"Garbage time of history"

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Economics buzzword.  From the Wall Street Journal's China newsletter:

Here's the linked article in Chinese.

lìshǐ de lèsè shíjiān 历史的垃圾时间 ("garbage time of history")

This expression reminded me of what I knew as the "garbage bin of history":

The "ash heap of history", also called "dustbin of history" or "garbage heap of history" or "landfill of history", is a figurative speech about people, events, artifacts, and ideologies. It is used about people that are forgotten or things that will be forgotten in history.

Ronald Reagan used this speech as an example and the Soviet Union, Leninism, and Marxism will eventually fall and be forgotten.

Leon Trotsky once famously used the phrase "dustbin of history" referring to when the Mensheviks walked out of a meeting during the Russian Revolution in 1917.

(Wikipedia)

I'm surprised "rubbish" doesn't figure in any of these formulations.

 

Selected readings

[Thanks to Mark Metcalf]



3 Comments

  1. Chips Mackinolty said,

    July 31, 2024 @ 7:26 pm

    Then there's the more recent poster text:

    PUTIN THE BIN

    The dustbin of history!

  2. Chas Belov said,

    August 3, 2024 @ 3:07 pm

    Image text:

    Buzzword

    "Garbage time of history" (5549 2X8$(a))

    In a sign of growing frustration with China's economic prospects, a phrase that refers to the dying minutes in a sports game when the losing side has given up is gaining currency. It's used to express a sense of helplessness and economic gloom. Chinese state media has denounced it as another attempt to talk down the country's economy.

  3. Chas Belov said,

    August 3, 2024 @ 3:08 pm

    And I had fun parsing that first sentence.

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