3 ms·
This is an important point. I agree. China will fail - and fail badly - in my lifetime - again. Authoritarianism failed them badly during the Cultural Revolutio
by intrasight 8y ago
This is an important point. I agree. China will fail - and fail badly - in my lifetime - again. Authoritarianism failed them badly during the Cultural Revolution and the Great Leap Forward.
"These policies led to social and economic disaster, but these failures were hidden by widespread exaggeration and deceitful reports. In short order, large resources were diverted to use on expensive new industrial operations, which, in turn, failed to produce much, and deprived the agricultural sector of urgently needed resources. An important result was a drastic decline in food output, which caused millions of deaths in the Great Chinese Famine."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Leap_Forward https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Leap_Forward
Sure, they'll not make that mistake again - but they'll make others just as egregious. It's what authoritarians do best.
- chillacy 8y agoI’m not so sure. Plenty of authoritarian countries have done quite well (and even transitioned to more democratic systems peacefully) in Asia like South Korea, Taiwan, and Singapore.
- intrasight 8y agoRight. I think they will fail if they don't transition to a democratic system. What an amazing country it would become if that happens.
- chillacy 8y agoI think the cause and effect are flipped: if they succeed they will want democracy, if they fail to escape the middle income trap they will never reach high enough on the hierarchy of needs to demand political voice.