The Democratic Change In China

They now trade with the West but only along the terms of it being to increase the efficiency, strength and economy on China. The capitalist benefited this, but I think that the state also does because they have joined enterprises. Democracy is one element that they have not established as far as we know. There is only one party, the communists, in which the public votes for different chairmen in that party that they want to elect and make leader, this is not what you would call democracy. Although I must take into account the Chinese perspective and looking at the way the country has been run in previous year... ... middle of paper ... ...extent as communism is about the growth or the country and trying to improve it and I think that they have accomplished that.

Introduction The topic of democracy in China is a highly controversial topic. Although China has not democratised, it has done well in the global situation amongst its democratic competitors. Since the path to democracy is different for each country, we cannot expect that China would follow the same path or same model of democracy as the western nations. This essay will look at what democracy is and how it can be placed in a Chinese context as well as looking at the proponents and opponents of democracy in China. It will also look at whether China is democratising by focusing on village elections, globalisation and the emergence of a civil society.

Foreign Intervention did play a pivotal role in transforming China during this period. Throughout this essay I will be assessing the impact of foreign intervention through each of the leaders of China. Deng modernised the Chinese economy in a way that had never been seen making it one of the leading economies of the 20th century through the use of foreign influence but he made little political impact. Mao, on the other hand, damaged the economy greatly and his political reform means that his legacy still lives and he is still celebrated as one of the greatest leaders to date. Although not as prominent a figure, the political impact of Chiang cannot be ignored.

Democracy is defined as a form of government that is based on the people. Many political scientists believed that democracy sought to eliminate centralized power and create a system in which the people are represented equally. Today, china has adopted many aspect of democracy, so does this mean china is becoming a democracy? This process in which a country shifts toward democracy is called democratization. A more elaborate definition for democratization is the transformation from a nondemocratic regime to a democratic regime.

Globalization is not a new concept – trade, migration, market integration and capital flows have been practiced in various forms dating back centuries. China is at the epicenter of our globalized world and their success is attributed to the tenets of Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations. However, opponents of the globalization believe if Smith were alive today, he would be repulsed by our modern day international business strategies. The general consensus among dissenters of globalization is the misguided belief that capitalism at any level is missing the moral sentiment espoused by Smith’s philosophical viewpoints. Even though Adam Smith would acknowledge that some Chinese citizens are casualties of globalization, he would conclude the economic development of China’s poverty stricken society unequivocally raised their standard of living.

During this period, intellectuals tended to have different ideas in strengthening China since it was resulted from their link with the tradition idea of Confucianism, the degree of them being influenced by western knowledge and the pressure exerted to them by foreign powers. But, all their ideas were aiming at achieving ‘fu chiangÂ’ (wealth and power) of China. In the 1860s, conservative ideas might be represented by Wo-jen (倭ä»), a grand secretary of Qing court and a neo-Confucian scholar. He insisted on restoring the traditional order of Chinese society according to the Confucian teaching. He stated that the only thing China could rely upon to restore its strength was the maintenance of Chinese scholars who were able to develop into Confucian principles by means of which they might keep the minds of the people quiet and harmonious.

Although it has been argued that Deng was leading a totalitarian regime, historians tend to overlook the idea that the Chinese have different ideologies and morals than people in the west. Chinese intellectuals who looked to the west as a model for democracy absorbed themselves into the western culture, and believed that everything that China stood for was ‘backward.’ This view of the Chinese society forced the people to hold resentments against Deng, which led to Democratic uprisings and movements. Deng simply wanted to create a better economy for the Chinese people to live in according to Chinese values, but the society did not see it this way as an inflow of western attitudes and beliefs had been embedded into their minds. Deng knew that China’s problems were coming from within the political system, and he attempted to solve these problems, but when he realized that these problems could not be solved, he resorted to more of an authoritarian rather than a democratic regime. After 1978, China’s society faced a whole new relationship with the state.

For example, the principle of people under the Confucian thought (minben) that underlines the importance of the people is very compatible with central democratic ideas like voting. Confucian philosopher Mencius even wrote that “The people are the most important; the nation is next; t... ... middle of paper ... ...ering the recent changes in China’s politics. Many are wondering what the future holds for Chinese politics and the idea of a democracy with Confucian characteristics is something many have been looking at since Confucianism holds an important place in Chinese traditions. We have witnessed on many occasions the failure of trying to implement a democratic system in a country that either wasn’t “ready” for democracy or a country where the political culture wasn’t compatible with the democracy models we are used to. This idea is very relevant when you talk about China since it’s easy to see how democracy might not fit right with the Chinese political culture.

China wanted to make the government more efficient rather than abandoning it like most would. For economic reforms, China started the Great Leap Outward (GLO), which they used to enact mobilization of markets and investments. China wanted to be better well rounded in their economy and opened themselves up to the world, including the West. This led to some good and bad. Good in the form building better social relations with other countries, bad in the form of this new big push failing.

 COUNTER-ARGUMENTS Economic Stability China’s rise will not be a threat to Asian stability. It seems that the peaceful rise of China is calculated by other Asian countries as a potential economic threat in the region. But on the contrary, China is not a threat as perceived. China, in reality is just another regular state making waves to restore its lost pride after being materially humiliated, defeated, and shammed by Imperial Japan –and the West- in pre-modern East Asia. Its peaceful rise to global importance is ironically a hybrid balance between capitalism and socialism, which some experts and scholars are still struggling to explain.