Comments on: Five ways China could become a democracy

By: MelonCollie

MelonCollie — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 01:17:49 +0000

lester on February 13, 2013 at 5:45 PM

We really do have the ODDEST agreements!

By: Christien

Christien — Wed, 13 Feb 2013 22:59:00 +0000

Tom Friedman not impress.

By: aryeung

aryeung — Wed, 13 Feb 2013 22:49:28 +0000

What’s wrong with a Constitutional Republic – a real one?

By: lester

lester — Wed, 13 Feb 2013 22:45:22 +0000

They’re quickly growing a large middle class. The first generation of that middle class would be for the lack of a better word “appreciative” of the system that improved their lives. The second generation however is naturally more distant and since food on the plate is not an issue they will have time to start looking at previously “undesirable” ideas like Democracy.

Not overnight but barring the unforeseen, they will morph into something more open eventually.

By: Atlas

Atlas — Wed, 13 Feb 2013 22:40:06 +0000

1. Premier Axl Rose

This. So much win.

By: rbj

rbj — Wed, 13 Feb 2013 22:32:35 +0000

#6 Martians come down and zap the Chinese with Democracy ray guns.

By: YiZhangZhe

YiZhangZhe — Wed, 13 Feb 2013 22:23:31 +0000

The UK’s present system of governance has, by way of example, existed for only 65 years, or 85 years if we disregard the changes made in 1948.

YiZhangZhe on February 13, 2013 at 5:11 PM

And I should have added …

Many individual European states can only trace their present forms of government back to the end of WW2, but bring the EU into the equation and representative democracy in Europe in its present form is barely a decade old.

Which will last longest; the “democratic” EU or the “authoritarian” one party system of China?

In any case, are they actually that different? Is either of them really that much more accountable and transparent than the other? And if so, which is which?

By: Lawdawg86

Lawdawg86 — Wed, 13 Feb 2013 22:13:03 +0000

1. Premier Axl Rose
2. President Dick Cheney
3. A US company files a patent for democracy, China promptly steals it
4. Japan adopts communism, China reflexively adopts democracy
Combo #5. General Tso’s Mandarin Coup

By: YiZhangZhe

YiZhangZhe — Wed, 13 Feb 2013 22:11:51 +0000

Empirically, the organizational decay of one-party regime can be measured by the limited longevity of such regimes. To date, the record longevity of a one-party regime is 74 years (held by the former Communist Party of the Soviet Union).

Since 74 years not much younger than the oldest of the fully representative democracies, the supposed briefness of one-party rule might not be a good argument against it.

The UK’s present system of governance has, by way of example, existed for only 65 years, or 85 years if we disregard the changes made in 1948.

By: ninjapirate

ninjapirate — Wed, 13 Feb 2013 22:03:52 +0000

China would be stupid to adopt American style democracy…

The United States is essentially a one-party state… but at least in communist china you can see the authoritarians… they act with a firm hand, our authoritarians whisper from academia, the media, and from our corporate and government elites who quite honestly want to control the entire world.

America is not a democracy… it’s a theatrocracy where the people only get to choose the extras.

Multi-party representative systems are too easy to hijack… it is too easy for powerful minorities to divide up the majority and turn it against itself. Multi-part representative governments are unstable… they amount to a long divorce where the side who cheats gets to keep everything.

George Washington was 100% right about political parties. They are poison.