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The more I reach out to old leftist friends of mine (many of whom helped steer me in the right direction politically), the more I realize how many of them lean tankie. Not too surprising given how many of them found leftism thru Soviet Union memes. 1/
Which is a real shame, I really wish that more of them didn't see countries like China as worth giving even critical support just in the name of opposing the US and keeping a supposed balance of power. 2/
Really reflective of how tankies think in terms of binaries: everything is either for the US or against the US. When the truth is that all countries, even those who claim oppose each other are actively sharing techniques of oppression with each other to crush social movements. 3/
And I find it absurd that anyone would acknowledge that today's China is the complete opposite of communism, a capitalist state in every aspect, yet still think that bc the Chinese govt still dresses itself in some communist rhetoric, it is worth supporting. 4/
The argument usually goes that at least China still has some framework left from a supposedly communist Mao's China (which wasn't communist, btw), so it's closer to achieving some form of actual communism. 5/
Such arguments are completely ignorant of how modern Chinese propaganda is almost entirely based on Chinese nationalism and the supremacy of the Han Chinese race. That drives virtually every issue, from Uyghur genocide, Tibet, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Belt and Road, etc. 6/
Not to mention that the CCP increasingly uses the language of capitalism in its propaganda. Anyone remember how they got annoyed by the Yellow Economic Circle bc it supposedly violated the "principles of the free market"? 7/
Would anyone claim that bc the US has fundamental rights enshrined into its constitution and its rhetoric that the US govt is worth supporting, bc it's closer to some form of liberation? No, and for good reason. 8/
All of this stems from a restrictive binary thinking with a US-centric mindset. Given how blatantly capitalist China is, if they didn't use commie rhetoric, and if US wasn't so hostile to China, I doubt any tankies would shower it with praise. They'd think of it like Singapore 9/
Side note: it is very much worth noting that the parallels btwn Singapore and China are strong, and both govts borrowed rhetoric from and based themselves off each other's govt. Deng even sent dozens of CCP members to SG in the 80s to observe and learn from LKY and the PAP. 10/
But it's essential that we do our best to break free of that binary. As horrible as the US is, it's not the whole picture. We are up against a transnational capitalist class that seeks to divide us with nationalism. 11/
There are more parallels with the average worker in the US and the average worker in China than there are similarities btwn the working class and ruling class of either country. They are exploited in strikingly similar ways. 12/
Yet nationalism teaches you the complete opposite, that you are different from others, unique, and united with the ruling class thru some ethnic or cultural link. And the false sense of difference is exploited by the ruling class. 13/
And all of this nationalism is inherently tied to the state. It's all part of how the state upholds its power. Yet I've heard way too often from friends that the state can be turned to serve the needs of the people. Would like them to find even one example of that happening 14/
The top-down concentration of power in the state directly mirrors that of a capitalist ruling class. That's why states have always defended capitalism. They go hand-in-hand with each other. Abolishing the state is key to abolishing capitalism. 15/
Given all of this, I do really wish that my friends would understand how the holy trinity of oppression (nationalism, the state, and capitalism), as well as the international dynamics that cause states to collaborate. 16/
It's not about picking a different side in the game of nationalism, it's about questioning the game and its rules as a whole. 17/
My perspective on this is informed by being not only Asian American but also Taiwanese. Asian Americans and Taiwanese know firsthand what it's like to be caught btwn the two great powers of the US and China. 18/
Asian Americans know what it's like to be distrusted and never fully accepted by both sides. We know what it's like to never feel we belong in either Asia or the US. We know what it's like to be excluded from two nationalisms that also claim to accept us. 19/
And Taiwanese know what it's like to be constantly threatened by an increasingly aggressive China, while at the same time being repeatedly betrayed by the US, our supposed ally, in a myriad of ways that reduces us to a pawn in the US's geopolitical chess game. 20/
But most importantly, we know both sides of a US/anti-US binary are shit. So we have no choice but to look for alternatives. 21/
In contrast, my friends in question who lean tankie grew up in explicitly capitalist countries like the US and Malaysia, and don't have to deal with being torn apart by the nationalist game. 22/
That doesn't invalidate their experiences, but it does mean that they don't quite understand what I mean when I bring up the things I raise in this thread. 23/
Tho I do understand why they think the things they do. It's hard to break free from the nationalist mindset of supporting one state versus another. Everyone needs a role model to look up to. I myself used to think very much like them, largely out of distaste for the US. 24/
But we can never forget that there is a way forward without having to align ourselves with nationalisms and states. There is a future beyond them, and it is achievable. But we first must move past thinking in those terms if we are to ever be truly free. 25/25
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