That’s why propaganda is critical to the survival of the totalitarian state. Its not enough to that the people obey. They must believe
Dr. Kim looked down a dirt road that led to farmhouses. Most of them had walls around them with metal gates. She tried one; it turned out to be unlocked. She pushed it open and peered inside. On the ground she saw a small metal bowl with food. She looked closer – it was rice, white rice, mixed with scraps of meat. Dr. Kim couldn’t remember the last time she’d seen a bowl of pure white rice. What was a bowl of rice doing there, just sitting out on the ground? She figured it out just before she heard the dog’s bark.
Up until that moment, a part of her had hoped that China would be just as poor as North Korea. She still wanted to believe that her country was the best place in the world. The beliefs she had cherished for a lifetime would be vindicated. But now she couldn’t deny what was staring her plain in the face; dogs in China ate better than doctors in North Korea.
HT: Alex Tabarrok
4 comments
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Thursday ~ August 25th, 2011 at 5:12 pm
Gepap
It is sad and depressing that this even needs to be said.
Friday ~ August 26th, 2011 at 8:50 am
Noumenon
So what do North Koreans eat that’s cheaper than rice? (and who feeds dogs rice?)
Friday ~ August 26th, 2011 at 12:03 pm
Fred Geisler
“So what do North Koreans eat that’s cheaper than rice?”
I think the point, is that few-if-any North Koreans get the meat with their rice.
“(and who feeds dogs rice?)”
Most places, dogs eat what their masters eat, usually minus the expensive luxury food (however defined locally). It’s only the wealthiest parts of the world where prepackaged kibble is readily available.
Friday ~ August 26th, 2011 at 11:43 pm
Noumenon
I thought the point was that she “couldn’t remember the last time she’d seen a bowl of pure white rice.”
I didn’t expect kibble but I expected either table scraps or something with meat (apparently that was just my American protein fetish and not an actual dog nutrition requirement though).