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I agree that China has made faster progress than India. But attributing this difference to "democracy" vs "one party rule" is too simplistic. 1) India is much m

I agree that China has made faster progress than India. But attributing this difference to "democracy" vs "one party rule" is too simplistic. 1) India is much more diverse than China. With each state having its own language,it is a wonder that India ended up as a single nation. 2) India has a number of problems which is weighing down its progress. Corruption, inefficiency of the government, coalition governments in recent years leading to political paralysis, caste system and high rate of poverty and illiteracy. It is not clear that "one party rule" would have been better in solving these issues. 3)Due to the censorship in China, it would be reasonable to say that what the world know about China is what they want us to know. Being a Indian I would gladly sacrifice some development for the freedom I enjoy in India. But what worries me is the cost of this freedom is getting higher by the day and the freedom is slowly taken away (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information_Technology_Act_2000 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Information_Technology_Act_2000).

w1ntermute 14y ago
> Being a Indian I would gladly sacrifice some development for the freedom I enjoy in India. The fact that you are fluent in English and have internet access suggests that you much more educated and wealthy than the average Indian. Ask the average Indian how they feel about sacrificing some freedom for development, and the answer will be very different from yours. You get to have your cake and eat it as well. The poor in India do not. And they would rather eat the cake (have development, rather than freedom). Because they are not even really free.
- abraham_s 14y ago
  >The fact that you are fluent in English and have internet access suggests that you much more educated and wealthy than the average Indian. I agree I cannot speak for the poor in India. Both my parents were employed and my annual income was 5 times the per-capita income in India. >You get to have your cake and eat it as well. The poor in India do not. And they would rather eat the cake (have development, rather than freedom). Because they are not even really free. I agree they are not free. But I do not see how you can speak for them.
- makomk 14y ago
  Well, given that the average Chinese person sees nothing but downsides from China sacrificing some freedom for development, it's probably not as clear-cut as you might think. Take a look at all the rural poor in China sometime.

w1ntermute 14y ago

> Being a Indian I would gladly sacrifice some development for the freedom I enjoy in India. The fact that you are fluent in English and have internet access suggests that you much more educated and wealthy than the average Indian. Ask the average Indian how they feel about sacrificing some freedom for development, and the answer will be very different from yours. You get to have your cake and eat it as well. The poor in India do not. And they would rather eat the cake (have development, rather than freedom). Because they are not even really free.

abraham_s 14y ago
>The fact that you are fluent in English and have internet access suggests that you much more educated and wealthy than the average Indian. I agree I cannot speak for the poor in India. Both my parents were employed and my annual income was 5 times the per-capita income in India. >You get to have your cake and eat it as well. The poor in India do not. And they would rather eat the cake (have development, rather than freedom). Because they are not even really free. I agree they are not free. But I do not see how you can speak for them.
makomk 14y ago
Well, given that the average Chinese person sees nothing but downsides from China sacrificing some freedom for development, it's probably not as clear-cut as you might think. Take a look at all the rural poor in China sometime.