Why are the Chinese still accepting a communist regime?

[Cardboard]

There is still no democracy in mainland China while many around them have it: Japan, South Korea, Philippines, Taiwan.

 

While it has moved heavily towards capitalism, there are still a lot of decisions centrally managed and it is still a system where people do not chose their leaders. There is also a lot of people that move in and out and information from around the world does flow in despite restrictions.

 

I can understand the power of force but, it is not like they have one strong "recognizable" dictator anymore.

 

I find that odd.

 

Cardboard

[Edward]

There is a strong democracy in Israel but no democracy whatsoever in any of its neighbors. Why? Culture. Singapore is the most capitalistic country in the World but there is no democracy there. England was capitalist long before it became democratic.

 

So I would say capitalism in necessary for democracy but that alone won't cut it. You also need stuff like free speech.

[Uccmal]

Interesting question that sent me on a search. 

 

This article is interesting:

 

http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-19876372

 

The entire system is designed to stifle innovation and promote obedience. 

 

It seem to be democratic but not a fully representative democracy.  But then, what government is? 

 

The US only elects the elites or those who are already established.  Canada has elected a prime minister who grew up surrounded by power.  Wherever you get populist governments  the countries go to the dogs real quick. 

[rb]

What's happening is China is very interesting. I don't know if it's the first time this happened but it's certainly unique now. What's for sure that China is not communist anymore despite the name. Communism is an economic system not a political one. A system where all people through the state own all the capital. While it hasn't been so in practice. In theory you could have a democratic communist country.

 

However, since China shifted its economic system to capitalism it's definitely not communist anymore. Not sure what it is anymore. Maybe some weird dictatorial capitalism like Pinochet's Chile without the psychopathic angle.

 

It's also possible that the Chinese simply don't care much if they're a democracy or not. In Eastern Europe for example people's problem with the communist gov't wasn't really the lack of democracy. It was the economic failure and shortage of goods and the extensive domestic spying on citizens. For now the Chinese gov't tries not to piss the people off too much and the money in rolling in and life gets better. So why mess with a good thing? It will be interesting to see what happens when China will inevitably go through an economic crisis. I suspect things will get dicier.

[Jurgis]

Right. It's not clear that people want democracy per se. Good economic conditions probably trump (eh, not a pun) the political system. So if you give people lots of money and games and generally good/great living conditions, they might be happy with a dictatorship or whatever. Of course that's in ideal case. In reality things are in shades of grey: the system's not perfect, not everyone gets good living conditions, etc. So China can go in a multitude of directions depending. We'll just have to see.

[rkbabang]

Right. It's not clear that people want democracy per se. Good economic conditions probably trump (eh, not a pun) the political system. So if you give people lots of money and games and generally good/great living conditions, they might be happy with a dictatorship or whatever. Of course that's in ideal case. In reality things are in shades of grey: the system's not perfect, not everyone gets good living conditions, etc. So China can go in a multitude of directions depending. We'll just have to see.

 

Yes, there is nothing more important than bread and circuses.  This has always been the case.  Democracy is not necessarily an optimal system anyway. When people learn that they can simply vote themselves more bread and circuses it eventually will collapse.    If you had to have a government, a benevolent dictator would probably be the best you could hope for.  The problem with that is that even benevolent people once given unlimited power don't remain benevolent dictators for long.  And even if you could find such a saint how would you ever find another after (s)he's gone?  There is really no stable form of government.

 

[eggbriar]

What's happening is China is very interesting. I don't know if it's the first time this happened but it's certainly unique now. What's for sure that China is not communist anymore despite the name. Communism is an economic system not a political one. A system where all people through the state own all the capital. While it hasn't been so in practice. In theory you could have a democratic communist country.

 

However, since China shifted its economic system to capitalism it's definitely not communist anymore. Not sure what it is anymore. Maybe some weird dictatorial capitalism like Pinochet's Chile without the psychopathic angle.

