How could we be missing out, lol? They're practically the same minus a few differences here and there?!
It's fascinating stuff, though, when you think about the term "luxury" which between these two societies, they're defined drastically different from one another. While in the US luxury can surpass the gluttonous level and the sky's the limit since we embody a capitalist society. But in a communist society like China, it doesn't work that way. It would go against the collective concept of equality so they would never encourage too much luxury since not everyone could participate and enjoy such levels of luxurious comfort. But they can push the limit as far as it becomes borderline acceptable and still remain in the "average" level for the majority and still pass as the collective while at the same time, giving the impression that it isn't restrictive.
This is the classic representation of pushing the bounds of negative freedom to mirror positive freedom as much as possible to make it acceptable to the masses. This was foreseen way back in ancient times by the greats such as Aristotle & Cicero and so on when they defined the concepts of positive & negative freedoms.
It's fascinating stuff because if you think about it, the Chinese ruling party has realized that the concept of negative freedom associated with Communism restricts & hinders positive growth, and there must be a collective order to maintain that balance between freedom and constraints. At the same time, realizing it needs to compete with the world to get on top, it can't practice the full extent of the laws of negative freedom. The younger and motivated generations won't stand for it. So, the genius that is the ruling Chinese have accepted & acknowledged that while individuals should have the freedom to make choices for the benefit of growth, it had to be limited and cannot allow full positive freedom because that's the essence of a free society and contrary to the basic tenets of communism, hence there are limits to strike a balance and ensure a harmonious society.
That's exactly what we see here in that balance which prevents unrestricted actions that could disrupt social order. So, it's about finding that sweet spot where some freedom can coexist with responsibility AND respect for others. The Chinese have mastered that because they've learned from Tiananmen Square and the new, younger generation and the need to appease the masses and grow the country at the same time without losing the essence of Communism and collective equality.
you know, the fun stuff!
