Liberal Democracy and China - Essay Example

20 August Liberal Democracy and China The of China is governed by a Communist party. It does not follow the ideals of a democratic form of Government. The people have been natured in such a way that all they know is that the Communist party is the best form of authority in place in the country. It is not that the Chinese have never thought about this idea before, however, it has got more to do with the way they practice democracy, which is in their mind, a combination of smart lives powered by a dominating authority. The authority, unlike its Indian counterparts, does manage to appease to the people and deliver on time. This is how they have developed satisfaction in the minds of the people and therefore are given the respect from the people of China. So how would a Chinese feel if one may to ask him whether he would want his rights to be expanded along with a judiciary which keeps checks and balances, as well as a vocal media to go with a working and ever changing Constitution, then I think the answer would be a no. Let us find out why! Following are the factors which play the most important role in determining the form of governance in a country. 1. Will Of the Authority 2. Delivery of Duty 3. Acceptance of the Authority 4. Trust among the people 5. Culture of the Societal Atmosphere We shall look into each and every aspect individual and try to figure out how China would not work if there was a democratic form of Government. Will of Authority: To understand the will of the authority, it is important to first figure out the meaning of the word “Authority”, which is as follows: “Institutionalized and legal power inherent in a particular job, function, or position that is meant to enable its holder to successfully carry out his or her responsibilities” Governance is a function of the State which takes the power inherently within its capacity from a legal backing or an institution of governance. Authority is the body which carries out governance in the country, thus defining the identity of the State which takes its characteristics from the idea of a country run by an authority. Following is one more definition of Authority to bring further clarity in the mind of the reader: “Power that is delegated formally. It includes a right to command a situation, commit resources, give orders and expect them to be obeyed; it is always accompanied by an equal responsibility for ones actions or a failure to act” This definition cannot claim to be an exclusive understanding of authority as it talks about the function which an authority carries, and under this circumstance, the power is delegated, which means it has travelled as a downstream, whereas in real life power never travels downstream. The above definition can better characterize the state of affairs and the confusion which exists in the erstwhile successful democratic form of Government of India. The authority in China does not need any checks and balances from a chain of the State to keep an eye on its functioning and the fulfilment of its duties and responsibilities towards the people. The Government in China is so efficient that the people have never felt the need to incorporate an institution such as the Judiciary to keep poking its nose in the direct functions of the Government. The authority has a strong will and desire to work for its people and uplift them, and they take pride in what they do. Delivery of Duty The Communist Government of China delivers its promises to the people. There is more work and less talk, where the emphasis lies solely on the job to be done without any distractions to overcome that responsibility. The people are very strong emotionally and take pride and honour in completing their duties on time. As we see that the Government is nothing but a representation of the people, one might argue that it is a more complete form of democracy in practical terms, where the job assigned is fulfilled on time. In such case, the life of the people becomes easier with respect to the small things in life, which otherwise take a long time in a State where the job is not taken seriously. Therefore, it is an important aspect to take the job on the line and complete it so the order is maintained without giving any strains to the people to whom the services are offered. As said before, the pride and honour of running the country is of the highest level and therefore there is no place for any malpractices or corruption to impede the progress. Now in such a situation, if a Chinese were to be asked the question whether he would want move to democracy, most of the times the answer would come as no. The reason for this may be classified as a reaction or unwillingness to change what is not required, as in his eyes the prevalent system works perfectly fine, and therefore a change could only bring a negative impediment to the whole process of governance in the country. Acceptance of the Authority: When the Government is providing the means to the people to live a healthy and happy life, then people in return show their trust to the Government. They start accepting the Government more in their hearts than they had in the past. This in turn has a positive effect on the minds of the people of the country which gives them the thumbs up to run the country. And this pride does not hollow down to the abuse of power. This is where China has been able to differentiate from India. Even though India is ushering in a successful democracy as the second fastest growing economy in the world, there is no denying from the fact that China has been able to race ahead due to its sheer competency and will to dominate the world through its medium of people. The hunger to dominate which is so important for a giant like China has been able to emancipate the people into a next generation breed of market leaders in every department. China is carving out a structure which releases on a daily basis individuals who are read y and prepared to carry out the function of authority in the most efficient and direct manner. The people do not have any conflicts whatsoever with the Government of China. Whatever conflicts which might arise or have arose due to mass movements have always been banished and condemned by the communist party of China. One might argue that this way the State is taking away the birth right of the individual to question the Government, however, the State is trying to save the ideology to the full extent so that the prevalent structure does not receive any harm from the outside, even though that might mean killing off your own people, but in the word of the Chinese, they are no longer their own people anymore. The movements which born out in this fashion do have a claim which looks fair to those who believe in it, however, they have never been able to prove that such a culture is revolutionary in nature, as the state of affairs in China are so smoothly done that the need for a change is not required at all. There is a common feeling among the most of the people that when there is an existing system in place which is working just fine, then there is no need to alter with such a system. This is why the people are satisfied with what they have and do not want a change to come into effect into the administration of the country, and this attitude is understandably justified. Trust among the People: Since the people have accepted the communist regime which is prevalent in the State, they also show trust in the same Government when it performs to the accept standards of the people, and most of the times that happens in real. The trust is only developed within the people when the people have started accepting the notions of the Government in full manner. The people have resided their faith in the eyes of the Government and this has led to a belief in them which has resulted in such optimism amongst the people of the country. The people of China are not ready yet to bring about a change in the setup of the country. They know where they lie and what they do and therefore do not require any mode of clarification or understanding with respect to the governance of the country. The mood is very upbeat in China and since it is the fastest growing country in the world the people believe they stand a great chance of overhauling the USA in the near future. The people have the desire to rest the fortunes in the light of the country’s overall development. Therefore it is pertinent to maintain an order which has been running successful for the last few years and decades and which has so much promise and importance to itself. Culture of the Social Atmosphere: The culture of the social atmosphere is wired into the effect of a structure whose dignity is resting on its performance and not merely on the fact that there is a need to have a system of authority in place to run the country. If the question were to be asked again whether China can in fact have a democracy which is liberal in nature, the answer to this question would be yes, but the practical answer to this would be a failed system which will not be able to run on its optimum level, pretty much like India. The people of the country would not be able to adjust to a democratic form of Government which might lead to corruption and lesser degree of patriotism from the people of the country. The leaders of the State have realised this and therefore have never put this question in real life perspective in their country. Although the question always remains in contention, the answer to this would be something which is in a better position to be justified by the rulers of the country in their own national sense. I think that the Chinese should be left to rule themselves in whatever fashion they want to, as they are the best judge of the situation out there, and therefore understand their country in a better way than most of the other people do. Democracy might not be a cut out for the country, which leads to the fact that communism has really helped the country to establish themselves, which some experts think would not have happened had there been democracy in the country. Therefore to keep the things straight and simple, it is important to remember that the best way to administer a country is to respect the form of Government it has been running even thought that might not be an appealing option otherwise in other respect from different perspectives. Works Cited http://www.thefreedictionary.com/authority http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/authority.html Read More