In China, most people equate being a communist with being a party member. Being communist isn’t just some kind of label you associate yourself with, like in the West. I know from first-hand experience, because telling people I’m a socialist/communist in China prompts them to ask me whether I’m a party member. The average communist in the West can’t hold a candle against the dedication and sacrifice of cadres in China. Heck, even people that aren’t communists are often enrolled into semester long programs that require them to listen to socialist thought every weekday for 2 hours a day, all because their work requires it (due to receiving government funds, or working on projects that directly influence the wellbeing of others -> i.e. creating a private-sector web platform that harvests user data, which it can only use for the good of society).
This is why I’m kind of reluctant to call myself a communist, and when asked, usually describe my politics as “I hold communist ideas,” or “I think the Juche Idea is correct.” (I used to describe myself more generally as a “socialist patriot,” i.e., patriotic for the peoples of this country and their wellbeing, not the American goverment and the American ideology – but then certain rightists got on that train and kind of ruined the concept).
In China, most people equate being a communist with being a party member. Being communist isn’t just some kind of label you associate yourself with, like in the West. I know from first-hand experience, because telling people I’m a socialist/communist in China prompts them to ask me whether I’m a party member. The average communist in the West can’t hold a candle against the dedication and sacrifice of cadres in China. Heck, even people that aren’t communists are often enrolled into semester long programs that require them to listen to socialist thought every weekday for 2 hours a day, all because their work requires it (due to receiving government funds, or working on projects that directly influence the wellbeing of others -> i.e. creating a private-sector web platform that harvests user data, which it can only use for the good of society).
This is why I’m kind of reluctant to call myself a communist, and when asked, usually describe my politics as “I hold communist ideas,” or “I think the Juche Idea is correct.” (I used to describe myself more generally as a “socialist patriot,” i.e., patriotic for the peoples of this country and their wellbeing, not the American goverment and the American ideology – but then certain rightists got on that train and kind of ruined the concept).
Okay so why tf am I doing this for free?