Originally Posted by The Batlord

Curious if elph will come anywhere close to admitting he doesn't really know what he's talking about.

Originally Posted by Oriphiel

Quality of life and social mobility were increasing during the modernization of the Republic period, a growth that was ultimately slowed down by the Communist regime, as evinced by the tremendous success of Taiwan (led by the surviving Republic loyalists). And historical records have shown the correlation between Mercantilist periods (Han, Tang, etc.) and their connection to a growing middle class of merchants, artisans, and skilled laborers.

So please stop with the boring broad strokes about China being a nation of slaves. Virtually every large country has had the same social progression. For example, India, a nation that imo has had an even darker social history than China.

Japan went through the same caste system bull**** and got two ****ing atomic bombs dropped on them, and yet after surviving WWII, after American advisors injected Capitalist steroids into their balls, they busted out as an economic and technological world power that utterly kicked the **** of China in every way, esp. quality of life. They were high fiving robots and **** while 99% of China was wondering if the human body could subsist on dirt.

Originally Posted by jwb

A middle class job sounds like a boring menu option at a brothel