Last month, Chinese lawyer and dissident Chen Guangcheng escaped house arrest and sought refuge in the American Embassy in Beijing, sparking political debate here in the United States. In this clip, Chris Hayes considers what we really mean when we talk about political issues involving China. “Both sides of the political spectrum,” he says, “see in China a grim dystopic vision of where the United States is headed and what it might one day become.”

—Erin Schikowski