The question is not whether authoritarianism scales or succumbs to internal problems, but when each occurs. Many times over the course of [Chinese] history.
8:07 PM
This is the sort of thing that makes me wonder if China can maintain its current path: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/17/world/asia/17china.htmlBasically: does authoritarianism scale, or inevitably succumb to internal power struggles? This article would suggest some of the latter, that the Chinese leadership is losing control as the military, finance, and industrial sectors act with increasing autonomy -- sometimes in defiance of the central leaders' will.It's interesting how the conversations about the Chinese rise to power rarely discuss the possibility of true internal dissent, or desperate actions to contain it. That's actually what frightens me most: there's no legitimate reason for the Chinese to go to war with the US or its neighbors, but war is a fantastic distraction from internal dissent.Ultimately I continue to bet on the US because out of all nations, I think we're the best of managing internal content, which is ultimately the greatest threat to any power -- imperial or otherwise.-david
posted by David Barrett at 6:19 PM on Jan 16, 2011
"Strains within China's leadership"
1 Comment -
Indeed dissent=content, or a typo.
The question is not whether authoritarianism scales or succumbs to internal problems, but when each occurs. Many times over the course of [Chinese] history.
8:07 PM