Blog Discussion Group Nine
No blog assignment for this week due to Thanksgiving holiday. Blog Discussion Group Nine posted here is for the first week of December. Please answer one question from the following list. Blog "post" due at 11:55pm on December 3 and "comment" due at 11:55pm on December 6.
China
1. What changes did Mao make to Marxism and Leninism to make them more appropriate to the Chinese setting?
2. Is it still appropriate to think of China as a “communist” country?
Discuss the possibility of China’s democratization.
Nigeria
3. If you were a member of a particular ethnic group in Nigeria, what would be your attitudes towards democracy?
4. How have the frequent shifts from civilian to military rule and back again exacerbated the country’s many social and economic problems?
5. Are political parties the best option for divided societies such as Nigeria, or are there more efficient channels through which citizens can express themselves and be governed.
China
1. What changes did Mao make to Marxism and Leninism to make them more appropriate to the Chinese setting?
2. Is it still appropriate to think of China as a “communist” country?
Discuss the possibility of China’s democratization.
Nigeria
3. If you were a member of a particular ethnic group in Nigeria, what would be your attitudes towards democracy?
4. How have the frequent shifts from civilian to military rule and back again exacerbated the country’s many social and economic problems?
5. Are political parties the best option for divided societies such as Nigeria, or are there more efficient channels through which citizens can express themselves and be governed.
Is it still appropriate to think of China as a “communist” country?
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely yes. One can act like a democracy but a wolf under sheep’s clothing can be camouflaged as something different. Authoritarian governments like this claim or act like something else. Even when one observes the similarities of U.S. currency and the Yuan it’s pretty apparent that just because it looks like a duck doesn’t mean it’s a duck. In our text Essentials of Comparative Politics by Patrick H. O’Neil states that countries such as China thus see themselves as “true” democracies, which they define as.
Are you implying that China is a "communist" country that is pretending to be a democracy? How is that so?
DeleteYes I have a similar question to Nyima. Do you think the workers could be said to democratically control the means of production in China? If not- how is this a communist country?
Delete2) Is it still appropriate to think of China as a “communist” country? Discuss the possibility of China’s democratization.
ReplyDeleteI think that the government is no longer a “communist” country as it was back during the time of its founding. China does have more market or capitalist qualities than a “communist” one. A communist state is essentially supposed to be a government with no class divisions. But China has one of the most unequal wealth distribution in Asia, with a huge gap between the rich and the poor. While the Chinese economy and land is by the state, there is definitely more emphasis on the elites and private wealth.
While there are more private wealth flowing in the country, compared to China under Mao’s dictatorship, I think that it is difficult to be certain about whether China will ever democratize. According to Lipset, “The higher one’s education, the more likely one is to believe in democratic values and support democratic practices. All the relevant studies indicate that education is far more significant than income or occupation” (79). In several other articles or readings that I have found on China’s likelihood of democratizing, many mention that it is a possibility; the more Chinese citizens begin to educate themselves, the more likely they are to feel driven to participate in politics and usually when they do study-abroad, there is a chance that they will become drawn to the democratic ideals of freedom and individual rights. However, this also reminds me that most of the Chinese international students that I have seen or heard of, come from a well-off background who would most likely stick with the option of preserving their wealth and status as it is under the CCP, than to risk life without the CCP; there are some that are also defensive and supportive about their government system because they grew up with the education system controlled by the state.
Other than the education portion, many of the people that I have talked to (who sympathize with the rights of the Chinese minorities, i.e. Uyghur Muslims and Tibetans) have expressed that there is more hope for the decline of the CCP, especially due to the Trade War with the U.S., the Hong Kong protests, policies put in place this year, and the victories won by human rights activists. But on the other side, the CCP is also widely supported by Chinese citizens due to the economic progress brought by the party’s rule despite the wealth disparities. Therefore, I would say that one cannot be for sure-- since China is so much more complex to even come to a definite answer on its democratization.
4. How have the frequent shifts from civilian to military rule and back again exacerbated the country’s many social and economic problems?
ReplyDeleteI feel like the frequent change from civilian to military rule in Nigeria have exacerbated the problems that they face as a country. I think that one reason changes in rule can exacerbate the social and economic problems of a country like Nigeria because it is already unstable economically and with the change in rule so often, it is hard for the economy to become stable since one ruling body does not stay for a long period of time. Another reason there may be problems due to the change in rule is that the people ruling may not have the same philosophy, so when it changes so often there is not much room for stability.
I agree with you that having a government that is already economically unstable and a change in rule can lead to more issues within the country instead of helping it. When attempting to establish a government or ruling body the economics behind the country have to be in order. If the government is handling it's money affairs right then the rest of the country faces problems.
Delete2. Is it still appropriate to think of China as a “communist” country?
ReplyDeleteDiscuss the possibility of China’s democratization.
Yes, it is appropriate to think China as a communist country. If you think about the success of the Chinese economy some may think that some acts of communism is still enforced because of the large amount of workers that the industry and agriculture market have. Agriculture is the largest GDP sector for the Chinese government meaning they need to provide jobs to keep up with the exporting of corps. In a communist government a characteristic is the government providing jobs to have control of the people while making their economy stronger.
If you were a member of a particular ethnic group in Nigeria, what would be your attitudes towards democracy?
