[–] TheDemonBuer@lemmy.world 6 points 1 week ago (2 children)

For some reason, people still act like capitalism and socialism (or communism) are mutually exclusive, that an economy must be one or the other. But if you look at essentially every national economy on the planet today, they are all some mix of the socialist mode of production (when the means of production are owned by the government, or a group of workers, or a community) and the capitalist mode of production (when the means of production are owned by a private individual or group of investors, operating for a profit). Almost no economy is exclusively one or the other.

It is true that in most countries with robust high speed rail, there is significant government involvement, like planning and building infrastructure, subsidies, or just providing rail travel as a public service. I definitely think that for a national rail service network to work, you need to do some planning. Here in the US, government and planning are bad words, but clearly they needn't be.

[–] Cowbee@lemmy.ml 14 points 1 week ago (8 children)

Social programs are not Socialism. The government doing stuff is not Socialism. You cannot take aspects of a society out of their context and analyze them discretely. The United States does not have a "Socialist" millitary. Socialism is a mode of production determined by public ownership being the principle aspect of the economy, ie large firms and key industries being firmly public, as opposed to Capitalism where private ownership is the principle aspect.

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[–] technocrit@lemmy.dbzer0.com 7 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

Socialism and communism are not when the state does stuff.

Socialism/communism is workers owning the means of production. This is exceedingly rare and constantly attacked whenever it exists. Almost every state is overwhelmingly capitalist. That's a primary purpose of the state.

[–] Someonelol@lemmy.dbzer0.com 5 points 1 week ago

Long term rule by a single party dedicated to improving infrastructure would do that. Let's not kid ourselves that the CCP is all sunshine and rainbows though.

[–] demizerone@lemmy.world 4 points 1 week ago

We haVe $100k+ SuVs!

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