One-party rule or multi-party competition? Chinese attitudes
to party system alternatives
Summary:
Democracy has been a very hot and contested topic for many
years now, and even more discussed with the United States president such as
George Bush and Barack Obama pushing for democracy in many more countries of
the world. But countries such as China have been showing us that there is more
than just one option. China has implemented a one party rule, which at first
glance can look like it is operationally rigid, politically closed and morally
illegitimate but the opposite is true in the case of China.
China communist party since the late 1970’s/early 1980’s has
faced issues both ideologically and organizationally. But the leaders of
parties have not lost focus of what Shambaugh calls ‘the core themes that all
Chinese rulers since the Self-Strengtheners of the 1870s have advocated:
attaining wealth and power (fu-qiang); enhancing nationalism and international
dignity; and preserving unity and preventing chaos. These values play a major
role as to why the one party rule works in China and shows the reasons as to
why many Chinese prefer it over multi party systems. Many Chinese believe that the most important
aspect is to have order which at this point and time is true with the one party
rule being in place whereas the multi-party rule could be disrupt and
instability be possible.
This article examines the people’s attitudes in China
towards the one party rule and also multi party rule which was conducted
through ‘The China Survey’ where Chinese interviewers had 80-minute
face-to-face interviews with 3989 PRC citizens aged 18 or over.
Variables of method used:
Variables in such a large survey are also something to
consider as these can play a significant role in answers towards survey as this
may not give a fair representation. Variables such as (1) attitudes towards
whether the one-party system is best for maintaining stability in China today
and(2) attitudes towards the more
abstract notion of whether multiple parties generally lead to political chaos.
The difficulty these variables present is that people are being questioned
about China today and the second being a hypothetical and abstract China. In
effort to get the best understanding the survey used a five or eleven point
scale where answers ranged from strongly agree to strongly disagree. The
questions that are posed from this five point scale are also important to look
at:
‘Market competition is harmful to social stability’
‘If everybody does not share the same thinking, society can
be chaotic’
‘Living in secure surroundings is important, to avoid
anything that might be dangerous’
‘Generally speaking, China is a better country than most
other countries’
Eleven point scale:
‘All things considered, how satisfied are you with your life
as a whole these days?’
‘Please tell us how satisfied or unsatisfied you are with
the central government’
These questions are crucial in finding out the attitudes
towards both the one party system and the multiparty system and further give
clearer indications as to what is preferred.
Findings:
The findings of the surveys came as no surprise to the both
Harmel and Tan, as the status quo of multi-party option. The results showed
that the vast majority supported the one party system but alternatively there
was only a bare majority that accepts the idea that having a multiple party
system would bring chaos which is often the defense for the status quo. This
could also be seen as China becoming pro-democratic/ less anti-democratic but
either way it does not look like democracy will emerge as the support for one
party system is alive and well.
From these findings
it seems interesting to see the difference between how many democratic nations
push for democracy worldwide but yet have a system such as China’s to show that
other options do work. And China has a very strong argument as to why it does
not become a democracy, as Eric X. Li shows in his TED talk in just under
thirty years China was able to go from “one of the poorest ever cultural
countries in the world, to the second largest economy in the world. Six hundred
fifty million people were lifted out of poverty”. There is clearly great
support and belief for China’s one party system and this looks as though it
will continue to grow as people are able to join the party and work their way
up to the top as many of the current leaders have. This clearly shows that
democracy is not the only way forward and that there are alternatives to
democracy that work but this is not to say that every other country needs to
use this one party system. As Eric X. Li points out this is not a system that
will not be able to implement everywhere but is just a way to show that there
are alternatives and shows that people need to keep an open mind and consider
what will work best within their culture and society.
Article:
TED Talk
Sekinder, thanks for the summary.
ReplyDeleteIt is true that the Chinese system works reasonably well so far (though it, like many other systems, faces many problems), but it's not just the "single party" rule; lots of countries (e.g., the Soviet Union) have had single party rule that didn't in the end work out so well (though it does typically work better than military or personal rule). It is worth stressing that 26 years ago Chinese students and many others pushed for multiparty competition (the Tiananmen square protests) and that Chinese people say in surveys they want democracy, though they believe their system is already reasonably democratic. What about the Chinese system makes it work well when other single party systems have not worked so well?
Harmel and Tan do not argue that the Chinese system "works" - only that it is reasonably accepted by most Chinese people today. If, for whatever reason, China entered a period of economic crisis, would Chinese people continue to want communist party rule?