ReplyDeleteI would have a biased attitude towards democracy if I were apart of an ethnic group in Nigeria such as the Hausa, Igbo or the Yoruba. It seems as though before the Colonial Rule there were already democratic elements present that would have eventually lead to participatory polities until the interruption of colonialism according to chapter 12 of Introduction to Comparative Politics. However, at that particular time the communities had principals of accountability and representation. Leadership was more hierarchical in the North than the South but still order existed. When the colonial rule happened, the British took control using indirect rule.Why couldn't the power decide who would be in control of what? Indirect rule would either strengthen the authority of the traditional chiefs and kings or would appoint their own warrant chiefs. It also had the potential to weaken any previous practices of local accountability and participation. During this time, the British not only promoted a democratic political system but I believe it was also forced among the people by using deceitful tactics. Democratic systems created political competition which would later lead to political corruption Nigeria's independence, chaos among the people and eventually political corruption. On the flip side of the Democratic system good things did come such as hubs for trades and shipping, Islamic institutions still intact and the modern economy for the South while the North still had agricultural land (which could be beneficial to those people).
Keely Crawford
3. I would feel encouraged by the idea of democracy. In Nigeria, I feel as though there is a massive gap between the rich and the poor, and there is not much ability for change because it is so politically lopsided. Democracy would give more power to the people and would create a better checks and balances system in order to a more sustainable country for everyone. A democracy would make things much easier for policies to get established that would aid the country in plenty of aspects, and this could end up benefitting the majority of the population in Nigeria.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your point made talking about how democracy would bring more power to the people. Under democracy citizens are able to vote for their govern leaders. If the political leaders do the job with the people and for the people the economy and the massive gap between the rich and the poor should slowly close.
DeleteI agree with you. If I was member of a particular ethnic group in Nigeria, I would also feel encouraged by the idea of democracy. But I do understand that it is going to take a long time to become a stable democracy, not just because of the sectionalism or ethnic tensions that formed as a result of colonialism but also because it would take the Nigerian people a long time to feel comfortable speaking up and being actively involved in a democratic system. I say it would be difficult to immediately become involved in the politics because years of military rule is sure to affect the mindest of most Nigerian people; in a Military rule, it is common to see oppositions get punished for speaking out against the system.
Delete2. Is it still appropriate to think of China as a “communist” country?
ReplyDeleteDiscuss the possibility of China’s democratization.
Due to the capitalist monopolies created by the CCP and distributed to the municipalities of China, the movement towards privatization, and the strong economic influence of China in economies all over the world, I do not believe it is correct to say China is truly a communist country any longer. The abandonment and resistance to western ideology and the adoption of Marxist ideology that has previously taken place in China has been abandoned or at least reshaped to a degree, in the pursuit of global economic dominance. China now controls the largest majority of the United States' debt and foreign investment in US debt is the largest category of debt ownership for the United States. The infrastructure development in the northern part of the continent of Africa, by China stands in direct competition for alliances and access to resources both tangible and economic with much of the west. Although China has maintained this narrative since the 1950's, the story from the state has changed to one of global incentivizing in the form of special economic zones. The global economic power has not seen wealth in China shared with the working class of people and as a result domestic policy has become inadequate since the reduction of social programs in the late 20th century. This has been a step backwards in terms of uniting the classes of China into one party of unified people. China in essence has adopted capitalism which has inadvertently led to democratization economically.
3. If you were a member of a particular ethnic group in Nigeria, what would be your attitudes towards democracy?
ReplyDeleteNigeria's three main ethnic groups - Hausa, Yoruba and Igbo - only constitute two thirds of the country's population. Nigerian and Western observers alike often blame inter-ethnic competition, known locally as tribalism, for the instability and weakness of Nigeria's "democracy." On the contrary, Nigeria's constitutional democracy is weak because it is an imported ideology imposed on an artificial political unit. The territory known as Nigeria springs not from an African, but a European, logic - from lines drawn on a map 100 years ago at a conference table in Berlin. Nigerians have no common history and no communal symbols. What past they share consists of rigged elections and violent political confrontation, largely the result of regional rivalry. The government's redistribution of petroleum revenues according to constituent territorial units fosters this rivalry. Political patronage, the bedrock of Nigerian politics, has in turn fed off these regional and ethnic rivalries, further undermining national solidarity.
Hey Ellis!
DeleteI think you made some good points however I am just confused on what your attitudes would be towards democracy. Great historical information.
Keely Crawford
2. China is not and has never been communist. Maoism synthesized class struggle in an entirely different way than classical Marxism. For Mao, class struggle meant national struggle against colonization and imperialism. For Mao, socialism would only be achievable when so-called "Third World" countries had a strong class conscious peasantry. Through developing strong nations and revolutionary parties- these peasants would resist imperialism and eventually drive out foreign capitalism and replace it with socialism. For Mao, as with Marx- communism was the goal of a classless, moneyless, stateless society. In this view- no country can be communist. In China, the workers do not own the means of production. The state and public ownership make up and have replaced the previous capitalist class as rulers and bosses. In China, the CCP has a large proportion of millionaires within the party. Most of China's economy is privately owned. In addition, China has recently been imprisoning Marxist activists. For these reasons- I think it is hard to look at China and see anything other than a capitalist nation in red garb.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you, it is hard to present a valid argument that China has ever been considered a communist country. I liked the point you made about Mao saying that socialism would only be achievable when there was a strong class conscious peasantry. I think in some cases where there is said to be a class conscious, it is almost a false class consciousness, still being controlled by the capitalist elite.
DeleteCade,
DeleteYour argument seems valid and I would agree that China is more of a capitalist country in its current form. Do you think another piece of evidence for China as a capitalist country could come from the way in which the United States and other countries treat conflict with China? By this I am suggesting that by launching a trade war with China, the United States is treating China differently than we treated Cuba or the Soviet Union. I realize the Soviet Union might not be a perfect example of a communist government or economy, but my point, is that the United States once considered military action as well as economic sanction against "communist" countries. Now the United States is pursuing other methods of conflict with the Chinese economy. Could this suggest that the United States recognizes China as a global capitalist rival?
Ethan this is a great point and something I had not thought about before but yes you are exactly right.
Delete