Another propaganda piece from the Guardian supposedly countering Chinese propaganda about the current program to eradicate poverty in China and get everyone above the poverty line. It is not only propaganda.
It is cynical, especially in comparison with the neoliberal agenda that is resulting in increased poverty and precarity in the neoliberal world. And in many places around the world, neoliberal policy is displacing disadvantaged people summarily in the quest to exploit resources in their region.
The headline should read, "China to move millions of people from hovels to homes in anti-poverty drive."
Perhaps the author is not consciously writing propaganda but just displaying Western ideological bias and the isolation of Western elites in their bubbles. The result is the same, however.
At least he is writing from on scene and the facts of the report belie the bias.
The Guardian
China to move millions of people from homes in anti-poverty drive
Tom Phillips, from Padangshang village, Yunnan province, PRC
This is communism, capitalism would would leave them in poverty. The Western neoliberal economists would explain how helping the poor could be inflationary, and besides, the poor should work harder if they want to beat poverty.
ReplyDeleteI saw a documentary recently about the Chinese New silk Road. It was narrated by an Englishman so I guess the documentary was British. It first showed you China and the architecture was fabulous. Massive highways for cars, superb high quality trains with beautiful state-of-art train stations. Everything high tech. Then they showed you India and it was just dirt roads with people travelling at about 2 miles per hour on donkeys. Everyone was dressed in rags and the contrast was shocking.
Now get this, the narrator said the difference was because India was a democracy and the government would not move the peasants without their permission, but in China the government is a dictatorship and people just get removed from their land. Do you know, the way they worded it most people would think that China was bad and the India was good. 'Democracy' has been so brainwashed into us even though we hardly have a democracy. You got the impression of cruel communist faceless soldiers in green uniforms with rifles just throwing people out. I couldn't believe how the narrator got away with this propaganda. Everyone could see that china was the best place to live, and yet, they were made to believe that China was bad.
If I find the documentary again I might put it out.