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A lot of middle class Indians would agree with the sentiment that democracy causes chaos. In the brief period of time India was undemocratic (the Emergency), a

by ptm 17y ago

A lot of middle class Indians would agree with the sentiment that democracy causes chaos. In the brief period of time India was undemocratic (the Emergency), anecdotal evidence suggests that the middle class was happy with the way things were. The poor, meanwhile, were miserable, and they responded by voting out the incumbent govt by a record margin. So it won't be very surprising if middle class China actually supports the lack of freedom.

megaduck 17y ago
You've hit the nail on the head. This is the first time that China's really HAD much of a middle class. Most of this newly minted middle class has moved from being poor peasants to decently paid professionals, and they're quite happy with the current state of affairs. The Chinese public definitely acknowledges problems with the system. However, for the past thirty years people have been getting richer, living longer, and quality of life has been hugely improved. It sure beats the period before, when they were dealing with war, famine, and the cultural revolution. So, when the government that's brought (relative) prosperity says that democracy is bad, people are inclined to just agree and go along with whatever the government says. Bottom line: The middle class in China won't support democratic reforms so long as life is improving without them.
- adinobro 17y ago
  Someone else pointed this out before in a different thread but why should they want to change if life is improving without them? If you look at the US as an example of democracy then at the moment it doesn't make a lot of sense. That being said things are always changing and who knows what will happen in the next 20 years. If things stop improving for most people in China then there will probably be social unrest and they may move to another form of government or the reverse could happen and the US might decide that it wants a nother form of goverment if things don't eventually improve.

by ptm 17y ago

megaduck 17y ago

You've hit the nail on the head. This is the first time that China's really HAD much of a middle class. Most of this newly minted middle class has moved from being poor peasants to decently paid professionals, and they're quite happy with the current state of affairs. The Chinese public definitely acknowledges problems with the system. However, for the past thirty years people have been getting richer, living longer, and quality of life has been hugely improved. It sure beats the period before, when they were dealing with war, famine, and the cultural revolution. So, when the government that's brought (relative) prosperity says that democracy is bad, people are inclined to just agree and go along with whatever the government says. Bottom line: The middle class in China won't support democratic reforms so long as life is improving without them.

adinobro 17y ago
Someone else pointed this out before in a different thread but why should they want to change if life is improving without them? If you look at the US as an example of democracy then at the moment it doesn't make a lot of sense. That being said things are always changing and who knows what will happen in the next 20 years. If things stop improving for most people in China then there will probably be social unrest and they may move to another form of government or the reverse could happen and the US might decide that it wants a nother form of goverment if things don't eventually improve.