In Parts 1 and 2, we discovered that being a democracy does not protect the people from chaos, anarchy, war and hunger.
In China’s history, there have been many examples of what happens when a central government collapses. Between every great dynasty—the Han, Tang, Sung, Ming and Qing—there have been rebellions, chaos and anarchy causing tens of millions of deaths and hardship.
Another example from the US is the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). It is common knowledge by those in the know that the FDA is controlled by the food and drug industry and many of the decisions of the FDA benefit industries while hurting the public.
The Washington Post revealed another example of democracy gone wrong when it recently reported on Past Medical Testing on Humans by the US government and American pharmaceutical companies.
In China, when corruption of this type is discovered, the officials caught often face prison and possible execution. In the US, few if any are punished.
In addition, since China has more spoken languages than India along with fifty-six recognized minority groups numbering more than one hundred million people, China would have more political parties competing for votes than India creating the same gridlock and corrupt political environment.
Deng Xiaoping was right in 1989 when he said China wasn’t ready for a Western style democracy. In fact, China may never be ready.
In the West, there is a wise idiom. “Better the devil you know than the devil you don’t,” which means that it is often better to deal with someone or something you are familiar with and know, even if they are not ideal, than take a risk with an unknown person or thing.
However, it is possible that this is exactly what China’s critics and enemies want, as it could spell the end of China’s rise as a soon-to-be economic and military super power rivaling the US.
Return to Considering China as a Democracy – Part 2 or start with Part 1
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Lloyd Lofthouse is the award-winning author of the concubine saga, My Splendid Concubine & Our Hart. When you love a Chinese woman, you marry her family and culture too.
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Posted by Lloyd Lofthouse 
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