This weekly roundup thread is intended for all culture war posts. 'Culture war' is vaguely defined, but it basically means controversial issues that fall along set tribal lines. Arguments over culture war issues generate a lot of heat and little light, and few deeply entrenched people ever change their minds. This thread is for voicing opinions and analyzing the state of the discussion while trying to optimize for light over heat.
Optimistically, we think that engaging with people you disagree with is worth your time, and so is being nice! Pessimistically, there are many dynamics that can lead discussions on Culture War topics to become unproductive. There's a human tendency to divide along tribal lines, praising your ingroup and vilifying your outgroup - and if you think you find it easy to criticize your ingroup, then it may be that your outgroup is not who you think it is. Extremists with opposing positions can feed off each other, highlighting each other's worst points to justify their own angry rhetoric, which becomes in turn a new example of bad behavior for the other side to highlight.
We would like to avoid these negative dynamics. Accordingly, we ask that you do not use this thread for waging the Culture War. Examples of waging the Culture War:
-
Shaming.
-
Attempting to 'build consensus' or enforce ideological conformity.
-
Making sweeping generalizations to vilify a group you dislike.
-
Recruiting for a cause.
-
Posting links that could be summarized as 'Boo outgroup!' Basically, if your content is 'Can you believe what Those People did this week?' then you should either refrain from posting, or do some very patient work to contextualize and/or steel-man the relevant viewpoint.
In general, you should argue to understand, not to win. This thread is not territory to be claimed by one group or another; indeed, the aim is to have many different viewpoints represented here. Thus, we also ask that you follow some guidelines:
-
Speak plainly. Avoid sarcasm and mockery. When disagreeing with someone, state your objections explicitly.
-
Be as precise and charitable as you can. Don't paraphrase unflatteringly.
-
Don't imply that someone said something they did not say, even if you think it follows from what they said.
-
Write like everyone is reading and you want them to be included in the discussion.
On an ad hoc basis, the mods will try to compile a list of the best posts/comments from the previous week, posted in Quality Contribution threads and archived at /r/TheThread. You may nominate a comment for this list by clicking on 'report' at the bottom of the post and typing 'Actually a quality contribution' as the report reason.
Jump in the discussion.
No email address required.
Notes -
What do you think they're importing all those soybeans are for? They're feed for animals, particularly hogs. In world wars, meat production gets slashed because it's not efficient. They slaughter most of their herds for a short-term source of food and rebuild them later. What matters is basics, wheat and rice production. China can do that. Taiwan cannot. Taiwan's food self-sufficiency is 30%! That's what you'd expect from an island that's essentially half mountain, half city.
https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/editorials/archives/2019/12/01/2003726744#:~:text=This%20is%20a%20praiseworthy%20initiative,in%20Taiwan%20exceeded%20590%2C000%20tonnes.&text=Ignoring%20the%20fact%20that%20about,low%20compared%20with%20other%20countries.
Russia is a big food exporter and has good relations with China. It's only that China didn't want to import food as part of their self-sufficiency goals (wheat imports from Russia were banned until 2021), in wartime they absolutely would buy wheat from Russia. The only thing that Russia doesn't do is soybeans, which China doesn't critically need since they're for animal feed.
https://www.oedigital.com/news/494670-inside-trade-from-energy-to-food-china-russia-trade-has-surged-in-recent-years
Furthermore, the Chinese have been spending hundreds of billions building a gigantic Eurasian infrastructure network. The whole point of One Belt One Road is to ensure China has access to these markets and can ensure supplies of food and other resources by rail if necessary. They could also have third parties ship their food to some reasonably friendly country like Cambodia or Myanmar, then transport it overland. It's expensive but not impossible to get around a blockade for a roughly 91% self-sufficient land power - Taiwan is completely fucked at 30%. Japan is around 38% and will have some issues.
http://english.agrinews.co.jp/?p=9725
More options
Context Copy link