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by _b
1697 days ago
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You might be conflating justifying the ostensible purpose of a policy with justifying its likely effects, and perhaps justifying its means. I think reducing inequality is great. But do you think Mr. Xi's initiative will meaningfully reduce inequality, or will it mostly be used to bolster Mr. Xi politically? Do you have any worries about Mr. Xi keeping companies on a tight leash with the threat of regulatory hassles if they don't appease him? I think it is a mistake to view these coerced donations as independent from Mr. Xi curtailing the independence of tech companies. Mr. Xi views keeping party leadership over all forms of work in China as essential to the survival of his politically repressive regime (see a summary of "Xi_Jinping_Thought."). No doubt having the headline cause making the tech companies submit being reducing inequality is more politically palatable than, say, further crushing criticism of the government, although reduced corporate independence seems likely to lead to that too. |
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I do understand (and agree) with the fact that chances are Xi is not doing this out of the goodness of his heart but mostly due to self-interest to strengthen his position. However, if we separate the person from the action I still believe this measure will potentially benefit more people than it hurts and is in my opinion a positive one. Companies should always come second to people, and not just when it comes to monetary policies, but also environmental, etc.