And we continue to tolerate those who wouldn't tolerate us...
Even the Chinese have a word for these people who naively defend and turn a blind eye to this sort of thing: "Baizou".
From Wikipedia:
"The word baizuo is, according to political scientist Zhang Chenchen, a Chinese word that ridicules Western "liberal elites". He further defined the word "baizuo" with the definition "People who only care about topics such as immigration, minorities, LGBT and the environment" and “have no sense of real problems in the real world”; they are hypocritical humanitarians who advocate for peace and equality only to “satisfy their own feeling of moral superiority”; they are “obsessed with political correctness” to the extent that they “tolerate backwards Islamic values for the sake of multiculturalism”; they believe in the welfare state that “benefits only the idle and the free riders”; they are the “ignorant and arrogant westerners” who “pity the rest of the world and think they are saviours”.[7] The term has also been used to refer to perceived double standards of the Western media, such as the alleged bias on reporting about Islamist attacks in Xinjiang."
> And we continue to tolerate those who wouldn't tolerate us...
It's interesting that as an American, I can't tell if you are talking about the Chinese or the "liberal elite Americans" when you state this. That's a common talking point of the American right wing and could equally describe the position of any person who uses that Chinese term in seriousness.
Also, the hypocrisy of a Chinese word criticizing westerners for enforcing political correctness is humorous.
The Chinese left does not align with the American left. For one, unlike the American left who tone down patriotism, the Chinese left celebrates patriotism (as do the defacto right "Chinese" who are represented at least in spirit by Taiwan.). I mean, can you imagine the Chinese left celebrating with the Tibetan flag in the streets along with slogans implying China is racist and genocidal?
It does sound right-wing, but I think it's definitely possible to be left-wing and to want to avoid being a "baizuo". The biggest thing that caught my eye was about "pitying the rest of the world" and thinking that you are a "savior" -- definitely a valid criticism, I think.
The right wing and the extreme left have remarkable similar attitudes toward the center–to–center-left.
(Leaving aside question of whether the Chinese “Communist” regime is on the left in any substantive sense, rather than merely as a historical rhetorical affectation.)
Sounds fake to me. Any actual Chinese to confirm this? Just going by the "they believe in the welfare state that “benefits only the idle and the free riders”" comment; China is a communist country, its about as far on the spectrum left past welfare state as you can go.
You can reach a higher level of understanding if you stop trying to cram multi-dimensional politics into a one-dimensional spectrum.
China is State Capitalist, not Communist. The government doesn't tell people what jobs to do and provide them with their home, food, and consumer goods
Yes, and the standard Communist criticism of the idea of welfare states (which, IIRC, predates both the actual existence of welfare states and also that of Leninism, much less the present Chinese Communist regime) is that it is a bourgeois “reform” to capitalism that provides the illusion of serving the lord classes but only actually reinforced the power and position of the capitalist elites.
(This is structurally similar to the right-wing capitalist criticism of welfare states, which is basically the same but substitutes an amorphousus government elite in place of the capitalist one.)
China is ruled by a party with "Communist" in its name, that's the only connection with communists. Officially China runs "socialism with chinese characteristics", but as other comments have pointed out, in realistic it's more like state capitalism.
And to answer your question -- yes it's a real word, and is used on Internet a lot. Literally it means white ("bai") liberals ("zuo" -- left).
I’m so confused. The wikipedia article is basicly an exerpt from a chinese government english language propoganda tabloid. Who are they trying to infuence? The US right wing?
Even the Chinese have a word for these people who naively defend and turn a blind eye to this sort of thing: "Baizou".
From Wikipedia:
"The word baizuo is, according to political scientist Zhang Chenchen, a Chinese word that ridicules Western "liberal elites". He further defined the word "baizuo" with the definition "People who only care about topics such as immigration, minorities, LGBT and the environment" and “have no sense of real problems in the real world”; they are hypocritical humanitarians who advocate for peace and equality only to “satisfy their own feeling of moral superiority”; they are “obsessed with political correctness” to the extent that they “tolerate backwards Islamic values for the sake of multiculturalism”; they believe in the welfare state that “benefits only the idle and the free riders”; they are the “ignorant and arrogant westerners” who “pity the rest of the world and think they are saviours”.[7] The term has also been used to refer to perceived double standards of the Western media, such as the alleged bias on reporting about Islamist attacks in Xinjiang."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baizuo