Harold Meyerson states American political model aidsr China. Below is his view in summary:
We now have a rival superpower, China, that mocks the inability of our democracy to create the jobs that would restore our economy, which they adduce as evidence of the superiority of authoritarianism? Do Supreme Court conservatives realize that China disparages our elections as controlled by big money?
As The Post's Andrew Higgins reported on Monday March 29, a bizarre gathering of theocratic Indonesian Islamists and secular Indonesian nationalists came together in Jakarta last week to hail China and condemn the United States. China may seem an unlikely object of affection for Islamists, well, anywhere. But U.S.-backed neoliberal economics devastated the Indonesian economy in the '90s and the American economy today. To many Indonesians, China's stunning economic successes argue for its own brand of authoritarian mercantilism.
Today, China has emerged as a global economic powerhouse and political competitor. Unlike the Soviet Union, it does not seek to remake the world in its image, but neither is it a friend of democracy. Its booming economy -- in contrast to those of the wheezing West -- may be viewed as validating state industrial policy, which can help build national prosperity, but China also sees it as an endorsement of authoritarian efficiency.
Increasingly, the Chinese are leveling the kinds of attacks the Soviets used to make against the imperfections of our democracy. Li Pen, a leading figure in China's National People's Congress, was quoted in China Daily, an official newspaper, this month on the shortcomings of our political system. "Western-style elections," he said, "are a game for the rich. They are affected by the resources and funding that a candidate can utilize. Those who manage to win elections are easily in the shoes of their parties or sponsors."
Li's allegations have power because they're considerably -- though not entirely -- true. And many American conservatives behave as though eager to prove them right. The Supreme Court's January decision in Citizens United, allowing corporations to make limitless investments in election campaigns, reads as if crafted to validate Li's point. The Senate's descent into dysfunction, into a body bent on thwarting majority rule, mocks our democratic values for all the world to see.
In our intensifying contest with China, with much of the world still at stake, our first task is to demonstrate that democracy works. When we don't do so -- and John Roberts and Mitch McConnell, I'm talking to you and your fellow conservatives -- China wins. (Source: Harold Meyerson, Washington Post, Mar 31, 2010).