Eric X. Li: A tale of two political systems
李世默:兩種制度的傳說

In a Ted Talk A tale of two political systems in 2011, Eric Li made a strong argument in defence of the Chinese political system. He argued that, despite a one-party government, the Chinese government demonstrates exceptional adaptability, meritocracy and legitimacy. Li's talk was well presented, but it is sophism.

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In a Ted Talk A tale of two political systems in 2011, Eric Li made a strong argument in defence of the Chinese political system. He argued that, despite a one-party government, the Chinese government demonstrates exceptional adaptability, meritocracy and legitimacy.

This is a powerful lecture. Li made a strong argument of the Chinese political system. His arguments were well organized and thought provoking. His views are worth listening to, whether one agrees with them or not.

Li's arguments

China is a success:

Adaptability:

Li argued that "the Communist Party is the world's leading expert in political reform": it "self-corrects in rather dramatic fashions", from Great Leap Forward to privatization of farmland, from Cultural Revolution to market economy.

• "In 64 years of running the largest country in the world, the range of the Party's policies has been wider than any other country in recent memory, from radical land collectivization to the Great Leap Forward, then privatization of farmland, then the Cultural Revolution, then Deng Xiaoping's market reform, then successor Jiang Zemin took the giant political step of opening up Party membership to private businesspeople, something unimaginable during Mao's rule. So the Party self-corrects in rather dramatic fashions."

Meritocracy:

Democracy selects leaders with good packaging — they can talk, they look good, but they may not be competent leaders. The Communist party selects leaders who are competent. Leaders were selected through decades of selection, from one level to another.

• "China's highest ruling body, the Politburo, has 25 members. In the most recent one, only five of them came from a background of privilege, so-called princelings. The other 20, including the president and the premier, came from entirely ordinary backgrounds."
• "China's new president, Xi Jinping, is the son of a former leader, which is very unusual, first of his kind to make the top job. Even for him, the career took 30 years."

Legitimacy:

Democracratic countries go through cycles of elect and regret. The vast majority of Chinese people are happy about their country's direction and future. This is legitimacy.

• "Pew Research polls Chinese public attitudes, and here are the numbers in recent years. Satisfaction with the direction of the country: 85 percent. Those who think they're better off than five years ago: 70 percent. Those who expect the future to be better: a whopping 82 percent."
• "[Under Western democracy] Governments get elected, and then they fall below 50 percent approval in a few months and stay there and get worse until the next election. Democracy is becoming a perpetual cycle of elect and regret."
• "The Chinese system is not universal. It doesn't not promise to be the alternative to democracy. The significance of China's example is not that it provides an alternative [to democracy], but the demonstration that alternatives exist." (16:00)

My views on Eric Li’s arguments

On Adaptability:

The changes in government policies were indeed dramatic. But they were forced changes after disastrous errors. Sometimes there were also results of power struggles. To credit the changes to the one-party system is sophism.

On Meritocracy:

Eric Li was correct in pointing out that that under democracy, leaders are elected more by their packaging than their merits. But that does not justify the argument that things are better in a one-party system. Under the one-party system, leaders are selected by their ability to please their superiors, which could be achieved through corruption and misrepresentation. Without a healthy mass media, there is no effective means of monitoring the claimed performances, which could be fabricated.

On Legitimacy:

Eric Li was correct in pointing out that democracy produces elected and regreted governments. But again, that does not justify the argument that things are better in a one-party system. Chinese peoples’ positive attitude towards the past, present and future does not entail legitimacy of the government. Everything looks rosy when people enjoy better lives than before.

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