But I do wonder if a lot of these CIA/State Dept ghouls actually believe their own bullshit. Ultimately, these agencies are made of just... people. Nearly all of whom likely fit somewhere on that neoliberal/center-right line. We tend to think of them as cynical geniuses who totally understand realpolitik, Marxism, materialism, etc. They don't though. I think it's very possible a lot of these people actually believe capitalism and liberal democracy will always win in the end. Vis-a-vis China, this means they might genuinely believe the CPC isn't actually popular or that communism must mean no food so they are eventually destined to collapse. They probably think what happened to the USSR must also eventually happen to the PRC.
They're too dumb to realize that what happened to the USSR is precisely why it won't happen in China. They saw the actual results, and thus won't be as willing to fold.
Why did the Soviet Union disintegrate? Why did the Communist Party of the Soviet Union fall to pieces? An important reason is that in the ideological domain, competition is fierce! To completely repudiate the historical experience of the Soviet Union, to repudiate the history of the CPSU, to repudiate Lenin, to repudiate Stalin was to wreck chaos in Soviet ideology and engage in historical nihilism. It caused Party organizations at all levels to have barely any function whatsoever. It robbed the Party of its leadership of the military. In the end the CPSU—as great a Party as it was—scattered like a flock of frightened beasts! The Soviet Union—as great a country as it was—shattered into a dozen pieces. This is a lesson from the past!
Cope is a hell of a drug.
But I do wonder if a lot of these CIA/State Dept ghouls actually believe their own bullshit. Ultimately, these agencies are made of just... people. Nearly all of whom likely fit somewhere on that neoliberal/center-right line. We tend to think of them as cynical geniuses who totally understand realpolitik, Marxism, materialism, etc. They don't though. I think it's very possible a lot of these people actually believe capitalism and liberal democracy will always win in the end. Vis-a-vis China, this means they might genuinely believe the CPC isn't actually popular or that communism must mean no food so they are eventually destined to collapse. They probably think what happened to the USSR must also eventually happen to the PRC.
They're too dumb to realize that what happened to the USSR is precisely why it won't happen in China. They saw the actual results, and thus won't be as willing to fold.
—Xi Jinping, 2013
:xi-shining: