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{{Old AfD multi |page=Serfdom in Tibet |date=27 May 2008 |result='''no consensus''' |date2=4 February 2024 |result2='''No consensus''' |page2=Serfdom in Tibet controversy}} |
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== Incorrect characterization of Marx's "opiate of the masses" == |
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== Should 'controversy' be in the title? == |
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In the ] section, the text says, "Marx condemned religion as 'the opiate of the masses'". |
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I took a look (though not a thorough one) through the discussion archives, and cannot seem to find out why the word 'controversy' is in the title. Controversy is a very vague word which could be tacked onto nearly anything. If the intention behind it was to undermine the idea that there was really serfdom in Tibet, perhaps that would be better expressed in the lead and the body of the article - if, of course, such a view is strongly supported by reliable sources. <p> In any case, it's unclear to me why 'controversy' should be in the title. <p> Aside from that, the article reads remarkably neutrally for such a charged subject. —'''<font color="darkred">Zujine</font>|]''' 08:28, 8 April 2010 (UTC) |
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This is a common but incorrect interpretation of Marx's view, and this is clear if you read the quote in context over at the ] article. At the time this quote was made, the negative value judgments we have today were not attached to opium. Marx's point was not that religion was evil in and of itself, but rather that it was an attempt to adorn the chains of oppression. His point in wanting to abolish religion was not to simply force people to view their chains in the harsh light of day, but rather to encourage them to do something about their oppression instead of contenting themselves with the significantly reduced state of merely being distracted from it. |
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:Check the archive page, especially the sections "Article name", "Split", and "Name change - again?". ] (]) 13:33, 8 April 2010 (UTC) |
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From the article ]: |
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::Well, I looked at the pages long enough to recognise that I probably do not want to dredge up that dispute. If this is the title chosen after long discussion - and it is supposed to be more about the contested discourse surrounding the topic than the topic itself - then I don't have more input. Thank you. —'''<font color="darkred">Zujine</font>|]''' 13:20, 9 April 2010 (UTC) |
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:According to Howard Zinn, Marx "saw religion, not just negatively as 'the opium of the people,' but positively as the 'sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, the soul of soulless conditions.' |
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This article should not repeat and reinforce this common misinterpretation. <!-- Template:Unsigned --><small class="autosigned">— Preceding ] comment added by ] (] • ]) 17:48, 26 October 2018 (UTC)</small> |
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== Alleged Return of Serfdom == |
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== Bias and Propaganda == |
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I also removed the insights of Frederick Hayek which, while interesting, seemed unrelated to the article. —'''<font color="darkred">Zujine</font>|]''' 09:00, 8 April 2010 (UTC) |
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I am now watching this page in order to determine whether it is displaying Chinese propaganda. There seems to be some sort of edit war being fought over this article. The majority of the article seems to be pure Chinese propaganda. However, there is a comment in the introduction of the article which indicates that the legitimacy of the claims made in this article is under dispute. ] (]) 07:28, 21 September 2019 (UTC) |
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:I restored this brief passage, which contributes to the discussion of whether the allegations that pre-1950 Tibet was a feudal serfdom gives the PRC moral justification for ruling Tibet. ] (]) 13:33, 8 April 2010 (UTC) |
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This comment has schizophrenic vibes to it. Are you on any kind of medication? <!-- Template:Unsigned IP --><small class="autosigned">— Preceding ] comment added by ] (]) 13:38, 26 January 2021 (UTC)</small> <!--Autosigned by SineBot--> |
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::Does the source which mentions this, about serfdom in other places, say that it undermines the moral justification of the CCP? I can see the logic to your argument, but so far that just seems like... your logic. If a scholar had said: "The CCP's argument is weakened by the fact that serfdom was practiced in X place and Y place..." - then we could report that (though perhaps not in the lead). <p> To give an example, it would be the same order of logic to include information about the CCP's grotesque human rights abuses, like torture and organ harvesting of religious dissidents, to show that they have no moral justification for anything. The reason we don't include that in the lead, or anywhere in this article, is the same reason we should not include the notes about serfdom in Europe. —'''<font color="darkred">Zujine</font>|]''' 13:14, 9 April 2010 (UTC) |
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== No independent research? == |
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:::I understand what you are saying, but I don't think that's valid justification for excluding it from the article. Hayek/Gorbachev is not just about Europe, but about communist claims to rescue peasants from serfdom, and includes China in that argument. How about a compromise - we move it from the lead to the "Comparison to other regions" section. ] (]) 04:34, 10 April 2010 (UTC) |
