Why China cannot abandon communism 

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It's kind of crazy the entire earth is like a centuries long real time strategy game where we are alive for a few turns.

The most stressful part of writing a caspian episode must be figuring out the smart one liner in the end..

I like your analysis of why the coastal provinces need the interior. Another one: controlling Tibet is controlling water, where Yangtze and Yellow rivers starts, and Indus, Mekong, etc… that’s also crucial and power

You have forgot to mention how the inner areas are helping the economy of coastal areas by providing them with much needed raw materials to develop their economies in the first place

I think it's worth pointing out that, historically, the Chinese heartland is not the coast, but the North China Plain.

"no political system can operate eternally" san marino: are you challenging me?

I don’t know if this reflects the CCP thinking, but on he idea of the interior as the shield for China; the era of anyone launching a major land invasion through Western China is pretty much past. Especially against a nuclear power. Whether they worry about that, I don’t know, but it doesn’t seem a reasonable worry. The real reason China doesn’t abandon its pretense at communism (I do not consider them communist anymore) is because the communist revolutionary struggle is the founding myth of the CCP. To abandon it would lose their legitimacy and call into question why there is one party rule if that party has no real ideology to justify itself. China is purely authoritarian now. It is an empire again, just like Russia, just one that clothes itself in the tawdry red banners of communism instead of that of ancient feudal warlords like the imperial government did. Their ideology is wealth and power and a fervent nationalism, fueled by grudges from the century of humiliation. They have no utopian socialist ideals, their goal is only to hold onto power and wealth for themselves and do anything required to stamp out any ember of revolutionary ideas, be they socialist, ethnic, nationalist, religious, etc. America and Europe’s liberal democracies have curdled into neoliberal oligarchy, and China’s Maoist revolutionaries have given way to this naked authoritarianism and also oligarchy. It’s oligarchs the world over. The future is dominated by mega corporations that the west isn’t going to restrain. China is going to try but its probably not going to work. Striking down Jack Ma was a surprise but Chinese corporations are only going to grow and they can insert all the commissars they want onto every board, but in the end, those commissars will want the good life they see around them, so they’ll switch sides.

You can view China's undeveloped interior as a problem (which it is) but also as an opportunity. It means that the Chinese economy as a whole is still nowhere close to full employment. The Prc can probably sustain high single digit GDP growth for the foreseeable future. All you need is to build the infrastructure to make the capital and resources of the coasts available to the interior and the regional disparities should equalize somewhat.

He who controls Tibet, controls the water source that feeds the two most populous nations on earth. Hence, Tibet is very important to both China and India.

The regional wealth disparity really helps me understand China. EDIT: The key word is "regional". Also, people seem to read things into this comment that aren't there.

Europe also has extensive social programs. Communism doesn't have a monopoly on social programs.

CIxin Liu (the author of the "Three-Body Problem" series), once made a comment to this effect in New Yorker profile on him, stating that the transition from communism to liberal democracy in China would be hell on Earth. Sounded extreme to me at the time, but after watching this I understand what he means now (regardless of what I think of "communism with Chinese characteristics").

People should note that topographically speaking, China isn't one flat mass of land. Much like the US, coastal states are evidently richer (California, New York, etc.). Central China is topographically a basin and more prone to flooding. Western China is elevated, hence it is difficult to connect it to the coastal cities. North-Western China is surrounded by deserts and frequented by sandstorms.

Very impressed by this episode. I've noticed that a lot of those studying geopolitics focus too much on geography, without examining the equally important political aspects. This episode not only manages to do both, but also demonstrates how the political and the geographic are very much complimentary in policymaking. Bravo.

China never was a communist country, in fact it's why China is so strong today

I've been on a kick learning about Chinese history and government lately, and I very much appreciate this socioeconomic and geopolitical perspective on modern China. Stay well out there everybody, and God bless you friends! :)

"It's always darkest before it's completely black." Not as cheery and upbeat as the usual saying goes, but it's much closer to reality.

"Manufactured stability but stability nonetheless" - a statement that resonates loud these days among the rich nations.

You can't really call China a communist country, it is a very unique blend of authoritarianism and heavily state controlled capitalism, but certainly not comnunism like the soviet union, or what is even proprosed by Karl Marx. Moreover, subsidizing the poorer parts of the country is not unique to China, every large country does this. Note that I am not advocating the Chinese economic or state model, but let's at least have an honest discussion about China, rather than just painting them as a communist boogeyman Edit: spelling

I love your style dude... The way you mix history, culture, facts and your opinion in a single sentence is remarkable. Keep up the good work!

