Democracy is an unavoidable topic of the 21st century. As future leaders, we wonder whether the qualities of China’s autocracy will constrain its ascent and whether the coming decades require a democratic opening; Or is the super power better off following the path, that has gotten it so far? Is communism in China here to stay? And will China’s emergence as a superpower, be questioned by countries which fear its authoritarian system on the global order?
For:
Communism in its bare form refers to the idea of everyone in a given society receiving equal shares of the benefits derived from labour, and for the people’s republic of China; it has been the way to follow since the last 50 years. Over the past five years, China’s GDP increased from 26.6 trillion Yuan to 51.9 trillion Yuan and it now ranks second in the world. It is also the largest exporter in the world. To grow from a country plagued with invasions and unstable rulings to a nation with top notch manufacturing prowess required the steady hand of a firm and able government. The Chinese model of governing provides the stability needed to develop the infrastructure to support an active economy.
Love it or hate it, but there’s surely no ignoring the powerhouse that China is. Talks of it becoming a potential superpower have been around for quite some time now. And such leaps of development will carry on as long as the government continues to follow what it has been doing right for the past five decades.
Versus:
“A house divided against itself cannot stand”- Abraham Lincoln.
In the wake of the economic slowdown, the dark side of the Chinese crony-capitalism is exposed. Social unrest, corruption, gender biases have escalated in the recent times. If the desire to revive economic growth, to stay in power, is not sufficient to motivate China’s new leadership to gamble with political reforms, i.e., to move towards democracy, then the country’s increasing social tensions will force their hands. Fuelled by resentment against inequality, corruption and environmental degradation, the Chinese citizens have begun to challenge the party on a wide range of public policy issues. Suppressing protesters may work in the short term, but the argument is that even autocrats must find ways to listen to their people for their government to be stable in the longer run. History has witnessed, from transitions to democracy, regimes that initiate change before they totally lose credibility fare much better than those that resist democracy until the bitter end.
Contributed by:
Mayuri Moharir
Neha Tyagi
Parvati Nandakumar
Section A, Economics
Batch of 2013-15
Mayuri Moharir
Neha Tyagi
Parvati Nandakumar
Section A, Economics
Batch of 2013-15
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