Roland Boer's Blog, page 9

Capitalist eugenics compared with socialism’s ‘no one is left behind’

To add to the earlier diagram of comparisons between capitalist and socialist responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, another stark difference is emerging: capitalist eugenics versus socialisms no one is left behind. Capitalist eugenics: Not to put too fine a point on it, from an entirely disinterested economic perspective, COVID-19 might even prove mildly beneficial in Continue reading Capitalist eugenics compared with socialisms no one is left behind

Trains are now the safer option for moving freight between China and Europe

While we see quite a number of plague ships both passenger and navy on the high seas and trying to find a port, and while cargo planes are in high demand and short supply, trains are becoming the safest option during a pandemic. In an earlier post, I noted the exponential growth of Continue reading Trains are now the safer option for moving freight between China and Europe

Debunking the myth of the Wuhan seafood market, part 2

Following on from my initial post on this topic, some further and very interesting reading. More and more scientists are now saying: the virus came into the market not from the market. Please check this initial study from 24 January, 2020, which was the first of its kind and published by Chinese scientists in The Continue reading Debunking the myth of the Wuhan seafood market, part 2

Poverty is not socialism: China’s poverty alleviation back on track in 2020

In 1980, Deng Xiaoping observed: Poverty is not socialism, socialism means eliminating poverty. In 2013, Xi Jinping was visiting a poverty-stricken village Shibadong among the Miao minority in Hunan province and suggested that the approach to eradicating poverty was to keep track of every household and individual in poverty to verify that their Continue reading Poverty is not socialism: Chinas poverty alleviation back on track in 2020

A useful hour to spend while in lock-down

As more and more people around the world are confined indoors, it may be a challenge to find things to do. Instead of wasting your time on social media or consuming what passes for news these days, this hour-long presentation by Vision China is worth a viewing. It was organised by China Daily and Tsinghua Continue reading A useful hour to spend while in lock-down

A missing calculation: COVID-19 infections in terms of percentage of population

In this article by John Ross, a senior fellow at the Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies at Renmin University of China, he points out that a missing calculation of the numbers of the COVID-19 pandemic is in terms of percentage of population. For those of you like me who keep checking the figures, they are Continue reading A missing calculation: COVID-19 infections in terms of percentage of population

New publication: Seeking a Xiaokang Society: Deng Xiaoping and the Reinterpretation of the Confucian Tradition in Chinese Marxism

This article was published in January of this year, just as the first signs of the pandemic to come were emerging in China. It seems even more pertinent now in light of what is happening around the world. It is called, Seeking a Xiaokang Society: Deng Xiaoping and the Reinterpretation of the Confucian Tradition in Continue reading New publication: Seeking a Xiaokang Society: Deng Xiaoping and the Reinterpretation of the Confucian Tradition in Chinese Marxism

The Grand Bazaar in Xinjiang’s capital, Urumqi, reopens after China controls COVID-19

Last year, Xinjiang Autonomous Region posted one of the highest economic growth rates in the world, at about 20 percent. This is a fundamental realisation of the Chinese Marxist approach to human rights (see here and here), in which the right to socio-economic wellbeing is the core. Further, Xinjiang has seen no terrorist acts for Continue reading The Grand Bazaar in Xinjiangs capital, Urumqi, reopens after China controls COVID-19

The sunset of the West: Why the old Cold War propaganda is not working anymore

It is quite noticeable that the effort to resuscitate some old Cold War propaganda in a few small corners of the world the zero-sum lagards is failing rather miserably. I have been intrigued and, of course, encouraged by this development. Some readers may have encountered these efforts, with an evil Russia targetted, or Continue reading The sunset of the West: Why the old Cold War propaganda is not working anymore

Debunking the myth of the Wuhan seafood market: multiple origins of COVID-19

The scientific research becomes more intriguing day by day. The early narrative that was spun focussed on a wet market in Wuhan, then turned to bats and pangolins and so forth, but no conclusive link has been found. These all turned out to be hypotheses at best, not that some outlets repeated these speculations thousands Continue reading Debunking the myth of the Wuhan seafood market: multiple origins of COVID-19