It's always darkest before it's totally black. What a way to sign off. With the current power cuts it's pretty literal too.

I just wanna say that I really love this channel! Keep up the good work. I sit down and set aside time to watch every video! And they also seem well-researched and as near as non-bias as possible!

It's a misconception that current China still embraces communism. NOT communism, BUT nationalism.

May I simply comment that your pronunciation of foreign languages is excellent and so much better than other creators on RU-vid. Thanks for your effort!

Wish this video posted its sources. Would love to do some further reading on this topic

One of the most insightful videos, not only by CaspianReport standard, but also in the vast RU-vid Channels. Great job.

This is the kind of analysis that a capitalist, western minded analyst can do. Yet, it is seriously wrong. It is making assumptions that demonstrate how it is difficult to understand the Chinese mindset and Chinese policy. China has never been capitalistic, nor they want to be. It has never been liberal democratic, and it will never be. Geography is important but it is unrelated to the video subject.

I would not go that far into geographical determinism as many democratic states also redistribute wealth through heavy subsidies from their densely populated, often but not always, coastal regions to sparsely populated interior regions for a variety of reasons but the most notable is stability. This can happen through agricultural subsidies in the US, the UK has the Barnet formula and the EU has net contributors and net receivers. Changed it from mostly happens to can happen, in response to the reply below.

No one can just abandon and change everything in their policies

Thank you Shirvan, another insightful report. Technically, I would use a term like '(regional) wealth distribution' over 'communism' to describe the processes mentioned in this video. But perhaps that makes a less exciting header.. :) Keep up the good work, I hope you reach a million subscribers soon!

The fact that you put the country of Tawain as just one more part of the CCP in the global map in the beginning of the video in 00:13 says enough about this for me. This cannot be a simple "mistake" or slip of mind in the production of this video.

Sudan is GDP= 26 Billion$ Xinjiang gdp = 116 billion $.

Good video, but there are some disinformation in its conent, China has long been an empire before there was even communism, having a strong central government that distribute resources along the different provinces doesn't equal to communism, the Chinese empire had its ups and downs, through the dynasties, rulers came and gone, but they all tried to unify China under a strong centralized government, they have been ruling that way long before communism even existed. The other fact that I want to point out is that historically, it was not always the coastal region that were the wealthiest, coastal region around the world became wealthy with the rise of sea power, mostly because international trades started using sea lanes instead of land routes. China is a land power, in a long span of its history, it was cities along its silk road that were the wealthiest, China's one belt one road is trying to recreate the silk road.

*EXCUSE ME; YOUR MAP STARTING AT **0:15** INDICATES THAT TAIWAN IS PART OF CHINA WHICH IS INCORRECT.*

China isn't communist since forever. Its a capitalistic society but much more controlled than other countries. I used to think how china became rich with communism but it wasn't communism but capitalism that made it what it is. Its just a closed society for reasons.

This disparity between rich coastal regions and relatively impoverished interiors isn’t exactly unique: the US and EU each have found ways to subsidize their poorer regions without authoritarian centralized states. Wealth transfer and development aren’t all that mysterious. The difference is that China hasn’t developed much of a welfare state. Why not?

His pronunciation of Chinese province names is really good. Must be from a mandarin speaker.

You truly undermined one thing which is crucial, the interior and north is where all the natural resources are. Resources most of the chinese need to keep up with their economy and even to survive and not be caught by having to import from other countries. China cannot loose the western regions because that makes them have resources. If they lose western and northern china, they loose all access to the valious and very much needed resources needed by the east of China.

Good video as always! I would recommend in investing in some audio equipment, right now you can really hear the echo in the room you're in

Fun fact : Sichuan used to be one of the most populated regions of china if not the most populated.

Hi Shirvan. You need to offer better-looking shirts, personally they are pretty uncreative and unappealing but I got one because I like you. *Please like this so he sees it*

Powerful insight into China's need for Communism, and the consequential challenged facing the regime. Outstanding!

I feel like you are missing the point that Chinna may "subsidize" the poor interior with the wealth of the developed coast but it also keeps the interior poor in the first place and subsdizes the wealth of the coastal regions through the brutal repressive recource extaction and forced low skill labor exploitation of the interior!!!! Also all of the best funded social programs are only availbe to citezens of costal provinces and there is an internal passport system which makes it incredibly dificult for people from the interior to imigrate to costal citeis in order to take advantage of those social programs, receive an educaiton, and uplift their circumstances!!!!

