Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I have always found interesting two of largest countries in world, in respect to population, seems to have completely different system.
China has strict Authoritarian Government which has allowed state controlled 'Capitalism'. Which looks to have worked wonders economically and their economy is currently larger than India.
India has Democratic system of government with a 'Mixed Market Economy'. India Gov/Economy system is much more similar to the West than China.
Which of these two system work better? Would China benefit from a more Democratic/Market like India has? Or could India benefit more from an Authoritarian Gov / state controlled market economy that China has?
I have always found interesting two of largest countries in world, in respect to population, seems to have completely different system.
China has strict Authoritarian Government which has allowed state controlled 'Capitalism'. Which looks to have worked wonders economically and their economy is currently larger than India.
India has Democratic system of government with a 'Mixed Market Economy'. India Gov/Economy system is much more similar to the West than China.
Which of these two system work better? Would China benefit from a more Democratic/Market like India has? Or could India benefit more from an Authoritarian Gov / state controlled market economy that China has?
Not sure if your premise makes much sense. India is never going to adopt Chinese type authoritarian ideals and China is not going to adopt a democratic system of government any time soon.
Clearly, China has done a lot better than India when it comes to growth and development.
The important question is - which type of growth is sustainable? India is a much younger population. People have freedom and the middle class votes!
China on the other hand is very near the peak and with an ever growing middle class might be headed towards some changes that may not be acceptable to the Government. It is really difficult to predict what may or may not happen in China.
They're still nominally Communist, but have allowed quite a bit of Capitalism in their economy. State Control of Individual Rights + State-Controlled Capitalism??
I have always found interesting two of largest countries in world, in respect to population, seems to have completely different system.
China has strict Authoritarian Government which has allowed state controlled 'Capitalism'. Which looks to have worked wonders economically and their economy is currently larger than India.
India has Democratic system of government with a 'Mixed Market Economy'. India Gov/Economy system is much more similar to the West than China.
Which of these two system work better? Would China benefit from a more Democratic/Market like India has? Or could India benefit more from an Authoritarian Gov / state controlled market economy that China has?
Authoritarianism ALWAYS works better than any kind of democratic system because authoritarianism allows for things to happen without being bogged down by bureaucracy...but the authority has to be sane, intelligent, thoughtful, insightful, pragmatic and benevolent. So essentially, it's impossible to actually have a decent system. Turkey (Ataturk) shows us how even a great authoritarian leader can do immense good for his country while at the same time being an evil tyrant. History is littered with authoritarian leaders who really did want the best for their people but who used less than acceptable ways at achieving it.
I have always found interesting two of largest countries in world, in respect to population, seems to have completely different system.
China has strict Authoritarian Government which has allowed state controlled 'Capitalism'. Which looks to have worked wonders economically and their economy is currently larger than India.
India has Democratic system of government with a 'Mixed Market Economy'. India Gov/Economy system is much more similar to the West than China.
Which of these two system work better? Would China benefit from a more Democratic/Market like India has? Or could India benefit more from an Authoritarian Gov / state controlled market economy that China has?
A few points:
First, you seem to assume that the free-market goes hand in hand with democracy. But that is not necessarily so. There can be centrally-controlled democratic systems as well as free-market authoritarian systems.
Second, authoritarian systems have the potential for more efficiency. But this is typically negated by the lack of checks on systematic abuse, so that tends to bog them down even more than the bureacracies of democratic systems.
Third, it's not so much a matter of 'better'. People will tend to accept certain disadvantages and drawbacks to democratic and open countries simply because they prefer democracy and openness (checks and balances, non-censorship, and so forth).
Having spent quite a bit of time in both countries, it's clear that China is doing things right, while things have gone horrifically wrong in India. Indian cities are surrounded by trash heap slums, garbage covers the streets of the capitol, and--especially in the north--there is nary a skyscraper in sight. Railroads are open sewers where a good percentage of the population goes to relieve themselves, and infant untouchables lie in the hot sun on street corners all day long while their destitute parents beg for a handful of rupees.
China, while choking in smog and fear under the oppressive one party system, at least has elevated the economic status of nearly all its citizens. Relatively trash-free cities of endless office and apartment towers rise everywhere in the country.
India's real problem is it's obscenely stratified class system, which has festered under unfettered capitalism. It provides a horrific glimpse into the future of the United States, should we discard all notions of social equality and "let the market decide". The wealthy live in guarded and gated compounds with battery backups for the frequent blackouts, while the poor live in homeless squalor.
China, on the other hand, is also a cautionary tale of what happens when a single party is allowed access to unfettered power in the name of social justice. While the conditions are better, the thought police are out in full force and there is a constant awareness and tension with big brother watching and judging your every word and action.
Both countries are pretty darn awful in their own way. I would never live in either one for all the tea. The one thing they share is that the ultra-wealthy are above the squalor and oppression.
China has the "management" and resources to survive it's rapidly ageing population because it has invested heavily in robotized factories that require relatively fewer people to operate. The extreme concentration of wealth will diminish in order to keep the trained people at home operating the factories. The elites will continue to dominate the economy and the culture. They will cover their assets by investing in overseas economies of Europe and the Americas.
India will not do as well as their population is still increasing faster than their economy can provide even basic luxuries as clean water and functioning sewers. I expect the overcrowded conditions are a perfect place for nature to breed an opportunistic plague as deadly as Ebola and as contagious as influenza. The elites will probably be less effected because of their isolation and expensive medical facilities but the poor will be devastated.
I expect this grim forecast will also apply to the other countries dominated by a hyper wealthy elite and masses of poor without even basic sanitation and medical systems. Think about most of the cities of Africa and South America.
Having spent quite a bit of time in both countries, it's clear that China is doing things right, while things have gone horrifically wrong in India. Indian cities are surrounded by trash heap slums, garbage covers the streets of the capitol, and--especially in the north--there is nary a skyscraper in sight. Railroads are open sewers where a good percentage of the population goes to relieve themselves, and infant untouchables lie in the hot sun on street corners all day long while their destitute parents beg for a handful of rupees.
China, while choking in smog and fear under the oppressive one party system, at least has elevated the economic status of nearly all its citizens. Relatively trash-free cities of endless office and apartment towers rise everywhere in the country.
India's real problem is it's obscenely stratified class system, which has festered under unfettered capitalism. It provides a horrific glimpse into the future of the United States, should we discard all notions of social equality and "let the market decide". The wealthy live in guarded and gated compounds with battery backups for the frequent blackouts, while the poor live in homeless squalor.
China, on the other hand, is also a cautionary tale of what happens when a single party is allowed access to unfettered power in the name of social justice. While the conditions are better, the thought police are out in full force and there is a constant awareness and tension with big brother watching and judging your every word and action.
Both countries are pretty darn awful in their own way. I would never live in either one for all the tea. The one thing they share is that the ultra-wealthy are above the squalor and oppression.
Wow, thats good be very good information on pluses and downsides of both countries.
I very much agree with your opinion how Indian vs Chinese cities look. Indian cities often look like third world slums, while Chinese cities are definitely "second world" and some areas look like first world places.
Both are bad. Socialism and Communism is much better.
Everyone gets a piece of the pie and there is no great
inequality.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
