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Q: Do you think in some ways Chinese style of government is better than democracy?
I'm mostly musing. I'm not a political scientist or even that political. Just an interesting quesiton.
In terms of reacting to situation, the Chinese government can enact laws quickly. If the law works, it stay, if it doesn't, they can just ignore it or do away with it.
Democracy is slow to react to situations since laws must go through the legislation process. Bills must be approved by the House, Senate, then President (in the US). The bills usually get stuck in the House or Senate because the political parties cannot agree on it.
Oh I'm sure the laws pass through the same kind of struggles as they would in a "democracy", we (as in everyone minus the legislative body) just never hear about it until it's done.
Which, very frankly, isn't all very different from the dictatorship I live under back home that's headquartered in Brussels.
Couldn't say for the US but I have the intuition it will sound similar.
Oh I'm sure the laws pass through the same kind of struggles as they would in a "democracy", we (as in everyone minus the legislative body) just never hear about it until it's done.
Which, very frankly, isn't all very different from the dictatorship I live under back home that's headquartered in Brussels.
Couldn't say for the US but I have the intuition it will sound similar.
There are definite advantages. You mentioned speed of reaction, but there is also the chronic short termism associated with democracy. A democratic government can't really introduce a policy unless it will offer pay back before the next election.
An example could be the one child policy. It wasn't popular but China is undeniably better of now because of it. Without it there would be 2 billion plus people and the country would still be a very very 3rd world country. I'm willing to bet almost all of us wouldn't be here right now. Because of the policy some terrible things happened and there were some nasty side effects, but China is now a better place because of it. This policy could never have happened in a democratic country.
Of course, I would rather live in a democracy than a dictatorship, and I'm happy I can return home to a democratic country whenever I like. But there are certainly some advantages to the Chinese system.
Shining_brow:
I don't think you're seeing the benefits of this in the same light as I. While I agree there's a lot of short-sighted self-benefit involved, there can also be a LOT of long-term effects taken into consideration because of this. Ie, more likely to have discussion, research, reports, inquiries, etc done to satisfy all the different groups involved.
Scandinavian:
I simply cannot see any benefits of the OCP. It is being glorified by the CCP as an example of their leadership but the end result is a country of spoilt brats who are supposed to feed an aging population.
How many Nobel Prize winners do you think are only-children ?
Firstly, you're confusing 'laws' with 'bills'. Laws should be fairly slow to change. They're based on what is best for the people and country as a whole - and that's something that doesn't change overnight (or even over the space of year....).
If by "Chinese style", you mean 'corrupt, authoritarian, dictatorial, terrified and self-interested' - hell no!!! Never!
If you mean - a party member must have started off small, and slowly grown up through the system - it has some merits (while they are drawn upon). Certainly, the government should have people who are knowledgeable in their field, and have more experts to draw upon for advice.
The 'problem' with democracy is there are too many different ways that people can see as to how to make a country (state, city) better. The problem with this authoritarian style is that view is narrowed - and that means that not enough other considerations are brought into play. ie - ego.
The one advantage may be - once a decision is made, it's done. Unfortunately, the way China is run, it's rare to get a good decision being made!
The 'benefits' of the Chinese system will only be seen when other - far more impactful - elements are removed.
i recall that democracy died when someone in US though to demolish two skyscrapers giving an exceptional excuse to make the war industry, the big brother more and more stronger....
Shining_brow:
You mean, democracy died in the US. There are still other countries not so affected by that.
ScotsAlan:
Upvote from me. The fall of the twin towers gave the neocons what they wanted. The Patriot act and an unlimited budget to spend on corporate donors. The VP of the time done rather well.
China gets things done fast, if it wants to. A side effect of controlling the economy. In terms of democracy, China responds to needs of its people in ways western democracies can't, but the same can be said of the west.
America is not the only Democratic country in the world. And debating and vetting potential laws before they're passed is a bad thing?
America the worst example of Democracy (among civilized countries) has national healthcare. In China, the better governed country the CCP promised the people healthcare and social welfare then a few years later told the people they're on their own (the money magically disappeared and no questions were allowed to be asked).
So yes China is better in the same way that North Korea is.
The best democratic system will be massively better than the Chinese system. But on a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being the worst system, 10 being the best, I would put China at 6.5. DPRK is at zero of course.
The UK I would put at 7, but that is more down to freedom of the press rather than the political process.
Trump takes the US down to 4.
Clinton takes the US down to 3.
Bernie Sanders would have taken the US to 9.9.
cub:
Englteached, the curent POTUS sure has been doing a good example of being a king and/or dictator destroying the USA by his actions and decrees by fiat, bypasing congress, one of the 3 checks and balances of government while congress lets him do this! Term limits are needed and congress gets NO benefits no pension!