"It's always darkest, before it's totally black" I love those shocking yet so realistic quotes Shirvan makes.

China has similar issues just like Russia. Both China and Russia are very similar when it comes to geopolitics.

Your reports are instructive and fact-based. Thank you.

It is worth noting that when it comes to Tibet, the security aspect isn't just a buffer zone - it's also the water supply: A significant percentage (iirc, about 50%) of China's freshwaster comes from Himalayan glaciers - meltwater that collects across the tibetan plateau and flows off into the Yangtze and Yellow river - the mountain silts that come with it also play a significant part in keeping the Yellow river basin (one of the most fertile farming regions on earth) well fertilized. As such, maintaining control of Tibet is an immediate existential imperative for China, as the sheer scale of it's population makes feeding and watering it difficult enough, without the prospect of some hostile force cutting that supply off, or redirecting it elsewhere.

Is the idea that coastal China would be democratic and liberal solely based upon the old idea that wealth makes democracy? Shirvan, you should know better than that

Chinese Communism = Hammers-and-SicklesTM item sale for 1,949 RMB

8:01 why would it ever do that? not everyone's goal is to become a liberal democratic state, it is a cultural thing

Thank you! This was a comprehensive report! Kudos for the pronunciation of China's provinces! :)

Xi Jinping: Comrade you will receive a huge social credit

"The affairs of the world are this way - what is long united must divide; what is long divided must unite." -- Romance of the Three Kingdoms

"The empire, long divided, must unite; long united, must divide. Thus it has ever been" - Romance of the Three kingdoms

The title of this video isn't accurate. China is labelled as a communist state that long abandoned communism economic practices in favor of capitalism in past decades. They are now moving towards socialism from capitalism. "Why China cannot abandon communism?" just isn't an accurate description of what is happening inside China today.

if large states like the USSR and the PRC need a centralized authoritarian government to maintain unity, how did the US, another large state maintain it's unity for the last 200 or so years under liberalism & democracy?

Communism, and Authoritarianism was used quite interchangeably in this video, even if they dont really mean the same thing. I think its safe to say, that China is a capitalist state, with an authoritarian government. Said government wants to control, or guide the economy, thats why the heavy handed measures. But calling a country with the most billionaires on Earth communist, is a bit strange.....

Taiwan is a perfect example of what China can become!

Можно пожалуйста сделать похожий ролик про Россию? Стратегически,и Географические цели, важные для России.?)

"Beijing uses the wealth generated in the cost to subsidise generous social programs to stimulate GDP growth in the interior." This statement might have been convincing if you had provided some examples of these projects. It is important to provide examples if you make a claim likt this. There are China-watch channels that claim the opposite of what you are claiming here, namely that the CCP ony looks after itself, and that there are no social prorgrams whatsoever to redistribute wealth. On the contrary, some say that wealth distribution is not al all what the CCP want.

Your videos always teach me a little bit more about how the world works (and is being ruled by psychopaths). Especially about the countries that I wouldn't have actively looked in to. You're doing really good work!

A democratic federation like America gives money to the poorer regions just like this video talks about. Communism isn’t the only system that subsidies their interior

Sounds like Chinese Capitalism, making money, not war.

The Chinese came from the more interior region to begin with. It's not that the coast expanded to the interior but the interior expanded to the coast. The history culture root is still deep in the interior.

What a shallow idea. China needs a central govt, that’s it, to balance regional needs. If it were not communism it would be something else.

Not my words but: Once you understand a nation's geography, you understand its foreign policy.

"Can the United States abandon imperialism/global policeman role' would be a good topic considering that its possible that it might be forced to in this century.

A few things wrong with this. Nations can easily subsidize poor regions, it does not take a communist state to do so(look at the US, Russia, Australia, Canada etc). But also the Chinese face no threat from the interior, Tibet maybe as it borders India but the west borders nobody who is a threat at all and is so vast and inhospitable that an invasion through that area would be difficult. The only threat to the west would be Russia and Russia would find it much easier to go through Manchuria to Beijing than through the interior.

I know this video is 6 months old, but I just wanted to point out that the definition of communism according to Marx is a "classless, moneyless, and stateless society". I'm not sure where Shirvan gets the idea that the 'core definition' of Communism requires a centralized state/body. This is not accurate. Even the Marxist-Leninist communist parties that created authoritarian regimes in the 20th centuries in the pursuit of communism did not call themselves communist (but socialist) because they hadn't acheived a stateless society yet. DISCLAIMER: I'm not a communist or a socialist, nor do I like the CCP, but just...let's define our terms correctly.