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{{Quote|It is difficult to find academic consensus on the nature of society in Tibetan history. Sources on the history of Tibet are available from both pro-Chinese and pro-Tibetan writers.}} |
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::::I guess that would be slightly better. I would not be opposed to a sentence in the lead saying something like "Advocates for Tibetan freedom seek to undermine the CCP's argument for moral legitimacy in invading Tibet by pointing to other societies that practiced serfdom elsewhere in the world." <p>OK, so it would not be quite like that, but the point is some words that make explicit why that information is relevant. Just my view. I accept the idea of moving it, and I will do so now. —'''<font color="darkred">Zujine</font>|]''' 13:26, 10 April 2010 (UTC) |
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The article currently implies that all the Tibet literature should be framed as "pro-Chinese" or "pro-Tibetan", essentially denying the existence of independent reliable sources. I think this wording should be removed (it is unreferenced anyway). There are many independent sources, some of them cited in the article, and there is no support for framing them as "pro-Chinese" or "pro-Tibetan". --] (]) 08:11, 25 November 2020 (UTC) |
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::::::That one tiny passage on "a return to serfdom" has no fewer than three problems with it. I think the stinker should just be deleted. |
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::::::*First of all, its unsourced. We need a specific source where Gorbachev and Hayek analyze the PRC's social system as serfdom. |
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::::::*Neither Hayek nor Gorbachev is an authority on China. Hayek was not exactly a Sinologist (and he is a fierce polemicist), while Gorbachev's was the leader of a regime that saw China as enemy #1-#2. |
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::::::*Both Hayek and Gorbachev are likely to be using "serfdom" rhetorically here. I appreciate the idea that Communism, particularly under Stalin, had features which resembled feudalism and serfdom but that's a line of thinking that should be fleshed out and made very concrete; an article on Tibet is not the place to do it, and neither Hayek nor Gorbachev are authorities on the issue. Historically-specific words like serfdom, slavery, capitalism etc are thrown around all the time, with little scientific merit. Hayek is particularly well-known for this, and his ''"return to serfdom" was aimed at the emerging Welfare State more than anything else.'' This bit is crucial here. Such rhetorical ploys are acceptable only in articles that deal with ideology and polemics, not in historical articles. |
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::::::*The link to "alleged Return to Serfdom" only links to the "Serfdom", which sensibly refrains from engaging Hayek's metaphor and sticks to actual serfdom (excepting the minor and very comical allegation about Belarus). IF hayek's concept of "serfdom" belongs here, it also belongs in ], ], ], ] etc. ...and Ben Carson's quip that the PPACA==slavery belongs in ]. |
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::::::So yeah, I've inserted the relevant tags and urge the regulars to delete this silliness which undermines an otherwise very commendable article. |
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== John Powers is not a neutral source == |
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== questionable material == |
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The following paragraph is sourced to a Website where the same material is used. The problem is this site does not provide any source for this material, all it says is "In 1916 an American missionary, with experience in Chinese administered Eastern Tibet wrote." Since this paragraph does not have a reliable source I think it should be removed. Any ideas? ] (]) 04:27, 9 July 2011 (UTC) |
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:"There is no method of torture known that is not practised in here on these Tibetans, slicing, boiling, tearing asunder and all …To sum up what China is doing here in eastern Tibet, the main things are collecting taxes robbing, oppressing, confiscating and allowing her representatives to burn and loot and steal." |
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so much of this article is based on the book by John Powers without any indication being made that he's a Tibetan Buddhist who supports Tibetan independence, making him an incredibly biased source. He definitely shouldn't be portrayed as some neutral overseer in the debate just because he wrote a book about the "controversy". |
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Never mind I found the proper link. ] (]) 05:03, 9 July 2011 (UTC) |
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] (]) 09:39, 18 April 2022 (UTC) |
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Have the Tibetans themselves reported brutalities like this? We should not rely on the words of a unknown American. ] (]) 06:29, 9 July 2011 (UTC) |
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:I've just checked. John Powers is a scholar on "Buddhism Studies" , not history. Using him as a sole source for controversial facts on history does seem dubious.] (]) 03:19, 17 August 2023 (UTC) |
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:I added the following after reading the whole page. Believing that the American missionary's account might be an mistake, Sir Eric Teichman, a British diplomat clarified that whatever brutality existed, it was "in no way due to any action of the Chinese government in Peking or the provincial authorities in Szechuana." Does anyone have more info on this? ] (]) 17:55, 9 July 2011 (UTC) |
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== Debate and meta-debate == |