 

 

maybe not as much as it once was, but still:

 

"But dig a little deeper, and China’s rise begins to look less imposing. First, the top 12 Chinese companies are all state-owned. They include massive banks and oil companies that the central government controls through the State-Owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the ruling State Council (SASAC), which appoints CEOs and makes decisions on large investments. Of the 98 Chinese companies on the list, only 22 are private."

 

http://fortune.com/2015/07/22/china-global-500-government-owned/

[Peregrine]

I think it's wrong to assume that a democracy is de facto the best possible system for any country. There are different circumstances that exists in different countries.

 

China's autocratic system has brought about the fastest pace of economic growth for any civilization in history. This is even more impressive when you consider of the size of the country. It is a miracle that a country of that size went from subsistence agriculture to where it is today over the span of 40 years.

[Eye4Valu]

Why are the Chinese still accepting a communist regime?

 

Because  they haven't been listening to the Guns n Roses' "Chinese Democracy" album. Axl and Slash will set them straight!

[winjitsu]

Chinese diaspora here...

 

If your real question is why do the people accept an authoritarian regime, I'll argue that Republics and democracies took hundreds of years to establish in western civilization, first in Greece/Rome, later during the French Enlightenment.

 

On the other hand, China has been under emperor rule for basically all of modern history except for the past 70 years. The history of people/culture is not democracy in Athens or Robespierre during the French Enlightenment, its all about patriarchal subservience in Mencius and Confucianism. Its about sacrificing individual freedoms for a more harmonious society.

 

Exporting democracy, as the US has done, is basically a form of cultural imperialism. Not saying its right or wrong, just saying it as it is. Literally all the countries listed, "Japan, South Korea, Philippines, Taiwan," had regime changes due to US/Western led imperialism...

[CorpRaider]

Feel like Taiwan and Hong Kong should be exhibits a1 and a2 in your analysis...

[Kapitalust]

Agree on the importance of history and culture as to why China maintains their particular political system.

 

China is also an enormous country - the western regions resemble very little of what most people think of "China" when they think of China, i.e. Han Chinese of the eastern coastal region (Beijing, Shanghai, etc). But we generally only hear about the Han Chinese because they are the ones who control the country; they also control the media so dissenting information is not readily and abundantly available.

 

For example, Xinjiang is culturally and historically very different from the culture and history of the Han Chinese - there have been lots of resentment and conflict in the region associated with Han Chinese rule.

 

So in a country as immense as China, it would be too much of a generalization to assume that the country accepts the current ruling political party flat out. We'd have to define what we mean by accept - accepting but secretly objecting out of fear of reprisal; accepting as a true believer; openly objecting; etc. - and where they accept it. But then, this becomes a difficult task, as stated before, the image we get of the country is heavily censored and curated - it is difficult to see clearly because of active obfuscation by the state.

 

Perhaps it's a combination of history, culture, state and media manipulation, ignorance of dissenting opinions in regions outside the core of Han Chinese China, nationalism and nationalistic pride, rejection of Western ideas and concepts tied to the humiliation of China by Western powers in the past, and I'm sure many, many other factors.

[CorpRaider]

I really just think they've held on longer than the Soviets, because they were more willing to massacre their people.  I mean if Gorbachev was willing to pull Tiananmen Square, is there any doubt that Putin would be happy to wear red?  Clearly Taiwan and Hong Kong have unleashed human potential much more efficiently and on a far greater scale.  That will probably register eventually.

[Buffett_Groupie]

The best way to understand China is to simply visit China and witness the transformations (good and bad) over the last 3 decades with your own eyes before making a judgement.  And if one visit isn't enough, then go there every year or even every month to see the changes!

[rb]

The best way to understand China is to simply visit China and witness the transformations (good and bad) over the last 3 decades with your own eyes before making a judgement.  And if one visit isn't enough, then go there every year or even every month to see the changes!

I've been to China on fairly long trips 7 times in the past 10 years. One thing I've learned is that when one comes along and tells you authoritatively that one knows China, one doesn't know anything about China.