2:14 the term 'Communism' may be used in different ways, but true communism is very well defined. Communism is a stateless, classless, moneyless society where the means of production (the mechanism of industry) is collectively owned and controlled by the people who perform the labour associated with it. What you're describing is state socialism, "socialism in one country", where a vanguard authoritarian political party attempts to establish a system that either approximates a communist society, or which the party pledges will eventually lead to one. Also, neither communism nor state socialism are intended to distribute resources 'equally', but instead 'equitably' - 'from each according to their ability, to each according to their need'. I would expect a geopolitics channel to distinguish this sort of fundamental political terminology, so I am now surprised and concerned, as I need to feel I can trust in the research being presented.

Channel like this really map me appreciate geography. If only I know this is my calling earlier. Before I picking coding. *Massive sigh with PTSD of fixing error message* .

A pitfall that almost every Westerner (who is not a historian) falls into when thinking about China is... China has 2200 years of centralized government and 70 years of pseudo-Communism. The country is way more affected by the 2200 years of history than whatever form of Communism that is... current Chinese government set up is how it always worked: an "emperor" in the capital, strong centralized government, huge bureaucracy running across capital, provinces, cities, etc... and yes it's always quite authoritarian but also with a strong Confucius-influenced "empire has to save/serve the people" culture. None of it has anything to do with "Communism".... it's how Chinese are governed for 2 millennia. That's why Chinese people are not rising up any time soon, they are Ok with this system.

This video has proven why I was born this way. And yet..... If I was born as a Chinese - Indonesian whose country's leading the G20, then why am I not dead by now?...... (I could still see some $h1t from Western media 😒😂🤣)

The notion of security from the eastern regions is overstated, historically, the source of Chinese instability has always been from it's western coasts or from it's interior. Ultimately, it's because of China's inept governance (Especially during times of irreversibly bad decision making, such as refusing to adopt breakthrough western technologies which would've given it a competitive edge in industrializing and maintaining a modern defense force). Overall, the necessity for enacting common prosperity is to derive it's legitimacy. I think Shirivan is an amazing commentator, but I think i disagree with his notion.

"Security trumps prosperity." Although I do agree with most of your analysis, I would also point out that most conflicts China faced in modern history came from the sea, starting with western and Japanese powers carving out trade posts and enclaves on the eastern seaboard with "unequal treaties" culminating in the invasion by Imperial Japan during WWII. Despite not being in power during those periods, the Communist government is not shy in stoking these historical grievances to solidify their one party control. Another interesting aspect is that every conflict Communist China has involved itself with (Soviet Border disputes, Indian Border disputes, Korean War, Sino-Vietnamese war) did not occur in the West. So while invasions from the west were historically a thing, modern efforts to build up the poorer west are based more on perception of legitimacy for the Communist party. And nations such as South Korea and Japan draw their protection more from current security agreements with the U.S., less so than their coastal geography. But ultimately, China cannot abandon Communism because a Communist party cannot survive competition when it has sole monopoly on everything economic, political and social. Note: Edited for grammar and spelling.

Hey Shirvan, Would you please do a video on the Geopolitics/Geography of Tunisia 🇹🇳 (or even North Africa)? We have a very varied geography (Ain Draham, highest rainfall in North Africa, the Mejerda Valley) and have been the stopping point for countless empires in the world due to our geography. Even dubbed the Granary of the Roman Empire at one point! We are also going through a difficult transition to democracy with complete economic stagnation and issues. Would be interesting to cover them! Thanks! PS, I know I’ve commented this before on other videos, I am just trying to make sure it reaches you as you receive thousands of comments on most videos :)

Describes America too, how coastal blue states subsidize red states using Federal expenditures.

the thing is: one of the reasons the coast is that rich is that in the beginning capitalism was only allowed there and that for years. Also, you really weren't allowed to move back then.

"Socialism is when the Gouvernement does stuff, the more stuff it does the more Socialism it is, and when it does a real lot of stuff it's Communism." -Dr. Richard Wolff

I don't think China belongs to classic communism. A neo-revisionism or state-capitalism instead.

