Chinese understand control do they understand democracy?
You hit on the cause better than the Chinese.
(bold is done by me)
Industrialists vs farmer land owners and cottage industry.
Industrialists profit from sales, Mass production requires many sales which requires a wealthy populace. Industrialists thus benefit from having rich, informed efficient skilled workers. So they make their workers rich.
Farmer landowners, profit from control of food sales. Mass poverty means food is a larger part of the economy. Cottage small scale industry needs only a few sales to rich land owners.
UK, USA, France, Germay, Sweden .... were indeed all industrialized.
Industrialization lead to democracy and liberalism because of the need to make many sales. Rich populace gains more and more power.
I will give credit where it's due. The statement I quoted was indeed made by a chinese person, I didn't come up with it.
And to answer the query, yes. I think Chinese do understand democracy. But differently than how west or India does. Rather than call it democracy, they understand Meritocracy.
Any chinese can join the CCP. It's a long, arduous journey to the top and most won't even reach it. There are big people who have power and influence within the party, so their descendants have an edge—which is common anywhere else.
Correct me if I'm wrong, an unqualified person can't just barge into an important position in China. Unlike Rahul Gandhi of India who just inherited his mother's party and contested to be Prime Minster of the country without any prior qualifications, the CCP guy needs to climb the ladder for decades.
There is nepotism in CCP too, and corruption as well. But people are accountable. At least in the middle and lower levels. Perform or Perish. Chinese development story owes a lot of its credit to how the provinces functioned and especially how the mayors of aspiring cities competed to get more investment and meet the targets. It's a wonderful record of proper, even if strict, governance can achieve.
Industrialists vs farmer land owners and cottage industry.
Industrialists profit from sales, Mass production requires many sales which requires a wealthy populace. Industrialists thus benefit from having rich, informed efficient skilled workers. So they make their workers rich.
Farmer landowners, profit from control of food sales. Mass poverty means food is a larger part of the economy. Cottage small scale industry needs only a few sales to rich land owners.
UK, USA, France, Germay, Sweden .... were indeed all industrialized.
Industrialization lead to democracy and liberalism because of the need to make many sales. Rich populace gains more and more power.
Precisely. The reason democracy gained such support was that a skilled workforce benefited the capitalists. I might be cynical in saying this, but the world hasn't really changed much in terms of power dynamics. There are still kings that rule, but they aren't crowned nor do they have the thrones. The populace don't even know them. Compared to younger democracies, west has an entrenched group of capitalists. They control the key sectors of the nation and wield extreme power and influence.
People vote, pick one person or another. But it doesn't matter much. The ones behind the curtain remain the same. It's just a democracy in name. At very ground level, it perhaps is a democracy. But overall, it's just a big lie. The blue pill for the masses.
I still can't fathom how the people in the US voted for Biden. This old man can't even finish a sentence without stuttering, worse, he goes on tangents and talks nonsense. He belongs to an old age home, not white house. Sometimes, I wonder if it's an elaborate prank? Are the americans just playing along?
Throughout history, there have always been a tiny group of people wielding enormous power, wealth and influence. The packaging changed to a more acceptable form but the content is the same.
The wealth inequality today is far higher than any other time. So is the amount of control the elite have over the masses. It's just that most people are having their basic needs met thanks to industrialization and won't rebel.
With such view, I obviously don't have any love for democracy or hate for a more authoritarian rule. The way a country governs itself is just a means to an end and not an end in itself. But west successfully and must I say, brilliantly weaponized 'democracy'.
The only good thing about democracy is the common man thinks he is free and the one under an authoritarian regime is much more cautious of the red lines.