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This entire article is a mess and being edited constantly to keep it that way. Why is it not locked? ] (]) 13:12, 16 June 2020 (UTC) |
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There is both a debate and a meta-debate about serfdom in Tibet. The first debate is about whether the Tibetan society prior to 1950s can be described as featuring serf-like characteristics. The meta-debate is about whether this is relevant for other questions - notably whether China’s takeover of Tibet in the 1950s can be justified with promoting social progress. At least two-thirds of the article is about the second question – different from what the title suggests. I propose switching the order and labeling the meta-debate clearly as such. I am not knowledgeable enough about the topic to carry out this change myself, however. ] (]) 20:11, 19 June 2024 (UTC) |
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== Very biased piece of work == |
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The word "China" has been repeatedly mentioned, and was insinuated that it was the wrong and biased POV. Sometimes, when writing about history, people need to be less general, instead of writing "Chinese propaganda, Chinese state media and Pro-Chinese". Historical actors are not as simple as this. It makes me wonder if this article is written by a liberal hippie. <span style="font-size: smaller;" class="autosigned">— Preceding ] comment added by ] (]) 01:39, 11 November 2013 (UTC)</span><!-- Template:Unsigned IP --> <!--Autosigned by SineBot--> |
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== Incorrect characterization of Marx's "opiate of the masses" == |
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| ⚫ |
In the ] section, the text says, "Marx condemned religion as 'the opiate of the masses'". |
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This is a common but incorrect interpretation of Marx's view, and this is clear if you read the quote in context over at the ] article. At the time this quote was made, the negative value judgments we have today were not attached to opium. Marx's point was not that religion was evil in and of itself, but rather that it was an attempt to adorn the chains of oppression. His point in wanting to abolish religion was not to simply force people to view their chains in the harsh light of day, but rather to encourage them to do something about their oppression instead of contenting themselves with the significantly reduced state of merely being distracted from it. |
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From the article ]: |
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:According to Howard Zinn, Marx "saw religion, not just negatively as 'the opium of the people,' but positively as the 'sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, the soul of soulless conditions.' |
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This article should not repeat and reinforce this common misinterpretation. |
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== Bias and Propaganda == |
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I am now watching this page in order to determine whether it is displaying Chinese propaganda. There seems to be some sort of edit war being fought over this article. The majority of the article seems to be pure Chinese propaganda. However, there is a comment in the introduction of the article which indicates that the legitimacy of the claims made in this article is under dispute. ] (]) 07:28, 21 September 2019 (UTC) |
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This is a common but incorrect interpretation of Marx's view, and this is clear if you read the quote in context over at the Opium of the people article. At the time this quote was made, the negative value judgments we have today were not attached to opium. Marx's point was not that religion was evil in and of itself, but rather that it was an attempt to adorn the chains of oppression. His point in wanting to abolish religion was not to simply force people to view their chains in the harsh light of day, but rather to encourage them to do something about their oppression instead of contenting themselves with the significantly reduced state of merely being distracted from it.
I am now watching this page in order to determine whether it is displaying Chinese propaganda. There seems to be some sort of edit war being fought over this article. The majority of the article seems to be pure Chinese propaganda. However, there is a comment in the introduction of the article which indicates that the legitimacy of the claims made in this article is under dispute. Jargo Nautilus (talk) 07:28, 21 September 2019 (UTC)
The article currently implies that all the Tibet literature should be framed as "pro-Chinese" or "pro-Tibetan", essentially denying the existence of independent reliable sources. I think this wording should be removed (it is unreferenced anyway). There are many independent sources, some of them cited in the article, and there is no support for framing them as "pro-Chinese" or "pro-Tibetan". --MarioGom (talk) 08:11, 25 November 2020 (UTC)
so much of this article is based on the book by John Powers without any indication being made that he's a Tibetan Buddhist who supports Tibetan independence, making him an incredibly biased source. He definitely shouldn't be portrayed as some neutral overseer in the debate just because he wrote a book about the "controversy".
There is both a debate and a meta-debate about serfdom in Tibet. The first debate is about whether the Tibetan society prior to 1950s can be described as featuring serf-like characteristics. The meta-debate is about whether this is relevant for other questions - notably whether China’s takeover of Tibet in the 1950s can be justified with promoting social progress. At least two-thirds of the article is about the second question – different from what the title suggests. I propose switching the order and labeling the meta-debate clearly as such. I am not knowledgeable enough about the topic to carry out this change myself, however. Henry Kaspar (talk) 20:11, 19 June 2024 (UTC)
