Democracy is an unavoidable topic of the 21st century. As
future leaders, we wonder whether the qualities of China’s autocracy will
constrain its ascent and whether the coming decades require a democratic
opening; Or is the super power better off following the path, that has gotten
it so far? Is communism in China here to stay? And will China’s emergence as a
superpower, be questioned by countries which fear its authoritarian system on
the global order?
For:
Communism in its
bare form refers to the idea of everyone in a given society receiving equal
shares of the benefits derived from labour, and for the people’s republic of China;
it has been the way to follow since the last 50 years. Over the past five
years, China’s GDP increased from 26.6 trillion Yuan to 51.9 trillion Yuan and
it now ranks second in the world. It is also the largest exporter in the world.
To grow from a country plagued with invasions and unstable rulings to a nation
with top notch manufacturing prowess required the steady hand of a firm and
able government. The Chinese model of governing provides the stability needed
to develop the infrastructure to support an active economy.
Love it or hate
it, but there’s surely no ignoring the powerhouse that China is. Talks of it
becoming a potential superpower have been around for quite some time now. And
such leaps of development will carry on as long as the government continues to follow
what it has been doing right for the past five decades.
Versus:
“A house divided against itself cannot stand”- Abraham
Lincoln.
In
the wake of the economic slowdown, the dark side of the Chinese
crony-capitalism is exposed. Social unrest, corruption, gender biases have
escalated in the recent times. If the desire to revive economic growth, to stay
in power, is not sufficient to motivate China’s new leadership to gamble with
political reforms, i.e., to move towards democracy, then the country’s
increasing social tensions will force their hands. Fuelled by resentment
against inequality, corruption and environmental degradation, the Chinese citizens
have begun to challenge the party on a wide range of public policy issues.
Suppressing protesters may work in the short term, but the argument is that
even autocrats must find ways to listen to their people for their government to
be stable in the longer run. History has witnessed, from transitions to
democracy, regimes that initiate change before they totally lose credibility
fare much better than those that resist democracy until the bitter end.
Contributed by:
Mayuri Moharir
Neha Tyagi
Parvati Nandakumar
Section A, Economics
Batch of 2013-15
Mayuri Moharir
Neha Tyagi
Parvati Nandakumar
Section A, Economics
Batch of 2013-15
14 comments:
All fingers aren't alike , capitalism lays it's foundation on that , a basic rule of economics is greatest good for the greatest number of people . China has done that , greater good for it's people , combined than the population of Capitalist Countries combined together .
Democracy respects an individual’s rights. Democracy is where the supreme power is vested with the people and exercised directly by them or by their elected agents under a free electoral system. It is a state of society characterized by formal equality of rights and privileges. In a democracy, every person is equal, and they have the right to work to support themselves and to move up or down the social ladder. It allows eligible citizens to have a say in the decisions, including proposal, development, and creation of laws, that affect their lives unlike in communism where an average citizen has no role to play with decisions that are made concerning his own development. The prospects of growth are higher and more inclusive if a Government engages in democracy.
The Communist theory is built upon quality and strong social communities. China as a communist country focuses on the benefit of the society as a whole instead of any individual; the need of the society are placed above the good of one person. It is not in democracy that all are treated equal but in communism. Democracy creates inequality. China’s perspective on public good and property rights are a fundamental part of the communist theory and philosophy. In strict communist theory the “means of production” is collectively owned by the people in a community to insure that everybody will get the products that they desire.
Saying democracy creates inequality is like saying recession boosts economic growth. Even though communism helped China grow at a faster pace, it ignored the environmental and equality aspects. The Gini coefficient of 2012 which was .0474 is enough to derive the fact that China has not been responsible enough towards creating equality. Being the largest contributor to CO2 emissions in the world, its act of outsourcing its pollution to its own borders shows the sense of discrimination towards the population. The Policies decided by political leaders of China has created a huge income gap between the coastal and inland households which indicates the exploitation of a particular class due to faulty decision making.
Coming to the inequality aspect, are all democratic countries successful in maintaining equality? Even the largest democratic countries in this world have failed to create equality amongst their people. Equality is always a Utopian situation and unfortunately, it is the fact. So, there is no guarantee that if china changes to democracy, equality will prevail. In fact, China being a communist country can take decisions quickly. Recently, China made it clear that it is aware of its problems and is making plans to unveil reforms (income inequality is one of its concerns) at the next meeting of all members of the Central committee of the Communist Party of China. In addition, the Chinese government can make hard decisions, something that America, through it’s current debt crisis, has demonstrated it can’t.
The communism of China is different from the tyrannical rules of Mao and Stalin. Many have a mistaken idea about Chinese communism that government does whatever it wants to the people-not true! The Chinese government is terrified about political instability and its policies are fairly reasonable and for the good of the country.
Inequality breeds large income gap. Once it becomes acute, it can produce political polarization, splitting the political system between haves and have-nots, making it more difficult for governments to address imbalances and respond to brewing crises. On the other hand, democratic countries are successfully able to manage equality for sustainable development of the economy in the long-run.
