During the Gret Leap Forward, the communists decided that China would become a leader in steel production. They went with municipal steel plants at the village level, and then told everyone how much steel to produce to meet the goal. When the proletariat workers weren’t able to smelt raw iron ore in the quantities needed, they melted down all their tools, their hammers, shovels, rakes and hoes. This is how communism works. If they say build the world’s biggest dam, you basically build the biggest dam.
I like to say, and this is original me, that the Chinese are really good at making things that look just like the real thing, so close that you can actually use them as the real thing for a short time, When it stops working is when you fnd out that the tool set you bought is actually a real working replica tool set. I think they built a real working replica of the world’s biggest dam.
When it stops working is when you fnd out that the tool set you bought is actually a real working replica tool set.
I like to say, and this is original me, that the Chinese are really good at making things that look just like the real thing...
Chinese manufacturing does only one thing really well - deceive the customer.
Cut apart a cheap ChiCom kitchen tool like you can get at your grocery store. You will find stainless-plated pot-metal held together by whale snot.
Chinese manufacturing is more like making a Hollywood movie set, than anything else.
> ...they melted down all their tools, their hammers, shovels, rakes and hoes. This is how communism works. <
I once took a course on Soviet politics. During one of their 5-year plans, this certain Soviet nail factory was given a quota. It had to produce so many tons of nails per year. Well, the manager realized it was easier to produce big nails than it was to produce small nails. So he produced nothing but really big nails.
He got a medal for meeting his quota. The big nails just sat in the back lot and rusted. No one needed nails that big.
“...communists decided that China would become a leader in steel production.”
However, in contrast, China is very good at stealing property—intellectual property, that is.