China Today

1244 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: A write up about CORRUPTION

The path of economic development can take many alternate routes and contain frequent detours, however, as each nation develops they must confront the root causes of their poverty and past failures. Economist Daron Acemoglu of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology argues that inclusive political and economic institutions aggregate to form an argument based in historical antecedents of countries throughout the world. Moreover, University of Stanford economist Barry Weingast’s argument relies on the idea of a strong, but never too strong federalist system acting as a catalyst for economic success. While both authors contain numerous historical examples, neither set a precedent that is fully applicable to the current state of affairs economically nor politically in the People’s Republic of China. In order to understand the failings in Weingast’s argument, it is essential to examine his findings and how they compare to Acemoglu’s findings. Weingast examines the role of decentralization in the federalist system and how political foundations of markets are crucial to the process of economic development. “China has more than 900,000 laws and regulations in addition to hundreds of thousands of judicial decisions. Many Chinese citizens are aware of laws and policies and think government should take them more seriously” (Diamant). The idea that a nation must make a credible commitment to the preservation of markets relies on limiting the power of the political officials through self-enforcing mechanisms, however it is apparent when you talk to many Chinese nationals or read any non-state run media that rampant corruption is one of the pressing issues of modern China (Weingast 2). This phenomenon has arisen from the Chinese inst... ... middle of paper ... ...nist Party officials room to breathe before making the critical decision of choosing between “what is good for China and what is good for the CCP?” and whichever path they choose it will impact the economic well-being of the entire world (Branstetter 2013). China’s old economic model, which rewarded both the country and the elite very handsomely, must now be transformed into a model that will continue to reward the country, but at the relative expense of the elite. Recent political turmoil in China is not a coincidence, and it has not ended. History has made it very clear that the next ten years will be a political challenge for China even more so than it will be an economic one. As the 3rd Plenary Session of the 18th CCP concluded more than a week ago, we are left to speculate whether the suggested reforms will be the panacea for any of China’s political ills.

Show More
Related

  • Taiwan, Taipei: Why Does the Chinese Communist Party Place so Much Emphasis on Naming the Island?

    3074 Words  | 7 Pages

    ...ities as a responsible state holder. One of the consequences of the international community questioning China’s military capabilities is that the international community could potentially induce an unproductive arms race with China. If China is to participate in the race, China will have a weakened competitive position in the races of economic and intellectual strength. Secondly, China will lose the ability to use its army as a form of soft power therefore making it harder to believe that China can be a responsible state holder since it will seem like propaganda. In terms of China, the world is in a very exciting position with the promotion of the China’s model an alternative governing system is being offered. However, we need to remain vigilant and aware for just as quickly as China rose, it has the potential to fall as well if it doesn’t play it’s cards right.

    Read More

  • Changes And Continuities In China From 100 CE To 600 CE

    677 Words  | 2 Pages

    From 100 CE to 600 CE the Chinese had many cultural and political life changes and continuities. A political change was in the end of the Classical Chinese period when the Han Dynasty fell. A cultural change during 100 CE to 600 CE was the paper invention that led to passing down cultural rituals. Not only were there changes but there was also continuities in the Chinese political and cultural life. An example of a cultural continuity is the increasing power of Buddhism. A political continuity is the ruler of the Chinese wanting the people to be protected with for instance The Great Wall of China.

    Read More

  • The 1949 Chinese Revolution: A Successful Achievement Of A Success?

    1927 Words  | 4 Pages

    Ever since the establishment of the People’s Republic of China, the legitimacy of the revolution of which it was built upon has perennially been in question. For example, in a 1999 issue of the International Herald Tribune, a prestigious scholar claimed that all of China’s tragedies are ‘sustained by a mistaken belief in the correctness of the 1949 revolution’ and that the future progress of China depends on the recognition that the revolution was a failure. However, the CCP government was certainly not perfect and its most significant failures were its political failures such as the Anti-rightist movement and the Cultural Revolution and also economic failures such as the great leap forward. Millions of peoples were falsely accused and persecuted during the political movements of the Mao period as the CCP focused on class struggle instead of economic development during the period and tens of Millions of peoples died due to starvation as there were widespread food shortages during the great leap forward movement.

    Read More

  • China

    468 Words  | 1 Pages

    conscription of men for the army and labor on government projects and all other important

    Read More

  • The Democratic Change In China

    759 Words  | 2 Pages

    China is the largest developing country in today’s world and the rapid growth of the Chinese economy has attracted attention from all over the world. Some people falsely think that China is a country that China is only pursuing their economic reform, but without any democratic changes. On the contrary, China actually has a long history of democratic reforms. China has a different way of democratic reform that different from western-style democracy, which made Westerners think China is a powerful country with limitations in democracy. However, my point of view is that China is not limiting their democratic change, and China is utilizing a distinctive form of democracy.

    Read More

  • Communism in China

    835 Words  | 2 Pages

    The spread of Communism and its ideals significantly increased during the final stages of the Chinese Civil War which intensified after the Second World War and resulted in a victory to the Communists in October 1949. At this time, the majority of the provinces in China were led by either the GMD or the CCP. However, the civilians in the GMD-ruled cities were suffering rapid inflation, strikes, violence and riots which led to a collapse of public order. Adding to this instability, corruption was rife within the Nationalist party’s lead...

