Does capitalism lead to democracy?
August 10th, 2008 • Economics, Human Rights, Political
Free trade advocates have often used the promise of democracy to encourage free trade at any cost. That is, they believe that wealth will naturally lead to a democratic society, so can justify increasing trade with authoritarian states on the basis that this will lead to demands for better governance from a rising middle class. But is that what we are seeing in China? Robert Reich questions this doctrine, pointing out the rise of ‘authoritarian capitalism’ in China rather then the ‘democratic capitalism’ hoped for.
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3 Responses (Add Your Comment)
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Well, it may take a while. Think about Singapore. But then again, that depends on the criteria we use to judge “democracy”.
As far as China having done a good job of indoctrinating its populations, I wouldn’t be so sure. Nationalist reflexes are the kind of things that government use to gain support and may well encourage but that’s because people tend to have them. (I’m really not sure a democratic China would have a better attitude towards Tibet for instance).
On the litterature, hmmm, i’m not exactly well read either but in recent times, I think the idea that growth leads to democracy in the short term has been debunked by people like Adam Przeworski. There is evidence that democratization is linked to crisis in Africa. And in historical times, well, it has been longer processes of franchise extension, hasn’t it ? The middle class may not care for poor peasants but by caring for themselves and defining rights they own, poor peasants are either included or include themselves.
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Good points RA, China certainly has made progress in terms of its human rights.
I guess the debate is how much more progress will be made, and the time it will take.
I’m not well read on this, but I also wonder about democracies historically – is the causal link demonstrated between rising middle class and demands for democracy? Or do rich middle classes care more about their own safety/position/wealth then the human rights of poor farmers? Also, China certainly seems to have done a good job of indoctrinating a substantial portion of their population to praise the government – just listen to the Beijing vox pops on pollution! It appears to me that constructive criticism isn’t a strong part of the culture yet (and the US seems to be slipping on this point too), which makes it harder to stand up for rights against the government.
Hmmm.. He may be a bit dramatic.
Is China really as authoritarian as it was 20 or 30 years ago ? Is the intellectual sphere as controlled ? What do we make of the rise of civil rights lawyers ? And the fact that they get to stay alive ? Is the Chinese government more or less responsive to its own public opinion ? Would the PR efforts deployed domestically after the last earthquake or the intervention itself a sign of a government careful and conscious of that demanding middle class ?