Fan shen opened my eyes, in just so many ways. The feudal system, (of which Imperial China was a glaring example), although stable, had a large majority living way way below the poverty line. Speaking of people going missing ... well?
But this argument always goes nowhere. Communism is bad. China is bad. I get it.
I just don't see life in good/bad terms.
An obvious example is those very same folks who go nuts on China and communism often attend churches, which, by their very nature, only got there because people realised they could have a communal (note the root word, please) house of worship if they banded together in a spirit of co-operation.
So it's deeper ... the study of human behaviour is complex.
Edited to add ....
Fanshen - Wikipedia