Oriphiel |
08-04-2018 07:38 PM |
Quote:
Originally Posted by elphenor
(Post 1983912)
the end result is nobody scoffs at China anymore on the global market
not saying Mao was justified, no such thing as a good dictator or a good dictatorship
it's just worth considering prior to Mao people in China were already starving if they didn't get murdered by the Japanese, capitalism never did them any favors
capitalism benefits those at the top whether that's people or nations
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China has been Mercantilist throughout most of its history, with much of that history spent as one of the dominant nations of the world. The White Lotus rebelllion (which killed almost as many people as the combined fatalities of WWII) that started the Ming dynasty decimated the population, and the extreme conservative policies and de-emphasis on international trade shifted China away from Mercantilism, and set them behind the rest of the world, leading to bullying from other world powers (esp. Britain).
Japan, being much more open to modernization and Mercantilism in the post Tokugawa years, dealt some heavy blows to China early on in the occupation, but China had been catching up in the post Qing years as a Republic, and ultimately put up more of a fight than Japan expected, esp. when the warlord/generals and the Communists teamed up to mount an extensive defense.
When Mao pushed the Republic to Taiwan, he destroyed China's infrastructure and economy (not to mention culture with the Great Leap Forward), leading to a drastic decline in the average quality of life compared to the Republic years, and even the late Qing.
China only returned to its position as a proper world power when Mao died, and subsequent leaders turned the nation back to Mercantilism.
China has had some extreme highs and lows, the highs usually coinciding with periods of open trade and an emphasis on Capitalism (Han and Tang dynasties being the prime examples), and the lows coinciding with conservative policies, a lack of free trade, and foreign occupation (Early Marxist years and the Yuan dynasty are examples of this, and the Jin following the Three Kingdoms Era).
Sorry if there are any errors. I'm typing this off the top of my head on my phone. :laughing:
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