China/Divide has a new post up reflecting how I feel about the Chinese governmental system on it’s best days.
Hence the great trade off of government. To paint in broad strokes and risk some coloring outside the lines, or to paint in fine strokes, which results in cleaner work, but at a bigger price? To let each pull in a different direction, or to have leadership and one decided direction, even if it may be an incorrect one at times? To afford the inefficiencies of debate, consensus and minority interests, or to address the greater good in a utilitarian manner, even if at the risk of alienating the minority?
America was once the greatest experiment in government in the world–the shining “city on a hill.” Today, Beijing’s running the next great experiment in government, a gradual evolution from classic communism to a social democracy with Chinese characteristics. Have recent events made Americans so nervous about our “city on a hill” status as to wish failure upon China, and fault-find its every step?
My best contribution to this idea is this: if the Chinese Communist Party allowed all of it’s members to vote for the top leadership, China would be roughly as democratic as America was in 1776. To wit, that would be 79 million people in a population of 1.3 billion or about 6% suffrage. Remember, in America’s most enlightened age only white land-owning men could vote in most states. That would mean ~60% of white men could vote, men counting for half the population, meaning only 30% of white adults could vote. My Google-Fu is failing me at finding the post-colonial demographics were of white, Native American, and slave populations but you get the picture though. Perhaps more Americans could vote in 1776 but it was anything but universal suffrage.
A second observation is that I prefer the Chinese government to the Filipino government, though I prefer the Philippines more open society (The Inquirer is one of the best newspapers on the planet!). A free press, civil society, and rule of law, for me, are the foundations of good governance that can approximate the positive effects of voting. Voting, in and of itself, does not make a democracy or good governance, lest anyone forget Hamas in Gaza. There is a culture of democracy and I think China and the Philippines fall far from it. Voting means understanding the issues, respecting honest debate, and voting for something more than tribal/clan or economic loyalties. I would argue that America, right now, is losing this culture. When a majority of Americans oppose a piece of Health Care Reform while also supporting the policy contents inside it, something is seriously amiss. I don’t see a lot of difference between the Tea Partiers/GOP Two Minutes of Hate and poor Filipinos being bought off with a bag of rice by parties with no platforms (really, go look at the political party platforms there – there are none!). Neither are terribly fit to vote when you’re voting on personalities and instead of real policy.
My final submission is this. China/Divide is far too optimistic about the scope and possibilities of reform. The problem with my thought experiment at the beginning is that this is a very safe idea not being considered. China has a lot of governing institutions that could be reformed with just a bit more accountability and transparency but they’re it’s just not happening, nor is it even being talked about publicly. Class and village elections are cheap glaze over some very deep structural problems. There are no real reform proposals on the table. Though the CCP’s ideas and goals have changed over the past 30 years, there has been almost no change in governance. The simple truth is that other levers of democratic governance – civil society, rule of law, and a free press – are being constantly weakened. When lawyers stop disappearing, when world-respected NGOs aren’t being accused of “infiltrating our interior”, and when the press stops getting memos like this, I’ll start believing that there’s anything shining about this example. It’s fine that someone wants to stand up in lead the boat of squabbling people, it’s another thing to throw dissenters to the sharks.
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