Chinese Politics and Government - Essay Example

Chinese Politics and Government Introduction Over the past two decades, China has fast grown in prominence and become one of the global leaders in economical, regional and global affairs. The communist Chinese government was able to survive the collapse of the communist system of government that was quite eminent in the Soviet bloc. The current Chinese system of government is heavily influenced by several ideologies (Guo 1-12). Some of these influences and their effect include: Leninist-Marxist Influence When the Communist party took over the Chinese government in 1949, it largely modeled and duplicated its structure from the Leninist party-state structure which was in use in the former Soviet Union. Key characteristics of the Leninist-Marxist Influence on the Chinese government include: 1. Inevitable goals and Philosophical absolutism. The Chinese communist regime claims to possess universal and absolute truth (Guo 110). Marx’s dialectic and historical materialism are the main source of the communist party’s declaration of inevitable goals and universal truths. 2. The communist party’s Leninist party-state official, paramount and exclusive ideology that serves to justify the CPC’s political actions and goals. (Guo 91-108) Confucianism The main philosophical base that shapes the traditional Chinese political history and culture is Confucianism. It is a philosophy that can arguably be described as being hostile to individualism and any autonomy on the part of the individual; instead it encourages the individual to make self sacrifices on behalf of the state. This is considered to be the highest ideal of citizenship (Guo 47-56). Confucianism started dominating Chinese thought shortly after 200 BCE and it was generally the main Chinese orthodox ideology for a period of over 2000 years before 1911. Despite the changes to the social and political structure imposed by the communist government, many Confucian ideas still remain and play a prime role in influencing Modern China’s main political culture (Guo 47-56). Influence of Russian Communism The inspiration for the formation of the Chinese Communist Party (CPP) came from the Russian Revolt. The party was formed by Li Dazhao and Chen Duxiu in June 1921. Mao Zedong quickly became the most important member of the newly formed CPP and he adapted ideas that Lenin had used to achieve a successful revolution in Russian in the year 1917 (Guo 59-62). The May 4th Movement Due to the influence of the Chinese October Revolution, the May 4th Movement quickly came. The movement sprang up on May 4th 1919 and was in protest of the government’s perceived feeble reaction to the Treaty of Versailles; this is especially in the light of the Shandong problem. The movement had anti-feudal and anti-imperialist principles and set the stage for the continuous funding of the Communist Party of China. This is as a result of Marxism-Leninism ideologies linking themselves with the ongoing revolutionary practices of the people of China. Effect of Foreign Invasion and Historical Trauma The Communist Chinese government adopted the principle of “taking what is best” from the outside world during the 19th and 20th centuries. This was done in an effort to import only the positive things from the Western world while keeping out of China all the influences that they perceived as having a humiliating or weakening effect on China. This was especially manifested between 1946 and the late 1970s when mainland China was nearly closed to much of the outside world. The negative feelings that China derived from its foreign contact are still evident and linger under the surface in modern day China. Similarities and Differences in Organization, Ideology and Power in Contemporary and Traditional China. Throughout the history of China, there has been a continuous emphasis centered on the maintaining and creation of order via the establishment of a benevolent authority that is usually perceived as playing what is considered to be a central role in ensuring the preservation of the status quo seen in the existing relationship between the subordinates and the superiors is maintained. The CPP followed the Leninist and Marxist ideologies to create what can be termed as a “vanguard Party” modeled on Leninist ideologies (Guo 57-59). The Chinese party state has been developed and maintained according to what are commonly referred to as the “Four Cardinal Principles”. These principles are; the leadership of the CPC, the continual adherence to the thoughts of Mao Zedong and Marxism-Leninism, the dictatorship of the proletariat and the socialist system. The current organization of the Chinese party-state, places the party at the very top of the nation’s power structure pyramid. The CPC integrates, controls, commands and completely runs each and every facet of the Chinese people’s lives. Women are granted more rights as opposed to the traditional Chinese political system. In traditional China, the nation was led by a monarch who consisted of an emperor and his royal family. These Chinese rulers were always keen to base their governments on the popular Confucian model of ideologies (Guo 35-38). The Confucian model emphasized on teaching that the Monarch was a person perceived as being virtuous and was always ready to lead by example. The leader was often more dictatorial than kingly in nature. This is similar to the current Chinese party-state whose Marxism-Leninism policies are almost dictatorial in nature. Women were not given equal opportunities as men and were often treated as inferior (Guo 35-46). Leninism What is a Leninist Party-State? A Leninist Party-state system is a political system that is created mainly led by a Leninist party. The party integrates, dominates and controls the entire state or country as a party-state institution and perceives it as an instrument to be used in carrying out the Party’s political actions, visions, policies, immediate and long-term goals (Guo 91-109). Core Features of a Leninist Party State A philosophical absolutism and utopian goals are among the hard-core features that distinguish a mainly Chinese Leninist Party-state from a regular authoritarian regime. The Communist party of China claims to be in possession of universal truth and absolute freedom, to be in command of objective and vital historical laws and the overall historical destiny of the entire human society and as a result of this, it professes that it is in a unique position that enables it to have the ability of completing the course of human society. The other key hardcore feature of the Chinese Leninist Party-state is its exclusive, official and paramount ideology that is keen to justify the CPC’s overall political actions and goals, and also act as the key basis of its public policy and its advocacy for a new type of man and society (Guo 91-109). The Liaison that Exists between the Operative Features and the Hard core of a Political Regime. Change is inevitable and all political systems of government undergo varying degrees of change at some point in their development so as for them to remain relevant in the present day world. The fundamental concepts envisioned in a political system of government must always be present in order for a regime to be able to maintain its identity. The different operative features of a political system are always present and are subjected to constant change. It should be noted that change at the operative level of a political system does not have any drastic effects on the nature of the political system as a whole (Guo 110). The operative features can be seen to act as a “protective belt” whose focal role is to keep the hard core features afloat even as changes continually take place. Changes in the main operative features are not viewed as being equal in nature to a change of the current regime; this is mainly due to the fact that it mainly affects the elements that are not considered to be fundamental to the current regime. The major distinction between a generic and a developmental change is that with a generic change, the entire system of government is changed and new policies are adapted whereas with developmental changes, the existing system is modified to suit the current conditions and there is no major overhaul of the entire system. It is vital for one to understand the distinction between generic and development al changes in the study of regime change. Understanding of this distinction enables one to be able to identify the policies being implemented and predict their outcome. Post-Mao Changes in China The pragmatism and economic reforms that have taken place in post-Mao China have caused many political analysts to suggest that currently, China cannot be considered as being purely communist nation. It is seen that many Chinese individuals have adopted the current open market system and are now making money on their own (Guo 109). China’s continual openness to the outside world is greatly attributed as having caused the increased influx of foreign values, ideas and concepts which have been seen to clash with the country’s old ideological claims. The new values, concepts and are seen to be responsible for the perceived undermining of the official ideology as well as the continual threat facing the base of the party legitimacy (Guo 109). The country is experiencing greater freedom of expression as persons are now able to discuss the shortcomings of the ruling communist regime. Criticism may be expressed as long as ideological taboos and sensitive party issues are not discussed and such discussions do not lead to any mass action. Analysts believe that most of the post-Mao Chinese leaders are not keen adherents of the communist ideological views as they tend to rely on nonideological resources as well as pragmatic considerations in solving the issues that they are confronted with (Guo 110). Given their commitment to reform and the mostly technocratic nature of the Chinese government top leadership, analysts believe that application of the communist ideology is no longer relevant in China. Read More