Warren See See Peace

Chinamaxxing started as a cultural phenomenon. But there's a strong material case for Chinamaxxing too — simply put, a tribute to the pace and scale of poverty reduction and economic development China has achieved, unprecedented in human history. I've been sharing data on China's economic achievements for some time now. Alongside genuine positive engagement, I've been receiving a recurring type of comment, especially from people based in North America and Europe: “yeah, that’s super impressive, and we have to stop them.” Challenging this Western hegemonic anxiety — the idea that development is only legitimate when it doesn't disturb the existing hierarchy — is one of the most important intellectual tasks of this moment. I recently spent some time travelling in China. The high-speed rail network, the urban infrastructure, and the sheer scale of what's been built actually exceeded expectations. But the most impressive part isn't that China is good at building things. It's that it builds things that deliver tangible material outcomes for hundreds of millions of people. None of this means China is without real problems. Air pollution, labour precarity, and a thin welfare state are all genuine structural economic and social issues worth scrutinising. But my core position is simple, and it follows more from a basic moral commitment than any particular affection for China: when a poor country becomes less poor, when hundreds of millions of people escape material deprivation and lead longer, healthier, more dignified lives — this is worth celebrating. And not only when it happens in ways convenient for those countries already wealthy and powerful.