Civics U: What Form is Best, and What’s the Difference? Part 2 – Comparing Countries
Preface
Part I briefly summarized democracy and capitalism, socialism, and communism as major and currently familiar forms of government and economy, and the predominant systems in the United States, Russia, and China respectively. It did not examine or distinguish between, variously, a pure democracy, a representative democracy, and a republic. The distinctions are important but each form is intended to involve freedom of and government by the people in some way.
Part II will sketch an overview of the socialist and communist systems of Russia and China, as well as the feudal dictatorship system of Saudi Arabia as background for then reflecting on American democracy and capitalism. These systems will be reviewed by generally applying the rubrics of government power and elections; property and economics; and human rights.
Interestingly, the Constitution of the Russian Federation declares that the state is a democratic state with a federal system and rule of law. And Russia does hold elections. The President is elected by direct popular vote. The Federal Assembly, the legislative branch consisting of the upper house, the Federation Council with 170 members, and the lower house, the state “Duma” with 450 members, are chosen by a mixed election.
Much of Russia’s economy is based on its oil and gas resources. The industrial, energy, and financial sectors, previously government-owned, were privatized to a large extent under previous President Boris Yeltsin, thus permitting the development of capitalism. And private ownership of property is now permitted.
Nevertheless, Russia is an authoritarian regime. Although it has several political parties, it is dominated by a single party, and it does not fully protect the freedoms of speech and dissent, press, and religion.
The United States Department of State Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor 2020 report on Russia’s human rights practices identifies a number of “significant human rights issues”. These include “severe suppression of freedom of expression and media, including the use of “anti-extremism” and other laws to prosecute peaceful dissent and religious minorities; violence against journalists; blocking and filtering of internet content and banning of online anonymity; severe suppression of the right of peaceful assembly; severe suppression of freedom of association…severe restrictions of religious freedom….”, and more.
CHINA
China – formally The People’s Republic of China (PRC) – too, has an election system. China’s representative elections begin with a direct vote of the people in local and village elections operated by local election committees. Citizens 18 and older vote for their village and local people’s congresses, and those congresses, in turn, elect the representatives to provincial people’s congresses.
The provincial congresses in China’s 23 provinces, five autonomous regions, four municipalities directly ruled by the Central Government, special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macao, and armed forces then elect the roughly 3,000 delegates to the National People’s Congress (NPC).
The NPC in turn elects China’s president, and also the Premier, Vice President, Chair of the Central Military Commission, President of the Supreme People’s Court, and Procurator (Prosecutor)-General of the Supreme People’s Procuratorate. The National People’s Congress enacts basic laws but is largely a symbolic body. True political authority rests with the Chinese Communist Party, whose leaders ultimately set policy for the country.
China’s economy has many privately owned businesses and a degree of prosperity. Again, however, these operate primarily under the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The private business/corporate sector in China had been growing, but has faced increased restrictions under current President Xi Jinping. China regularly suppresses freedom of speech, targets rights activists, and controls internet traffic under the Cybersecurity Law.
China’s religious practitioners and ethnic minorities are required to conform to Chinese culture, the socialist system, and communist party policies. Religious travel to foreign countries, contacts with foreign religious organizations, religious education of children are restricted. Religious venues are required to post the national flag and teach traditional Chinese culture and “core socialist values.” PRC authorities have imprisoned Chinese Christian pastors, and have implemented harsh policies against Tibetans, Uyghurs, and followers of the Falun Gong spiritual exercise.
SAUDI ARABIA
Saudi Arabia is an absolute monarchy led by a king. Neither political parties nor national elections are permitted.
The country has a wealth of oil and gas reserves, and the government has control over major economic activities. It uses profits to provide free education, health, and retirement benefits to its citizens. Private ownership of property and businesses is permitted, and major corporations and industries are numerous. However, there are restrictions on the uses of property and on the amount that an individual can accumulate.
Saudi Arabia is officially a Muslim country following Sharia (Islamic law). Persons who hold a non-Islamic religion, including Christianity and Hinduism, but may not practice it openly or attempt to convert others to it. There are no church buildings in Saudi Arabia. In fact, Newsweek has cited an Open Doors report listing Saudi Arabia as the 11th worst religious persecutor in the world.
Political rights and civil liberties are also restricted, and dissent can be punished with imprisonment or worse. Freedom of speech, including freedom of the press, are generally lacking. Sharia law and Islamic teaching also restrict and require various social ways that are too many to enumerate here. Suffice to just mention as an example the strict modesty, such as face covering, required in women’s dress.
What Differences Matter
Physical survival and health are basic universal human needs. But what about non-physical needs? Are freedom of thought, freedom of belief, freedom to create, freedom to travel, freedom to form relationships, etc., also basic human needs? Are they basic human rights or only limited privileges? Is freedom a basic human need or an arbitrary social and cultural construct? Are there moral aspects involved in how different types of government operate? The governments described above operate on different premises concerning these questions and the responsibilities of the government and of people to meet these needs. The next article will reflect on these and further questions about the nature of government and governments.
SPECIAL NOTE CONCERNING CHINA (from a 2020 Congressional Research Service report)
“Since 2013, China has dropped three places, from 173 to 177 (out of 180 countries), on Reporters Without Borders’ World Press Freedom Index. The government blocks access to 8 of the 25 busiest global sites. State authorities and private companies also monitor and regulate social media use in order to prevent sensitive topics and information from being discussed and disseminated.
“PRC methods of social and political control are evolving to include sophisticated technologies. The government seeks to develop a “social credit system” that aggregates data on individuals’ credit scores, consumer behavior, internet use, and criminal records, and scores citizens’ “trustworthiness.” China has deployed tens of millions of surveillance cameras, as well as facial, voice, iris, and gait recognition equipment, to reduce crime generally as well as to track the movements of ethnic Tibetans and Uyghurs and other sensitive groups.”