Public Opinion in Authoritarian States
The author concludes with the idea that it is good if China becomes democratic in the way the west is, but I don&#x27;t feel so comfortable with that idea. Lately I have come to realize many flaws of the democratic system, at least as currently implemented by many western countries. I don&#x27;t see the emergence of divisiveness as a good thing. When people vote because they long to belong to a group, not because it is sensible policy, it will undermine the long term prosperity of said democracy.<p>Don&#x27;t more people worry about this? Why do I get the feeling that too many people stick to the notion that democracy is automatically good, without considering possible reforms to address its current weaknesses?<p>Another thought: It is entirely possible that the CCP is not keen on democracy exactly because of democracy&#x27;s weaknesses. Weaknesses that traditionally kept China weak. If we want China to accept democracy we can&#x27;t just keep labeling them as &#x27;evil&#x27; and call it a day, we should <i>actually</i> come up with a better sell.