[Dialogue] China: Capitalism Doesn't Require Democracy

[Harry Wainwright]

Colleagues, I found the following article very interesting. Peace, Harry 
  _____  




Published on Tuesday, January 10, 2006 by CommonDreams.org 

China: Capitalism Doesn't Require Democracy 

by Robert B. Reich 

You may remember when the world was divided between communism and
capitalism, and when the Chinese were communists. The Chinese still call
themselves communists, but now they're also capitalists. 

In fact, visit China today and you find the most dynamic capitalist nation
in the world. In 2005, it had the distinction of being the world's
fastest-growing major economy. 

China is the manufacturing hub of the globe. It's is also moving quickly
into the highest of high technologies. It already graduates more computer
engineers every year than the United States. 

Its cities are booming. There are more building cranes in use today in China
than in all of the United States. China's super-highways are filled with
modern cars. Its deep-water ports and airports are world class. Its research
and development centers are state of the art. At the rate its growing, in
three decades China will be the largest economy in the world. 

Communist, as in communal? Are you kidding? The gap between China's rich and
poor is turning into a chasm. China's innovators, investors, and captains of
industry are richly rewarded. They live in luxury housing developments whose
streets are lined with McMansions. The feed in fancy restaurants, and relax
in five-star hotels and resorts. China's poor live in a different world. Mao
Tse Tung would turn in his grave. 

So where are the Chinese communists? They're in government. The communist
party is the only party there is. China doesn't have freedom of speech or
freedom of the press. It doesn't tolerate dissent. Authorities can arrest
and imprison people who threaten stability, as the party defines it. Any
group that dares to protest is treated brutally. There are no civil
liberties, no labor unions, no centers of political power outside the
communist party. 

China shows that when it comes to economics, the dividing line among the
world's nations is no longer between communism and capitalism. Capitalism
has won hands down. The real dividing line is no longer economic. It's
political. And that divide is between democracy and authoritarianism. China
is a capitalist economy with an authoritarian government. 

For years, we've assumed that capitalism and democracy fit hand in glove. We
took it as an article of faith that you can't have one without the other.
That's why a key element of American policy toward China has been to
encourage free trade, direct investment, and open markets. As China becomes
more prosperous and integrated into the global market -- so American policy
makers have thought -- China will also become more democratic. 

Well, maybe we've been a bit naive. It's true that democracy needs
capitalism. Try to come up with the name of a single democracy in the world
that doesn't have a capitalist economy. For democracy to function there must
be centers of power outside of government. Capitalism decentralizes economic
power, and thereby provides the private ground in which democracy can take
root. 

But China shows that the reverse may not be true -- capitalism doesn't need
democracy. Capitalism's wide diffusion of economic power offers enough
incentive for investors to take risks with their money. But, as China shows,
capitalism doesn't necessarily provide enough protection for individuals to
take risks with their opinions.   

Robert Reich is Professor of Public Policy at the Goldman School of Public
Policy at the University of California at Berkeley. He has served in three
national administrations, most recently as secretary of labor under
President Bill Clinton. He has written ten books, including The Work of
Nations
<http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0679736158/commondreams-20/ref=nosim
> , which has been translated into 22 languages; the best-sellers The
<http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0375725121/102-0571182-2687331?v=glance&n=
283155&s=books&v=glance&tagActionCode=commondreams-20/ref=nosim>  Future of
Success and Locked
<http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0375700617/102-0571182-2687331?v=glance&n=
283155&s=books&v=glance&tagActionCode=commondreams-20/ref=nosim>  in the
Cabinet, and his most recent book, Reason
<http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1400042216/commondreams-20/ref=nosim
> . His articles have appeared in the New Yorker, Atlantic Monthly, New York
Times, Washington Post, and Wall Street Journal. Mr. Reich is co-founding
editor of The American Prospect <http://www.prospect.org/web/index.ww>
magazine.   

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