i remember a planner guy in like 2010 explaining to me how china’s ghost cities were a terrible no good failure. this was after one of my “bits” where, when someone identifies themselves as an “urban planner” or “regional planner” here in the states, i give them a bit of a cartoonish side-eye and say, “are you trying to tell me there’s a plan at work here? [optional: because i call bullshit]” while gesturing to everything around incredulously. it’s generally a hit with actual planners, but this guy got a bit incensed.
somewhere around like 2018/2019, after i had become more informed about China in a historical/material context, i started telling anyone who would listen that they were blowing us out of the water. like we would soon be throwing turds at the sun and hooting at each others’ genitals while they were doing star trek type shit. which is barely an exaggeration anymore, and the hits of their social and scientific achievements keep coming. but good luck convincing anyone that it’s because they invest in their people while we invest in the administration / protection of our capital formations.
lol I remember how western media was bleating incessantly about the whole ghost cities thing. Then we start seeing these cities populated all of a sudden. My favorite one was the subway line to nowhere they made fun of, that ended up being in a middle of a big city district in the end. This whole thing made me realize that people in the west are now incapable of comprehending the concept of long term planning. Everything is driven by quarterly profits here, something 10 years away is considered to be distant future impossible to plan for. This really highlights the difference between central planning and the market driven clusterfuck that capitalism creates.
i remember a planner guy in like 2010 explaining to me how china’s ghost cities were a terrible no good failure. this was after one of my “bits” where, when someone identifies themselves as an “urban planner” or “regional planner” here in the states, i give them a bit of a cartoonish side-eye and say, “are you trying to tell me there’s a plan at work here? [optional: because i call bullshit]” while gesturing to everything around incredulously. it’s generally a hit with actual planners, but this guy got a bit incensed.
somewhere around like 2018/2019, after i had become more informed about China in a historical/material context, i started telling anyone who would listen that they were blowing us out of the water. like we would soon be throwing turds at the sun and hooting at each others’ genitals while they were doing star trek type shit. which is barely an exaggeration anymore, and the hits of their social and scientific achievements keep coming. but good luck convincing anyone that it’s because they invest in their people while we invest in the administration / protection of our capital formations.
lol I remember how western media was bleating incessantly about the whole ghost cities thing. Then we start seeing these cities populated all of a sudden. My favorite one was the subway line to nowhere they made fun of, that ended up being in a middle of a big city district in the end. This whole thing made me realize that people in the west are now incapable of comprehending the concept of long term planning. Everything is driven by quarterly profits here, something 10 years away is considered to be distant future impossible to plan for. This really highlights the difference between central planning and the market driven clusterfuck that capitalism creates.
Turns out it’s a lot easier to build the subway line before you build the city on top of it
who knew right
Planning ahead is a communist plot
Literally