These become indistinguishable by "manufacturing consent".
It doesn't take a genius to decide that you'd be better off consenting, whether that consent has been manufactured or outright enforced.
Perhaps others have not, considering the Post's dominance of the Google front page.
https://www.quora.com/Is-China-a-totalitarian-state
makes a good point:
> Authoritarian yes. Totalitarian, no.
> The difference between authoritarian and totalitarian is that in an authoritarian state, what is not banned is allowed. In a totalitarian one, what is not banned is required.
and that China is so much better than it was in the 1950s, that is deserves a better evaluation.
Still, from the perspective of a mostly-free society, the distinctions between Authoritarian and Totalitarian are blurred.
You have the modern mainland, which is where all these problems exist, the rural mainland which this probably doesn't affect as much, Hong Kong which is autonomous, and Chinese Taipei which might as well give up the ghost by this point.
Different values for different folks. Some people are happy to live in conservative, stable, conformist, and low-risk societies (whether because they are brought up in such or not, though usually the former). Some people are not.
Where in society does 'untethered individual freedom' exist? I live in Canada, a very 'free' country, yet there are many rules and laws to follow. Enough that I probably break the law multiple times per day.
It's an old argument used by dictators to justify their repression: 'Individual freedom isn't our value; it's a Western thing.' But these are inalienable universal rights, not some cultural preference. If people want to live as the Chinese Communist Party says or in some other way, they have a right to the freedom, the self-determination, to make that choice.
The quote above is also obviously false. East Asia has free countries including Japan and South Korea. China has free regions, including Taiwan and, to an extent, Hong Kong. (Not coincidentally, these are by far the most prosperous political entities in East Asia.) The people of Taiwan and Hong Kong seem less than excited about giving up their freedom. Cultures all over the world implement and embrace these values, from East Asia to South Asia to Europe to almost all of the Americas. The only ones who don't are those who aren't given a choice.
There's never been any doubt among people who know China's recent history.[0]
The problem is that for the most part, Americans under 30 or so don't know about it. They are frequently confused when I remind them that China is communist. They grew up thinking of it as just another country, but with a slightly different government system. Like Germany or Japan.
If you tell them that the Chinese government murdered millions of its own people, they're dumbfounded until they, themselves, look it up.
The path that China is taking isn't a surprise to most older people (including diplomats and politicians). And it's why China is working so hard to whitewash its global repuration where it can, or attempt to erase history, where it's able.
but is there really any doubt, at this point? the government seeks to control an ever-greater range of human behaviors, from the banal -- like borrowing an umbrella -- to the political.
it's unclear to me whether the chinese people want this sort of system for whatever reason or whether it's being forced onto them. what is clear to me is that this system would warrant a prompt and violent revolution if a similar implementation was attempted here.
once these systems take root, become normalized, and start to change the way that people behave, a society's chance at freedom is finished...