kymarto wrote:
Background here: I lived in Asia for 32 years and was in China half of each year for the last ten, as a photojournalist for Europe's largest TV network. I've been all over China and seen what is happening on both sides of the screen, so to speak, and interviewed hundreds of Chinese, from govt people to dissidents and everyone in between. There is plenty that does not work in China, and I am not a supporter of their system for a number of reasons. But there are a lot of things that do work.
First, the present government lifted 800,000,000 people out of poverty in the last four decades. To raise the living standard of such a proportion of the population in so short a time is unprecedented in world history.
As a consequence of this, 98% of the people support the government. There is no quasi-civil war, as in the US, and the government can pass policy and steer things quickly.
In theory, a two-party system offers checks and balances, but it can also slow governance, in that if one party fails to satisfy people's needs, people have to v**e the other party into office and wait for their policies to take effect. There is so much fighting that often policies are never implemented, just being batted back and forth and never acted upon. In the US at the moment, the level of partisanship is hurting the welfare of the country, as the two sides are more interest in fighting for power than in the welfare of their constituents. In the Chinese one-party system, the government must be accountable to the people--there is no opposition to blame for any failures. Of course, there is potential for abuse and authoritarianism, and it occurs, but to retain legitimacy, the party must meet certain needs of the people. For instance, the terrible smog in Northern China became such a hot topic publicly, that the government has taken very bold steps and has reduced the instances and severity of pollution by a large measure in just a few years.
Because there is centralized oversight of industry, companies are not in competition as wastefully as in the US, and can act in a coordinated manner in international dealing, offering package deals to developing countries that the US cannot match. China has Africa sewed up in a way that will make it very hard for the US to gain a foothold on that very important continent. As the US falls into dysfunction and infighting, breaking international agreements, it makes the Chinese model much more attractive to developing countries.
China plans ahead. The five year plans set out a roadmap for coordinated development and problem solving. It also allows them to work on megaprojects like the Belt and Road Initiative, that stretches from China across Asia all the way into Europe, which will stimulate local economies as well as giving China an improved way to get their products to Western markets.
China is spending big on the future--supporting education and infrastructure, both of which are crumbling in the US.
At the end of the day, after all the hype and marketing of this system versus that system, my freedoms versus your freedoms settles like the dust it is, people everywhere will support policy and laws that benefit them and their children in real and immediate ways. Both the American system and the Chinese system have real things to offer people in terms of their welfare and their benefit, and conversely have structural flaws that limit that welfare and those benefits. In the past, the American system was clearly that with the highest return on investment. That is no longer true, as the Chinese have unveiled a model that works better in some important ways.
I could get more specific, but that is a general overview. That being said, I have plenty of criticisms of the Chinese system and Chinese practices, and the reason I bring all this up is because I would like to see the US get its sh*t together and present a valid alternative to what the Chinese have on offer. I'm not seeing that at the moment.
Background here: I lived in Asia for 32 years and ... (
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Lengthy and accurate. China’s long-term, consistent political planning and leadership are their major assets; it’s something we lack. Our democracy is weakened by the see-saw like political change in direction we seem to endure every eight years or so. In essence, last few decades have seen American politics taking a step left then taking a step right... while China steps forward.