Quote:
Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch
Bingo.
On the statement that all people want to be free and democracy will eventually take over in China, I don't see it until everyone that was born before the 1980's is dead. They've been beaten down by the boot of the party for far too long.
|
I agree with you there. Populations in places like China and Russia aren't even that adverse to dictatorship rule. Why? Because people like Putin and the Chinese government have figured out the key to remain in power without mass rebellion: Give the vast majority a higher standard of living and degrees of economic freedom by employing capitalist economic politices and buying off key influential groups, but quietly maim and punish all opposition and control the media to ensure the worst of your reign of terror doesn't reach newsprint or the internet.
If you've followed the last 'election' in Russia, the young newly minted middle class love Putin because of the wealth he's generated for the country and care little of his state-control of domestic media. Their freedom has been bought. I imagine much is the same in China where rapid economic advancement has blinded those who now enjoy much higher standards of living, to the atrocities and utter corruption of their ruling party.
For those that wish democracy for China or Russia, you'll have to wait for an econmic downturn in these countries. While what China has done is remarkable in an economic sense, it won't go up at that rate forever and it'll plateau. Once people can look back 5 years and realize they're no further ahead, they'll demand change. Look at the US: real incomes are at the same rate they were at the end of the Clinton Administration, while energy and imports cost more. That is ultimately why a Democrat will end up back in the White House and not the ethical issues of the Iraq war or the war on terror.