[jeswin]

> Their state is powerful but it only works because the citizenry are decently happy with their lives getting better over the last decades

China has had a billion for more than 40 years now; the only signficant challenge to the CCP's dictatorship was at Tiananmen in 1989. Communism has developed fairly sophisticated tools to help retain control; all the way up from textbooks in schools to violence as needed.

[coffeebeqn]

I know. But if you look at the standard of living for the average Chinese over the last 40 years it is no surprise that there hasn’t been any major upheaval. Especially coming off of Mao’s deranged dark ages-level rule.

It’s really been more of a technocracy for most of that time. Deng for example was no Mao or Xi