Secondly, the articles implies that middle class only exists in beijing and shanghai only. How do you define middle class in small cities where nobody makes more than $2000 a year?

As far as I see, China’s consolidation-of-wealth process is proceeding at an phenomenal speed. The end result is, basically, where India is at right now.

Agreeing that democracy would solve all these troubles, there is no easy way for democracy to come to China. Those who benefited from current political system will defend against any social reform. The Chinese history has been repeating the same story too many times, so there is no surprise that the same will happen again.

Above is a recent article on the San Francisco Chronicle: “Whites in state ‘below the replacement level’”

Pay close attention to the comments.

When you look at global politics, we saw in the past 20 years, 4-6 million central Africans die in various wars. The democratic Western nations ignored this because those Africans were seen as economically useless. But if a wealthy ally and trading partner of the US was under attack, for example, Japan, even a small number of deaths would’ve resulted in America’s military rushing to its defense. This provides another example of how the wealthy are seen as more important than the poor, which goes against basic democratic concepts.

And when you dig deep into American domestic politics, and see how racial elements come into play, democracy seems even less valid. For example, in almost every city where poorer blacks and Latinos vastly outnumber the richer whites in the area, the whites typically become increasingly anti-democratic and pro-capitalism (they become Republicans and Libertarians). Why? Because, richer people don’t believe that poorer people (Democrats), simply because they outnumber them, are automatically in the right.

By 2050, white Americans will have lost their majority status in the US population. Although they will be a minority, a huge concentration of wealth will remain in their hands. I believe we’ll increasingly see that these whites will move further to the right-wing, and away from democratic concepts, because they will see democracy as a pathway to wealth redistribution. In other words, democracy itself will be seen as a form of socialism.

So I think it may benefit a growing Chinese middle class to push for more capitalism, and not for more democracy. More democracy will likely result in more agitation from the poor in China, and that will increase the taxes on the wealthy and middle class Chinese. But if more capitalism is brought about, then the middle class can cast off any burden their poor neighbors place on them, and compete in the global economy as individuals.

Interesting article and thanks for allowing us to comment.

I have been living in China for 9 years and it has been my observation that people in general are satisfied with the current system in the larger cities, which have seen tremendous economic growth and prosperity.
When I speak to people from less well off areas in China there seems to be a larger degree of dissatisfaction about their inability to attain the same economic wealth and they seem to be more critical of the government.

As a person from Europe and America I am always surprised at how little interest the younger generation seems to have in their own rights.
I lead a team of 30 Chinese people in their late teens and early twenties. They appear to be very spoiled and self centered and don’t seem to care much about the world outside of their own environment.

As you know the education system does not support critical thinking.

While I know that 30 people is not a great representation of the Chinese population in general, I hear that this is the situation from others who are involved with the younger generation.

If the younger generation does not have an interest in pushing for a democracy then who will? Certainly not the people who have benefited from the current political situation.

Only after a group of people has reached a certain degree of prosperity and stability will they want or eveb be able to handle a democracy.

Furthermore, democracy is by no means the perfect form of government. While many voices leads to discussion which is good, too many voices lead to confusion and waste.

The Chinese, like all people, want and will continue to want more and more rights. But they may never want the confusing and evolving brand of “democracy” that is overtaking the west.

Of course Tiananman was an outrage and the world’s condemnation was justified and probably contributed by degree to the liberalisation of recent times. But to be so arrogant as some commentators are as to conclude that a Western-style democracy might have averted the problem to begin with is wilfully to ignore abuses from Watergate to Waco. In the UK, too, we are more than capable of subverting our own democracy as , Bloody Sunday, the WMD debacle and the current Parliamentary expenses scandal all remind us.

When I see the socioeconomic progress China has made in the past decade and phenomenal advances in education at every level, I am less inclined to preach and more prone to listen and learn. Economic success is the key driver for economic reform whether in 21st century Chaina or 19th century Britain but it doesn’t follow that every evolving governance model needs to ape Westminster or Capitol Hill. China’s system will liberalise but as long as a single-party system delivers strong growth and greater tolerance of difference, then who would blame the Chinese for only raising two cheers for western ideals of democracy?