The real Three Gorges Dam was finished TODAY

[Fruit Pie Jones]

The project is extremely questionable (on so many levels; technical, political, archeological, financial, social)

Let's not forget ecological.

The idea of damning the river goes back a lot farther than the current regime (or even the Communist Party).

Perhaps now that the river is dammed, it won't be damned quite as often, though. At least until the dam breaks.

 

[microbe]

The project is extremely questionable (on so many levels; technical, political, archeological, financial, social) but the Chinese are high on engineering accomplishments at this point in their history.

Yeah..I feel like Great Wall again. Sure you could do it, but all it did in the end was pretty much a wonder for the history to have.

OK maybe it's not a right analogy. After all the great wall did have some use to defend the country..

 

[ThERat]

I always wonder what you should call China. It's officially communist, but has absolutely nothing to do with communism. By the way, Chinese mentality and communism is in my mind incompatible. Chinese are very much family oriented (not towards society though) and making money is the essence of their existence.

The regime we see now is very weird. Manchester capitalism with a dictatorship. I guess it's the dream for all those multinationals. A country to milk with no opposition or labor rights movement. A bit similar to the country I reside in now

 

[gettingfat]

I always wonder what you should call China. It's officially communist, but has absolutely nothing to do with communism. By the way, Chinese mentality and communism is in my mind incompatible. Chinese are very much family oriented (not towards society though) and making money is the essence of their existence.

The regime we see now is very weird. Manchester capitalism with a dictatorship. I guess it's the dream for all those multinationals. A country to milk with no opposition or labor rights movement. A bit similar to the country I reside in now

If China can be as clean and organized as Singapore, I have no objection.

 

[Severus]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Truronian
Does that mean England's Three Gorges Dam is gonna turn into gold?

I told you we should have used our Great Engineer on it...

What are you going to put in it? I didnt think you had any water left down there

(From a scot who would gladly swap 365 days of continual rain for a drought)

 

[microbe]

I always wonder what you should call China.

Right. According to Marxism, Communism is the ultimate regime, superceding Capitalism, and only when the production is very strong could it happen.

Right or wrong, China wanted to jump to Communism directly from Feudalism, skipping the Capitalism stage. So it's against Marxism.

I think they realized the mistake of big leap, and are doing things more rationally. After so many years of propaganda for communism, they'd have to back out step by step. I think they are heading toward the right direction.

 

[sgrig]

Right. According to Marxism, Communism is the ultimate regime, superceding Capitalism, and only when the production is very strong could it happen.

Right or wrong, China wanted to jump to Communism directly from Feudalism, skipping the Capitalism stage. So it's against Marxism.

That's the problem with all so-called "communist" countries. Marx's theories had developed capitalist countries such as Germany in mind, but found most support in backward agrarian countries such as Russia and China in first half of 20th century. Hence no wonder that "communist" regimes either fail or are forced to change.

 

[picardathon]

Not to mention that the revolution of the proletariat requires humanity to run out of ideas, creating a strict class system in the capitalist society.
Marx didn't count on Bill Gates getting his money OR trying to help the poor with it.

 

[microbe]

No, communism doesn't work because its a stupid idea. People are inherently selfish. Why should I bother working if its not going to benefit me?

Communism doesn't create a utopia, it requires one to exist.

Utopia today doesn't mean Utopia tomorrow.

Marxists believe that when the economy is fully developed, people no longer need to work for a living. They work because they enjoy it. And thus there is no room for greed as everyone shares all the wealth in the country, which is enough for them.

It's not possible today (and maybe impossible forever), but IF it's possible, then Communism comes.

When I watch Star Wars, I feel the empire looks like Communism.

 

[GiantRaven]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Truronian
Does that mean England's Three Gorges Dam is gonna turn into gold?



What are you going to put in it? I didnt think you had any water left down there

(From a scot who would gladly swap 365 days of continual rain for a drought)

Shh, it's been raining like mad down here

 

[acidsatyr]

Just wait and see what will China grow into in a few decades.

 

[ThERat]

Olleus is correct. Communism is not a model for this type of human mankind we have.
People would not work for the good of society. Humans tend to be pretty selfish, greed is what drives us. If one knows that they can make a lot of money, then they would work hard. Who would work hard if the benefit is for the whole society?

Looking at real life, it just doesn't work.

And the models that were created in the name of communism are not really something I admire. Communism was pretty quickly turned into something pretty facist, though with a different name and image, but at the core not very different.

Unfortuately, the alternatives we see today, neo-liberalism combined with globalization make me shudder as well. The dream our parents generation lived in the 70's seemed so sweet...their dream of a social and kind society, full employment and flower power...

 

[naterator]

Marxists believe that when the economy is fully developed, people no longer need to work for a living. They work because they enjoy it. And thus there is no room for greed as everyone shares all the wealth in the country, which is enough for them.

ahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!

 

[Distraction]

I heard the Three Gorges Dam may have a lot of problems with sediment. You know, sand and dirt clogging the generators. Any confirmation to this?

 

[picardathon]

That dam is a disaster waiting to happen, there are already fissures forming in the dam and they haven't even finished it yet. Plus the regime built it in an earthquake prone area so there's some possibility that China would lose 9% of its energy in a single day if they start relying on the dam.
Basically China isn't really communism. Its more like Feudalism, the palace being more interested in itself that the people while local officials run the country. Unfortunately these people tend to be incompetent greedy bigots, leading to China's human rights issues.

 

[salty]

oh please that sounds more like Republican America.

 

[jpowers]

China is currently transforming towards more marketorientation and more human rights - still I doubt that 1,3 million people could be forced to leave home in any other country

You mean besides Russia, Iraq, Afghanistan, India, Pakistan, Germany, Austria, Poland, Czechoslovakia, or Ukraine? True, some of these go all the way back 70 years or so into ancient history, but if you don't think any modern government could and would forcibly move 1.3 million people on a whim, well, just wait until they find oil underneath South Central LA.

 

[jpowers]

Yeah..I feel like Great Wall again. Sure you could do it, but all it did in the end was pretty much a wonder for the history to have.

OK maybe it's not a right analogy. After all the great wall did have some use to defend the country..

The dynasty that built the Great Wall lasted 4 years after its completion, when some bribed guard let the whole Manchurian Army through. Fat lot of good this dam will do when some fish bribe the hyrdo-controller...

 

[Jafendel]

I hope that the wonder video Hu Jintao sees has no artifacts

 

[picardathon]

Well, 1.3 million displaced isn't that big a deal, in comparison to the deaths caused by the great wall, the rebuilding of the great wall, the connection of China's two major rivers (I think one is the Yangtze but I'm not sure of the other one) and the failed invasions of Japan ordered by Kublai Khan which annihialated the population of Korea.
The whole reason China is able to accomplish these exercises in futility is because they have the most abusable peasant population in human history.