7:51 you forgot Skyrim, which belongs to the Nords

Hi Shirvan, I'd like to thank you for coming up with this video. It's so revealing and well-developed. Since RU-vid has disables community subtitles, I'd like to tell you that if you ever wished to have this video subtitled into Spanish, I'd gladly help you. Keep up the good work.

It's always a great day when there's a Caspian Report video waiting for me in my notifications. Best channel on YT!

The one liners at the end make these videos pure gold.

I've been watching this channel for a while, and this video really bring me something very interesting to think about. As a native Chinese, I was born and raised in Guizhou province, aka the heartland of China in this video. Back then, it was and still is amongst the poorest province in China. I remembered my mom and dad once told me that our ancestor came from the richer coastal area in Ming dynasty to "solidify" Guizhou province, when it was still a very remote region from the central government, and it was a frontier between Han Chinese and other ethnic minority back then. I guess this assimilation and integration happen all through chinse history. When a security reason ranks higher then development and prosperity, the central government, no matter which dynasty, would always choose to seek harsher control of its population, and always try to expand its secure zone. It is not because they like to, but they don't have other options. I used to believe that Chinese are more conservative, and are harder to understand liberty and equality. We seems to embrace authoritarian over democratic governance, appreciate collective mentality over individuality, and advocate strong homogeneity over diversity. It baffled me for quite a long time that WHY in all the nations and people on earth, we choose to go the opposite direction. However, this video really broaden my perspective, and also revealed other possible geopolitical reasons that the modern China is forged in such manner.

Im a fan. You provide good subject matter content and your presentations are clear. Bravo! Keep videos coming.

Ah yes, Caspian trying to gain some social credits!

Hey Caspian I noticed at 0:16 your included Taiwan in the visualization for China. I think either shading it differently to accommodate for its contested status or excluding it from the highlight would be more appropriate.

"It's always darkest before it's totally black." - I'm just writing that down, will come in handy!

I dislike it alot when people say China is capitalistic which is not the case. Their economical solution and system is socialist. Belive me.

Excuse me, Xinjiang in fact have a GDP nearly 10 times that of Sudan(200billion vs 25billion USD), with about half the population(25 vs 45 million). I understand you are emphasizing how poor it is, but this might be a bit misleading. In this rate China’s GDP per capita is comparable to Luxembourg lol.

I think there is a misreading of history here. China largely grew due to outside invasion and “foreign” rule. Furthermore, in the 19th and 20th century it is the coastal areas that were vulnerable to Western invasion. To say China isn’t living up to its potential under its current system and it would do better under something else is dubious considering the unprecedented growth and technological advancements China has achieved. There are populous liberal democracies on China’s periphery that are doing rather worse, Indonesia, India, and the Philippines are three notable ones.

Chyna: We have problems because we have a massive population. Also Chyna: We are the best because we have a massive population Pick none

"It's always darkest, before it's totally black." What?

I feel like asking "Why doesn't China abandon communism?" is like asking "Why doesn't the USA abandon democracy?". Marxist-Leninist thought is the foundation of the Chinese state, and all of contemporary China's ideological developments are based in it and socialist principles. They aren't going to abandon that. If anything, the celebrations of the Communist party's centenary earlier this year and the writings of Xi Jinping emphasize the PRC's intentions to become a truly socialist state in line with Marxist thought.

Much of your analysis reflects the Communist Party's outlook. It's worth pointing out the deep flaws in China's assumptions and thinking. Security is such a difficulty mainly because China has no allies. It has seldom in its history cultivated any form of mutual cooperation with other important or influential nations. Instead it has acted and reacted in a resentful and disdainful way to other powers and in an exploitative or manipulative manner to its weaker neighbours. It is the primary cause of all the difficulties that it finds itself in. Being mistrusted by everyone else really limits your choices.

I usually love your videos but I think there's a lot of flaws in your analysis. One, insuring the interior regions do not fall behind the coastal regions is not really communism. Two, the greater concern is actually inequality within a region or city. This type of inequality is much more destabilizing, as people can see the stark differences in wealth. Three, China's coast is not as rich as Japan or South Korea, most of the costal regions have GDP of around $15k per capita compared to $30k for SK or $40k for Japan. Lastly, the ruling elites, are mostly from the prosperous costal regions. I do not think the coast would automatically be a democratic free society. In fact an argument can be made that the wealthy have a vested interest in the status quo more so than the non elites.

The inner provinces also provide much needed resources, and cheap labour, keep in mind China is not an immigrant country

Global wealth inequality is an issue that must be tackled.