Holden Karnofsky:Deng Xiaoping took over in China in the 1970s after Mao died. I feel like different leaders would have done different things, and he chose to go down the road of economic reforms that kicked off decades of unprecedented growth and poverty reduction.
Holden Karnofsky: I mean, that could be the most poverty reduction any individual has ever been responsible for. Especially if you look at what would have happened if he had somehow just not been around. He might be the person who’s had the most positive impact ever, to date. So I thought that was interesting.
Rob Wiblin: He was sent off to prison camps I think more than once when he fell out of favor with Mao, so it’s not that hard to imagine that he might not have been in the political scene.
Holden Karnofsky: Yeah, exactly.
Rob Wiblin: Or indeed may not have been on Earth, by that stage.
Holden Karnofsky: There’s probably a nearby world where just, things didn’t work out for Deng, they worked out for someone else, and everyone was so… Not everyone, but a lot of people were so much worse off. We don’t hear his name a lot, but gosh, I mean, what a person who made a big difference.
That’s a good point—I suppose China’s development could turn out to be bad for the world. I can also optimistically imagine another wave of liberalising reforms, making Deng’s impact look even better (i.e. putting China on a long-run “liberal” track).
It’s controversial but I’m inclined to think it might be Deng Xiaoping. Holden and Rob on the 80k podcast:
On the other hand, these reforms made China more powerful, which seems bad given its political system and aggressive foreign policy.
Hi Stefan,
That’s a good point—I suppose China’s development could turn out to be bad for the world. I can also optimistically imagine another wave of liberalising reforms, making Deng’s impact look even better (i.e. putting China on a long-run “liberal” track).
Lol
At first I misinterpreted Stefan’s “Lol” as deriding Ollie’s speculation about a new wave of liberalising reforms.
Then I clicked on the “Hi Stefan” link.