seeJudy
VIP Member
1) DEMOCRACY The Economist
You seem to only see the surface; it is beyond doubtful that China will ever be a Western style democracy, in fact it is an impossibility. China is not a dictatorship, it is a 13 million person oligarchy; China today is more inclusive than it has ever been, but don't think for one minute it will go further and let every boozo/bozo have a vote; not even the average Chinese on the street is for that.
As for China's "model"; on the political side it is more inclusive than what prevailed in South Korea and Taiwan at their equivalent stages; both were one man dictatorship under Park and Chang respectively (and you could argue Hong Kong as for most of its history it was ruled by a one man Governor). China is about as inclusive as Singapore, which is in effect a one party state. As for China's economic model; it is standard East Asian capital accumulation with some state-owned enterprises left over.
Moreover, how democratic did Japan (which really industrialized in the 19th century), South Korea, and Taiwan become? The LDP has ruled Japan 54 out of the last 59 years; South Korea politics is a opera among connected families and the daughter of their former dictator is now president; Taiwan is now governed by the "democratically elected" former one party KMT (which despite the displeasure with President Ma, still does well on all levels of elections); and Singapore is still, for all intents and purpose, a one party state. These nations did not so much become democratic as they, to borrow from 18th century Portugal, "kept up appearances for the English".
The difference for China is that they are nearly 1/5th of humanity and do not feel the need to keep up appearances for anyone; moreover, just as Westerner believe themselves to be the standard of "normality" so do the Chinese. The size and complexity of China is one of the greatest arguments (along with the complete failure of liberal democracy for non-Western peoples) for maintaining its oligarchical (really Meritocratic Technocracy) structure. Also, don’t discount nation’s copying the Chinese model; the decline of the West and the rise of China will lead many to try; however, it will not be without difficulty.
You seem to only see the surface; it is beyond doubtful that China will ever be a Western style democracy, in fact it is an impossibility. China is not a dictatorship, it is a 13 million person oligarchy; China today is more inclusive than it has ever been, but don't think for one minute it will go further and let every boozo/bozo have a vote; not even the average Chinese on the street is for that.
As for China's "model"; on the political side it is more inclusive than what prevailed in South Korea and Taiwan at their equivalent stages; both were one man dictatorship under Park and Chang respectively (and you could argue Hong Kong as for most of its history it was ruled by a one man Governor). China is about as inclusive as Singapore, which is in effect a one party state. As for China's economic model; it is standard East Asian capital accumulation with some state-owned enterprises left over.
Moreover, how democratic did Japan (which really industrialized in the 19th century), South Korea, and Taiwan become? The LDP has ruled Japan 54 out of the last 59 years; South Korea politics is a opera among connected families and the daughter of their former dictator is now president; Taiwan is now governed by the "democratically elected" former one party KMT (which despite the displeasure with President Ma, still does well on all levels of elections); and Singapore is still, for all intents and purpose, a one party state. These nations did not so much become democratic as they, to borrow from 18th century Portugal, "kept up appearances for the English".
The difference for China is that they are nearly 1/5th of humanity and do not feel the need to keep up appearances for anyone; moreover, just as Westerner believe themselves to be the standard of "normality" so do the Chinese. The size and complexity of China is one of the greatest arguments (along with the complete failure of liberal democracy for non-Western peoples) for maintaining its oligarchical (really Meritocratic Technocracy) structure. Also, don’t discount nation’s copying the Chinese model; the decline of the West and the rise of China will lead many to try; however, it will not be without difficulty.
