China has changed a great deal in the last century, but it has remained the same in one respect: it is still ruled by a religious concept of politics. Legitimacy is not based on the give and take, the necessary compromises, and the wheeling and dealing that form the basis of an economic concept of politics such as that which underpins liberal democracy.
中国在过去的一个世纪内发生了巨大的变化，但在某一个方面，它却依然如故：宗教式的政治观念仍在统御着这个国家。这种观念的合法性并非基于互谅互让、讨价还价以及做出必要的妥协；而这些行为构成了经济式政治观念的基础，其中，自由民主制度的支柱便是一例。相反，宗教式政治的基石是一种以意识形态正统性为体现的、由上而下强加于民的共有信念。