Have We LOST THE PLOT On China?

Overview

The video discusses whether Britain’s left is overly admiring China’s authoritarian state model—often dubbed “China maxing”—and whether that fascination is politically and economically misguided.

Critique: “Why the British left has fallen for China” (Novara Media / socialist-left commentary)

One argument highlighted from Novara Media (and broader socialist-left commentary) points to an article titled “Why the British left has fallen for China.” It claims some left-wing commentators envy China’s:

• “State capacity”
• Industrial success

The critique argues that British leftists—especially those associated with Novara Media—are drawn to China’s achievements, particularly:

• State-led EV manufacturing (e.g., Chongqing factories)

It warns that this admiration can come at the cost of overlooking the dangers or incompatibility of importing that model.

Warning: “Britain maxing, not China maxing”

The article’s implied warning is that Britain should not copy China. Instead, it suggests Britain’s problems are not caused by a lack of:

• one-party,
• Marxist-Leninist planning foresight.

Rather, it argues Britain faces more specifically British dysfunctions, such as:

• weak long-term capital budgeting
• departments prioritizing cash transfers over investment
• planning rules that enable discretionary blocking instead of treating building as a right

The prescription is: “Britain maxing, not China maxing.”

Debate: “Anglo-Dengism” and what (if anything) to learn from Deng-era China

Co-host Johnny Ball presents a response in the spirit of “neo-Maoist self-criticism,” and raises the idea of “Anglo-Dengism.” The concept draws from Deng Xiaoping’s pragmatic approach—“do what works.”

The argument is that Deng prioritized:

• industrial development
• state capacity

without requiring ideological purity. The claim is that Conservatives, Labour, or liberals could also pursue similar goals via:

• long-term infrastructure planning (e.g., HS2/HS3/HS4)
• gigafactories
• housing programs

Limits of transplanting China’s model to Britain

Ball counters that this critique isn’t necessarily an attack on Novara specifically, but part of a broader pattern:

When the left is weak or in decline, people look abroad for “panaceas.”

He argues that Britain’s political and economic conditions don’t match China’s, and that the impulse to imitate authoritarian methods often grows from frustration with domestic failures, including:

• stagnant wages
• inability to build infrastructure
• housing crises
• broader failures of state capacity

Acknowledging China’s success—without adopting “authoritarian hellhole” simplifications

The discussion also rejects simplistic portrayals of modern China as the worst-case version of totalitarianism (e.g., compared to Soviet terror). One contributor argues that:

• China’s system can deliver real improvements
• people may not be living under constant fear

They also emphasize that ideological labels don’t map neatly onto reality—leaders often act pragmatically based on interests, illustrated by examples such as:

• “Nixon in China”
• shifting alliances despite ideology

“Realist” position on foreign policy and domestic politics

While acknowledging China’s strengths, the position is that Britain shouldn’t pretend China’s political freedoms are:

• desirable, or
• interchangeable with British liberal democracy.

The speaker argues the UK’s left should focus on building a better Britain through its own institutions, rather than pushing Labour toward Leninism/Marxism-Leninism under current conditions.

China is framed as “doing well at being China,” but Britain should pursue its own path—preserving freedoms such as:

• speech
• elections

Presenters / Contributors (as named in the subtitles)

• Johnny Ball
• Aaron Bastani