this post was submitted on 02 Jun 2025
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Fuck Cars

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Yes I know China is also technically capitalist but you understand the idea

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[–] NaibofTabr 108 points 10 months ago (5 children)

right right... which part of China is communist again? is it the permanent oligarchy? the reeducation camps? the low-paying factory jobs that make the owner class rich?

[–] 52fighters@lemmy.sdf.org 34 points 10 months ago (1 children)

China is about a fascist as they come. One virtue doesn't eliminate 100 vices.

[–] NaibofTabr 20 points 10 months ago (2 children)

Say what you want about the PRC, they make the trains run on time.

(the secret ingredient is slave labor!)

[–] regul@lemm.ee 5 points 10 months ago (1 children)

The US has slave labor and all they do is pick cotton and staff call centers. If I'm living in a state with slave labor either way I'd probably take the one with the trains.

[–] technocrit@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 10 months ago

(the secret ingredient is slave labor!)

Same as any colonizer.

[–] regul@lemm.ee 27 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Well we've got all that in the US already, so can we just do the version where we get trains in addition to the other stuff, instead of just the other stuff?

[–] NaibofTabr 17 points 10 months ago

Ha ha, no. Petroleum lobby needs a new pair of shoes.

[–] Goldholz@lemmy.blahaj.zone 10 points 10 months ago (1 children)

"Reeducation camps". You spelled concentration camps wrong. Greetings from germany

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[–] infinitesunrise@slrpnk.net 8 points 10 months ago (1 children)

China's nationwide passenger rail network doesn't really care if you have a valid point or not.

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[–] HappyFrog@lemmy.blahaj.zone 4 points 10 months ago (1 children)

I was reading the post as a reply to republicans who are saying china is bad because of communism.

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[–] Goldholz@lemmy.blahaj.zone 32 points 10 months ago (3 children)

China is as communist as the vatican is good for kids

But sure let us be blinded by propaganda and ignore that the trains in china are held together by ducktape, rails are unsafe and got build with slave labor :)

[–] mojofrododojo@lemmy.world 7 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (1 children)

nd ignore that the trains in china are held together by ducktape, rails are unsafe and got build with slave labor :)

?? I don't love china but ignoring the enormous amount of investment they've made is silly. that's what it is, investment. The amount of roads and rail in the last 20 years should give anyone pause, instead of discounting it.

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[–] GoodOleAmerika@lemmy.world 6 points 10 months ago (3 children)

Don't think u have travelled to china. Their rail system is fantastic. All out train in US looks like came from steel mill from Philadelphia. Boxy trash and slow af

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[–] nandeEbisu@lemmy.world 1 points 10 months ago

The rails are good, but a bit rushed planning wise. Haven't been to China, but the biggest complaints I've heard are more "they stuck a station in a super inconvenient spot so they could show progress on the project"

The trains and track seem to have been well built though.

[–] Justas@sh.itjust.works 25 points 10 months ago

Spain is better at building high speed rail infrastructure than China is. The problem is not the economic system, it's what lobby groups are in charge.

[–] bort@aussie.zone 21 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

Now do Vietnam vs Japan or Switzerland

[–] Donkter@lemmy.world 19 points 10 months ago (3 children)

And all the libertarians cry about is how it's not real free markets and that's why we don't have nice trains and public education etc. not understanding that it's government funding and regulations that's just barely keeping everything (pun intended) on the rails in the first place.

[–] InternetCitizen2@lemmy.world 27 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Libertarians are like house cats. Completely dependent on a system they neither understand nor appreciate and fiercely confident of their own independence.

[–] SpaceScotsman@startrek.website 4 points 10 months ago

fiercely confident of their own independence

In fairness, if you let the average cat out into nature it would be fine. Dump the average libertarian into nature and they wont last the night.

[–] blarghly@lemmy.world 7 points 10 months ago (1 children)

I've never heard any libertarian say the free market would provide trains. Maybe an ancap would go so far...

[–] stepan@lemmy.cafe 2 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Ancaps say so pretty often

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[–] untakenusername@sh.itjust.works 2 points 10 months ago

well if the govt didn't push cars so much, there would be more trains

[–] magic_lobster_party@fedia.io 18 points 10 months ago (1 children)

It’s more like American car centric culture vs rest of the world.

[–] callyral@pawb.social 3 points 10 months ago (1 children)

well not the entire rest of the world... source: living in Brazil

[–] magic_lobster_party@fedia.io 2 points 10 months ago

I see Brazil the same way as an artist going on world tour

[–] caboose2006@lemm.ee 18 points 10 months ago

We should also put "communism" in quotations too.

[–] Melonpoly@lemmy.world 16 points 10 months ago (8 children)

I guess the rest of Asia and Europe don't count?

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[–] lemmy12369@midwest.social 14 points 10 months ago

I’d trade all parking spots for more trains in my city.

[–] tonytins@pawb.social 9 points 10 months ago (1 children)

As much as I love Amtrak, I have to agree.

[–] blarghly@lemmy.world 3 points 10 months ago (3 children)

I always find it strange when I find someone in the wild who likes Amtrak. I have only heard and experienced horror stories.

[–] infinitesunrise@slrpnk.net 7 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

They've been solid for me. I used to take the Acela between NYC and Baltimore all the time. It was faster than flying when comparing door-to-door times, cheaper, no fucking TSA, and it had a bar car. Also took one from Portland to BC recently which was legit.

[–] tonytins@pawb.social 3 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (1 children)

I've ridden on Amtrak's business class on the NEC or sleepers outside thbide corridor since I was a child. So, I have a bit of a bias.

[–] themadcodger@kbin.earth 4 points 10 months ago

I took the Empire Builder from Seattle to Chicago, and then I forget which through W Va up to Philly. It was a great few days watching the countryside roll by.

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[–] remon@ani.social 8 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Really, your example for the "free market" transportation in the US is Amtrack? ... in a car community?

This is just a tanky shitpost.

[–] destructdisc@lemmy.world 4 points 10 months ago (2 children)

In an anti car community. Considering the US proudly proclaims itself the champion of the free market, yeah, it's only fitting to use Amtrak as the example.

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[–] TheDemonBuer@lemmy.world 7 points 10 months ago (1 children)

For some reason, people still act like capitalism and socialism (or communism) are mutually exclusive, that an economy must be one or the other. But if you look at essentially every national economy on the planet today, they are all some mix of the socialist mode of production (when the means of production are owned by the government, or a group of workers, or a community) and the capitalist mode of production (when the means of production are owned by a private individual or group of investors, operating for a profit). Almost no economy is exclusively one or the other.

It is true that in most countries with robust high speed rail, there is significant government involvement, like planning and building infrastructure, subsidies, or just providing rail travel as a public service. I definitely think that for a national rail service network to work, you need to do some planning. Here in the US, government and planning are bad words, but clearly they needn't be.

[–] technocrit@lemmy.dbzer0.com 7 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

Socialism and communism are not when the state does stuff.

Socialism/communism is workers owning the means of production. This is exceedingly rare and constantly attacked whenever it exists. Almost every state is overwhelmingly capitalist. That's a primary purpose of the state.

[–] Someonelol@lemmy.dbzer0.com 7 points 10 months ago

Long term rule by a single party dedicated to improving infrastructure would do that. Let's not kid ourselves that the CCP is all sunshine and rainbows though.

[–] demizerone@lemmy.world 4 points 10 months ago

We haVe $100k+ SuVs!

[–] fenpy@lemmy.world 2 points 10 months ago

USA, the biggest commies then, and now.

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