"China's index is 79, and the United States is 46"
2024-08-21
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A US website published an article comparing Chinese and American politics: Who is truly democratic?
The U.S. Geopolitical Economic Report website recently published an article titled "Which is the real democracy, the United States or China? American oligarchy VS Chinese consultative democracy", comparing the democratic situation of China and the United States from multiple perspectives. The author is Simon Turner, a writer and geopolitical analyst who currently lives in the Netherlands.
The article begins by citing a survey from the West, the Edelman Trust Barometer, which shows that:China has been ranked as the country with the highest level of trust in the government worldwide. With one exception since 2018, China has topped the list every year. In 2024, China's comprehensive trust index was 79, while the United States was only 46.
“However, the American people are at a disadvantage. In a duopoly system, when the population is most divided, how can they maintain a strong trust in the government? In this system based on divide and rule, it is almost inevitable that the government will not be able to achieve the same support rate as China.”
The article mentioned that according to a famous study by scholars from Princeton University and Northwestern University, citizen participation in the process of liberal democracy in the United States has almost no independent influence on government policies. The experts concluded that it is the "elites and organizations representing business interests" in the United States that have a substantial independent influence on US government policies, which is more in line with the oligarchic model. In contrast, in China, the elites and organizations representing business interests are under the government and obey the government. The so-called "authoritarian" system in the mouths of Western critics is actually a different form of democracy that operates not for the benefit of a few wealthy people, but "for the benefit of the vast majority of people."
"However, in the United States, politicians do not listen to public opinion. Why should they listen?" The article said, when a candidate cannot win an election without a lot of money, how can this system be called "representative democracy"? American politicians know who they need to please. As academic research on American oligarchy shows, in Washington's so-called "representative democracy", the only ones who are truly represented are big businesses.
The article further said that the situation in China is indeed different.
For example, China's "consultative democracy" system. China actively promotes citizen participation and representation, and has established multiple channels for this purpose. The "Leader Mailbox" platform connects ordinary people with local and ministerial government officials. Since its launch in 2006 to 2021, the "Mayor Mailbox" has handled more than 2.3 million demands, concerns, and complaints. Another national government initiative is the 12345 hotline, which handles more than 50,000 contacts per day in Beijing through telephone, Internet and new media to solve problems in daily life. More than 85% of concerns are resolved. The Chinese government follows the principle of "coming from the masses and going to the masses." In addition, many official platforms such as the Leader Mailbox and the 12345 hotline represent a technologically modern way to amplify the voice of the people.
The article said that for those who don't use the Internet much, whether they live in the smallest village in the country or in the center of Shanghai, they can find a local party and mass service center with red and white as the main colors, and make complaints or suggestions here. China has also set up grassroots legislative contact points across the country to allow grassroots representatives to participate in the discussion of draft laws and collect opinions and suggestions from the people.
The article mentioned that there are currently 45 national grassroots legislative contact points and more than 6,500 provincial and municipal legislative contact points across the country. These legislative "through trains" closely connect the general public with China's highest legislative body, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, to communicate and solicit opinions on draft national laws.
The article also mentioned China's crackdown on corruption. "In China, no one is above the law. Anti-corruption policies are implemented with the determination of 'offending thousands of people but not disappointing 1.4 billion people.' The Communist Party of China is well aware that if people's representatives are not close to the people and do not take the people as the center, but put themselves above the people, then the principle of 'coming from the masses and going to the masses' will be affected."
The article states that it is almost impossible to imagine that senior executives of large Wall Street banks in the United States were arrested for corruption. However, unlike JPMorgan Chase, large Chinese banks such as ICBC and ABC are state-owned enterprises, controlled by the government and therefore by the people.
The article quoted economist Michael Hudson's view that China's control over capital is the reason why it is demonized as "authoritarian" by the West. "As people get richer and richer, there is only one way to prevent the development of oligarchy, and that is to build a strong country," Hudson said. "You need a strong central government to achieve democracy. (But) Americans call it socialism, they say it is the opposite of democracy, democracy means loyalty to the United States, following American policies and letting American banks financialize its economy."
In the United States, not only Republican President Ronald Reagan, but also Democratic President Bill Clinton have declared that "the era of big government is over." Instead, big capital is in power. China, on the other hand, represents the people to constrain, guide and even control big capital.
The article also analyzed the violence, crime and surveillance in the two countries, saying that when discussing the "democracy" of the United States, the brutal violence in the country cannot be forgotten. In the United States, more than 1,000 Americans were killed by police each year over the past decade, reaching 1,247 in 2023. In 2023, an average of one police officer was killed every 6.6 hours in the United States. In contrast, China has not had such incidents for many years. The Chinese people have a say in the supervision of security agencies, and the general regulations of the Ministry of Public Security emphasize the importance of ensuring that security agencies accept people's supervision through "petition work."
The article also compares American imperialism with Chinese socialism at the end. "The truth about Chinese socialism, compared to American imperialism, is that China's top priority is domestic policy. China is people-centered, and the mass line policy is a microcosm. From the people, to the people; democracy is fundamental. China keeps its troops at home, and where the people are, the troops are there. American politicians, standing on both sides of the same electoral coin, support the Israeli regime's atrocities against Palestinian children in an attempt to advance the interests of American imperialism in West Asia. The US government ultimately does not care about 'legitimacy' because the North American people are deprived of a consultative democratic system. Instead, the US government is focused on maximizing corporate profits, privatizing public institutions, and preparing for more wars."
