http://www.ted.com/talks/eric_x_li_a_ta ... stems.html (http://www.ted.com/talks/eric_x_li_a_tale_of_two_political_systems.html)
I'm lurking more than posting these days, and you'd unlikely find me in the politics forum when I am posting, but you might find this an interresting challenge to old ideas and preferences.
Short summary: though China has a one party system, it's not a stagnant system, or an elitist one. There's political selection based on competence, rather than election through popular vote. Though democracy undeniably has it's merrits and led to much progress, the status quo of vote now/regret later should perhaps not be considered as the only viable option.
For all practical purposes we have had a one party system for most of our history. It is now known as the 1%. The plutocrats compete for control over the countries future by funding the dog and pony show (aka Elephant and jackass show) that tricks the vast majority of Americans into thinking they actually have a choice.
And he was being nice. :shock: :roll: Solitary
All in all I'll take our 1% ruling elite over China's 1 party and their uncanny ability to decide to slaughter off millions at a whim.
Quote from: "AllPurposeAtheist"All in all I'll take our 1% ruling elite over China's 1 party and their uncanny ability to decide to slaughter off millions at a whim.
Not defending the Chinese at all. I have been there and they do seem to be catching up to us in an interesting way. The cities are modern, fairly clean, and have a growing middle class. They have enough to eat, and access to loads of "stuff" from WalMart, they don't care about the one party rule. The peasants in the country being displaced for "progress" are largely out of sight, out of mind. At least the Chinese are not under the illusion of democracy.
Sorry, but the US has killed way more people than the Chinese or any other nation.
http://digitaljournal.com/article/350955 (http://digitaljournal.com/article/350955)
QuoteNever mind that the government they serve supports some of the most undemocratic regimes in the world, from the Saudi monarchs who brutally repress their own people while funding the very terrorists our nation has been battling for so long, to the Bahraini regime that murders and tortures dissenters, to the wicked Islam Karimov of Uzbekistan-- notorious for boiling his opponents alive-- to a host of lesser yet equally horrific tyrants in Africa, Asia, the Middle East and Latin America.
More than 6,000 US troops have died so far while 'spreading democracy' in the 11-year 'War on Terror.' More than 20 times as many innocent civilians have died as a result of the US-led invasions and occupations of Afghanistan and Iraq. Years of war and occupation have left these proud nations in ruins. Torture, arbitrary killings, repression and ethnic cleansing of Christians and Jews are everyday facts of life for Iraqis, despite their 'liberation' from Saddam Hussein and their newfound freedom to vote. In Afghanistan, the Taliban are still very much alive and well despite America's best efforts to root out and destroy them. Repression remains alarmingly commonplace. Women and girls are victims of frequent misogynistic violence, poverty and hunger ravage the war-torn nation, and those who reject Islam face severe penalties, even death, under the country's new 'democratic' constitution. Afghanistan's government and security forces are spectacularly corrupt and inept, and our Afghan 'allies' are prone to turning their guns on our troops.
We have not fought a war that actually defended American sovereignity since the Civil War. Every war fought since has been on foreign soil. Every war fought since the Korean War is about American intervention. America has supported repressive regimes historically, including The Shah of Iran, Syria, South Vietnam's repressive monarchy, and so on. We have killed many times more people in collateral damage than were ever killed in the defense of freedom. We have expended more armaments by hundreds of times over against people in their countries. We have a global "defense" department that is attack dominated, and six times larger than the next biggest. We have six Supercarriers in our arsenal. Every other nation combined has zero.
In the case of Pol Pot in Cambodia, the genocide committed there is horrific. Yet we effectively conducted Genocide campaigns against Laos with cluster bombs that are still to this day killing civilians. More people have been killed worldwide with weapons made in the US than any other country. Enough said. you get the point.
The US is already operating under a one party system. Some members of the one party call themselves democrats other members call themselves republicans. But its all the same party in the end. There are other parties here beside that one. But none of the others ever get any meaningful amount of traction or power.
Democracy in China would be a disaster.