Communalist countries do make decisions quickly but most of the decisions are unable to satisfy its citizens’ demands and is independent of social welfare. China's quick decision making has often met with protests and civil disturbances on the streets. Further, as one of five veto-wielding members of the United Nations Security Council, China’s obligation is to uphold and not repudiate, core U.N. principles which include the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
China has overinvested in real estate and heavy manufacturing. Meanwhile, labour costs (and labour unrest) have increased .China’s annual economic growth rate has slipped from 12 per cent to about 7.5 per cent. Market-driven reforms can happen only if other leaders relax state control.
Communist rule changed China in many ways. People benefitted greatly from these changes.The peasantry benefitted from investment in the collectivisation and commune programmes. These granted them income, land and an education. The quality of housing often left a lot to be desired but on the whole these developments, for the peasants who were involed, were improvements on their previous existence. The Chinese system of government had for several decades been subject to challenges. China had been embroiled in civil wars and international conflict for decades. Communist rule in China put an end to this instability which enabled policies to be implemented that gradually allowed China to emerge as a political, economic and military power.Chinese President Xi Jinping said the government opted for slower growth this year to allow it to adjust the structure of the nation’s economy.Goldman Sachs Group Inc. researchers boosted their 2013 growth estimate.The two banners of "nationalism" and "patriotism" both deeply rooted in Chinese society, are very effective in upholding the rule of the communist regime. The Chinese, particularly intellectuals, never differentiate between the motherland and the ruler. China is, however, well on its way to becoming an economic giant. China is also on its way to becoming a military giant. If the totalitarians in Beijing have their way, the availability of ready cash and military power will transform them into a communist giant. If this comes to pass, Western leaders will have to make difficult decisions about how to deal with this emerging giant. China's economic success is certainly not to the credit of the socialist state-owned economy. It must be pointed out that most profits from international trade and investment go to the government and help further the growth of the state and people. China's rapid economic expansion has driven up its demand for foreign oil and other commodities and its interest in foreign consumer markets. As China gains more and more economic power, it is racing forward in terms of overseas investments, and Chinese companies are moving to expand their international business holdings.
Chinese have come a long way from being a staunch communist nation but what remarkable about their economy is that it has shown healthy growth in torrid times.This clearly shows communism may not solve all problems but it brings greater number of people under the purview of all developmental activities.On the other hand one of the world's largest democracy India has not been able to have sustainable growth.Economic disparity is more prevalent in India than China.This clearly shows China has been able to achieve inclusive growth successfully.Real freedom can only come when the majority of the population is able to have quality standard of living.Most of the provinces in coastal areas have prospered and rest of the country is also catching up with the rapid pace of development of these coastal provinces.China has been able to build world class infrastructure throughout the country efficiently at a rapid pace which has been due to strict regime of chinese communist leadership.
The above argument, time and again, focuses on the fact that development is associated only with communism. The betterment of peasants, handling a civil war, adjusting national economy can be done more efficiently (least being the same) in a democracy. It is important for China to think about democracy because of the following reasons:
1. One party regime, though sophisticated, suffers from organizational ageing and decay. Leaders get
progressively weaker, thereby building a weak society. Similar kind of parties in Taiwan and Mexico fell after being 70 years in power. (China has been for 63 so far!)
2. A magnificent rise in economy fosters demand for greater democracy. Statistical analysis shows that once income rises above $4000 (PPP), likelihood of democratic transitions increase dramatically. (South Korea and Taiwan in mid 1980s.)
3. If the party continues to resist reforms, there could be an unanticipated mass revolt (like Tiananmen Square, 1989, Jasmine Revolution- Middle East). In most cases of crisis induced transitions since the 1970s, the military abandoned the autocratic rulers at the most critical moment.
4. The Chinese bank based financial system shares characteristics with Suharto Era Indonesian banking system (which collapsed in 1998). China has huge non performing loans which are technically insolvent. In addition, shadow banking system adds risks to the financial stability. If it is a financial meltdown, the economy would halt and there would be social unrest wanting for reforms (In this case, only democracy).
"Why is China Superior to the West in the Political System"?
The first advantage is that under the one-party system China could formulate a long-term plan for national development and ensure stabilization of its policies without being affected by the alternation of parties with different positions and ideologies.
The second one lies in its high efficiency, and promptly effective reaction to emerging challenges and opportunities, especially in response to sudden and catastrophic accidents.
Some examples as follows: Terminal Three of Beijing Capital International Airport built for the Beijing Olympics was finished in three years, which is not enough time for the approval process in the West. In 2008, after the Wenchuan earthquake that hits once in a generation, China impressed the whole world by its fast and efficient response.
The third is its effective containment of corruption in the social transition period. China is in a period of economic prosperity and social transition, which is generally faced with large amounts of corruption throughout human history. However, compared with India and Russia in this same period, China has far less corruption.
The fourth is a more responsible government. He said, in democratic societies, many officials are elected with fixed terms, and they then will not fall out of power before the expiration unless they break the law or make wrong decisions or take no action. Once their terms expire, they will not be blamed for any problem. In China, however, the Principal Officials Accountability System is gradually improved and officials must be responsible for their incompetence, negligence of duty or mistakes at any time.