    Read More

  • China’s Rising Inequality

    2192 Words  | 5 Pages

    Yao, S., Zhang, Z., and Hanmer, L., (2004) ‘Growing inequality and poverty in China’ China Economic Review 15:145-163.

    Read More

  • Japan And China In The 21st Century Essay

    1922 Words  | 4 Pages

    And as China transforms its economy into a ‘socialist market economy’ it is held that the attendant social, economic, and political transformations necessitate that its state controlled IRs system is decentralized and more so, it should be converge with international best practice IR standards (Zhu, Warner, & Feng, 2011). Although the Chinese government has endeavored to reform its labor market, the “deep-rooted national culture and its long history of centralized state power” as exhibited by the tenets of the all-powerful All-China Federation of Trade Unions1925 (ACFTU), has meant that any initiated IRs reform should be “with Chinese Characteristics” (p.128). It is important to note in the 1980/90s most countries in the Western hemisphere and Asia restructured their IRs systems. This episode can be attributed to factors specific to these countries; but owing to the fact that most of Asia’s economies are linked to the global economy, it is posited that this process may not have been coincidental but it was occasioned by competitive pressures in the global labor market (Kuruvilla & Erickson,

    Read More

  • Agriculture in China

    1882 Words  | 4 Pages

    Howe, Christopher, Y. Y. Kueh, and Robert F. Ash. China's Economic Reform: A Study with Documents. London: RoutledgeCurzon, 2003.

    Read More

  • Democracy in China

    3306 Words  | 7 Pages

    Zhao, S., (2003), ‘Political Liberalization without Democratization: Pan Wei’s proposal for political reform’ Journal of Contemporary China, 12(35): 333–355.

    Read More

  • China's Development

    1177 Words  | 3 Pages

    When the new Chinese Government was set up in 1949, the new government faced a lot of problems. First on their agenda was how to re-build the country. As Communist Party of China (CPC) is a socialist party, their policies at the time were similar to that of the Soviet Union’s. Consequently, the CPC used a centrally planned strategy as its economic strategy when it first began. For a long time, the Chinese economy was a centrally planned economy in which none other than the state owned all companies. In fact, there were absolutely no entrepreneurs. As time went on, the problems of a centrally planned economy started to appear, such as low productivity, which was the key reason for restricting the development of China. With the population growing, the limitations of the centrally planned economy were clear. In 1978 China started its economic reform whose goal was to generate sufficient surplus value to finance the modernization of the Chinese economy. In the beginning, in the late 1970s and early 19...

    Read More

  • Compare and Contrast: China and The USA

    926 Words  | 2 Pages

    Finally, the United States political system has a strong structural structure but in China their people always work together to be the best and stand out in the world. It is predicted that China will one day be the largest economy-growing country in the world. They continually grow and rebalance their world to be the best. The growth of the economy will depend on the Chinese government's comprehensive economic reforms that more quickly accelerate China's transition to a free market economy. Consumer demand, rather than exporting, is the main engine of economic growth; boost productivity and innovation; address growing income disparities; and enhance environmental protection.

    Read More

  • Modernization Theory by Seymour Lipset

    2277 Words  | 5 Pages

    The question posed is best explored through the lens of Modernization Theory, which partly originated with Lipset's 1959 formulation that the prospects for democracy to thrive within a country are directly correlated to its level of economic development. Przeworski has elucidated Lipset's theories as hypothesizing that economic affluence dovetails with democracy because wealth reduces the intensity of group or individual conflicts over the distribution of resources. Democracy – which through representative rule is perceived as the most egalitarian form of government – is widely taken to be the fundamental criterion of what makes a country or nation-state 'modern'. Lipset proposes that economic development sets off a series of profound social changes, such as increased urbanization, education and communication, that in turn precipitate larger middle classes and greater social equality. All of these elements combined, Lipset contends in his 1963 award-winning book, Political Man, provide the necessary framework for the emergence of democratic institutions. Today China maintains all such socio-economic elements. Thus, we are presented with a conundrum of sorts. Either we must construe that Modernization theory is dead, or according to its principles, that China’s democratization is latent, and will materialize at a later date.

    Read More

  • International Development in Developing Countries

    2380 Words  | 5 Pages

    Many factors can lead to the underdevelopment of a country. The most common sign of underdevelopment is that of a “Dual Economy”, this takes place when a “small modern elite and middle class make up about 20-30% of a country’...

    Read More

  • The Threat of China

    784 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the race to be the best, China is clearly outperforming the United States. China has strong economic fundamentals¬ such as “a high savings rate, huge labor pool, and powerful work ethic” (Rachman, Gideon. "Think Again: American Decline). Their economy has grown an astonishing 9-10% over the past thirty years; almost double of what it used to be decades ago. China is also the “world’s greatest manufacturer and its greatest market” (Rachman). The continuing growth of China's economy is a source of concern for not only the U.S. but surrounding nations as well. One could argue that the U.S. need not worry about China’s growth because of the spread of globalization and that western ideologies would influence China to turn to democracy. Yet China has still managed to “incorporate censorship and one party rule with continuing economic success” (Rachman) and remains a communist country. Hypothetically, even if China does resort to a democratic state, this does not gua...

    Read More

More about China Today

Open Document