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Comment by __alias | Hacker News Reader

It's interesting to think about how novels like 1984 have influenced society's perception of governments with total control, connecting totalitarianism to dystopia. I feel like if history took a different path, we could quite easily be living in a polar opposite world where democracy and having the freedom of choice is looked at as wild and dangerous primitive society full of crime.

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There are societies now with such a view of 'democracy and having from of choice'. The more conservative Muslim countries come to mind. Many of our ancestors would also see us this way. It's fully possible or descendants will look at our way of life the same way too.

Really, this liberalism of ours is an aberration. It's the way of 20% of the world population for a few decades... Nobody should be surprised if your 'polar opposite world', which comprises almost all people for almost all of history, reasserts itself.

Yes, and China is doing very well with regard to economic planning, infrastructure, GDP, development and raising of the middle class standards without democracy, and has done for 70+ years and the Chinese have a long history of being able to govern competently.

So the state-run news agency tells us.

Which state? Because China's rise is corroborated by governments and press worldwide. Not sure if you're suggesting they're all in on your conspiracy. But even if they were it would probably take a lot of money and influence to buy them all off as mouthpieces, so either way, China rose. If you still doubt it, visit & see for yourself.

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