The fifth one, lies in its personnel training and selecting system and avoiding the waste of talented people. In practice, China's systems of selection from one level to another and conscious personnel training is superior to the West's election system.
The last one is that one party (Chinese Communist Party) can truly represent the whole people .Under the Western multiparty system, each party represents different interest groups. But in China, since the reform and opening up, economic policies have been made without special bias in favor of any interest groups
Official corruption remains pervasive in China as political power are in the hands of a few at the centre. Limited check on party and government officials & with lack of transparency has enabled networks of corruption to thrive. China falls in the middle of all countries in terms of perceived corruption, slipping from a rank of 72 in 2007 to 80 in 2012 on Transparency International‘s Corruption Perceptions Index. The tyranny can't be ruled out as there are still chances of any politician screening himself with an un-divulged image and vested interest becoming the head. The disaster will sooner prevail with wistful results to the public. Many agencies had gone gaga and raised concerns over their insane act and policies in past. The restricted freedom of religion, freedom of expression and human rights violations in China had shown the loopholes in their leadership style. The orthodox protocols subdue its growth and leave a question to itself whether they are indeed the future leaders!!
“There is no such thing as a perfect leader either in the past or present, in China or elsewhere. If there is one, he is only pretending, like a pig inserting scallions into its nose in an effort to look like an elephant.” -by Liu Shao-ch'i
People should correct themselves of the facts before presenting a case , prima facie , Bo Xilai , the ex member of the Polit Bureau of People’s Party of China has been sentenced to life imprisonment over the embezzlement of funds and an alleged acquisition of murder of a UK citizen , it can only happen when a country as big and significant like China is ruled by an iron fist . Restricted freedom of religion is not at all present and in the recent history there has been only one incident of religious extremism that was of Uigurs in South China.
The Communist Party of China is at the vanguard both of the Chinese working class and of the Chinese people and the Chinese nation. It is the core of leadership for the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics and represents the development trend of China's advanced productive forces, the orientation of China's advanced culture and the fundamental interests of the overwhelming majority of the Chinese people. The fundamental reason behind all of China's achievements and progress is that the communists have blazed a path of socialism by taking in view Chinese characteristics and established the socialist system.
“Let the ruling classes tremble at a communist revolution. The proletarians have nothing to lose but their chains. They have a worl d to win. Workingmen of all countries, unite!”
-by Karl Marx
As China undergoes its once-a-decade political transition, Chinese and westerners alike wonder whether its new leaders will put the country on a path to openness and transparency. This is morally desirable. More to the point, political liberalisation is a strategic imperative if China is to sustain its rise toward world power status
Despite China’s stellar record of growth over the last 30 years, Chinese citizens are increasingly dissatisfied with the ‘‘growth first’’ model and are demanding more social justice and equality. The Chinese Communist Party realizes this and its discourse on democracy has changed subtly in recent years. Premier Wen Jiabao is perhaps the leader who has raised the most hope about China’s political reform in recent times. In 2006, for example, he told a delegation from the Brookings Institute in the United States, ‘‘We have to move to democracy. . .we know the direction in which we are going.’’ Wen mentioned three aspects of democracy: elections, judicial independence, and supervision based on checks and balances.
Despite such positive trends, one might wonder if all the talk about democracy has any real impact on political and economic development in China. Well, it does, for several reasons. First, even if the democratic discourse is just speechifying, it can provide a weapon for civil society to mobilize and hold the Party accountable. It is interesting that, when protesting the persecution of three netizens attacked because of their speech online, demonstrators held a banner quoting Premier Wen, ‘‘Justice Is More Brilliant than the Sun,’’ in front of a local court in Fujian. Second, there is good reason to believe that some Party members are genuinely interested in promoting democracy in China. This is because they understand that the Party’s legitimacy cannot stem from economic performance alone but must be based upon multiple sources, including political legitimacy. Moreover, they probably understand that the Party will be able to hold on to power or protect its interests if it initiates the political reform and shapes the constitutional design rather than if it is driven out of power by others in a time of crisis.
Scholars have found that a peaceful regional environment also contributes positively to democratic transitions. Although much has been said and written about how such an environment has contributed to China’s economic rise, little attention has been paid to how it can influence democratization in China. It can increase the level of economic, social, political, and cultural exchange between China and the outside world, which will facilitate the spread of democratic norms and values. Democratization in China’s immediate neighbourhood will also mitigate fears of chaos and instability in China, because democratization will be less likely to be seen as a conspiracy engineered by hostile Western forces.
Lastly, democratization will bring various international benefits to China. Recent empirical studies have demonstrated that democratization has promoted trade and financial liberalization globally. According to this logic, coalitions within China which have benefited from such reforms since 1978 will have incentives to push for democracy, as it will bring about further liberalization. Also, it is unlikely that Taiwan will accept unification with mainland China if the latter remains an authoritarian state. In an interview in October 2010, Taiwan’s President Ma Ying-jeou stated that any negotiation of political union with mainland China would require China to become a democracy.
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