During the Cold War, the United States designated the paramount issue in world politics as the existential struggle between capitalism and communism. Three decades later, the US defines the struggle between “democracy” and “authoritarianism”, or, more precisely, the existential struggle between “American democracy” and “Chinese authoritarianism”, as the primary international issue.
US President Joe Biden in 2020 wrote in Foreign Affairs magazine that “the triumph of democracy and liberalism over fascism and autocracy created the free world. But this contest does not just define our past. It will define our future, as well.” On March 31, he again framed the current moment in world politics as an existential choice between “democracy” and “autocracy”, a fundamental decision that is “what competition between America and China and the rest of the world is all about”. The Strategic Competition Act of 2021 presents the US-China relationship as a zero-sum economic and military struggle between “democracy” and “authoritarianism” and creates a political environment that leaves little room for cooperation between the two countries. One American scholar even forecasts that “the coming decades will feature a long, drawn-out contest between democracy and dictatorship”. What is amazing is that almost everybody in the foreign policy community of the US is confident that this contest between “democracy” and “authoritarianism” will be won roundly by the US.
By pitting “American democracy” against “Chinese authoritarianism”, the US is pitting a romanticized and idealized “American democracy” against a demonized and false “Chinese authoritarianism”. The US is implying that the “universal values” it advocates such as democracy, freedom and human rights are fully realized in the US whereas what happens in China is just the opposite. The assumption is that any country which does not cherish and practice these “universal values” is by that very fact an autocracy or dictatorship. The contest between “democracy” and “authoritarian” is also propagated as an existential confrontation between good and bad. By using this political gimmick, the US attempts to convince people in the US and around the world that China is public enemy No 1 to humanity and that by taking on China or pursuing “regime change” there, the US is not pursuing narrow national interests, but engaging in a moral crusade for the sake of the international community, fully believing that eventually good is bound to prevail over bad. This ideological offensive smacks of animus, hypocrisy, self-righteousness, arrogance and double standards.
By pitting “American democracy” against “Chinese authoritarianism”, the US is pitting a romanticized and idealized “American democracy” against a demonized and false “Chinese authoritarianism”. The US is implying that the “universal values” it advocates such as democracy, freedom and human rights are fully realized in the US whereas what happens in China is just the opposite
Such a gimmick is not working and is unlikely to do so. Apart from certain sections of the Western public, most people around the world can see through the falsehoods, misinformation and propaganda drummed up by the US and will not be fooled into rallying behind the US crusade.
I think any impartial observer will agree that the reality in the US and China is drastically different from the narratives presented by the US. Today, a lot of people in the US and abroad are seeing a failed and unenviable “American democracy”, are unhappy with the sorry state of affairs in the US and are worried about the future of the US and the West as a whole. In “American democracy”, the salient features include a fractured polity, money politics, flawed democracy, plutocracy, a divided society, political stalemate, rampant racism and populism, ineffective governance, a debilitating sense of malaise, mistrust of the political and social elites, the inability of the US Constitution to solve the political problems, falling confidence in American democracy, social alienation and pessimism about the nation’s future. In short, “American democracy” is largely unable to achieve the “universal values” supposedly at its core or to deliver the public goods and services to meet the demands and aspirations of the American people.
The conditions in China are the polar opposite. The Chinese nation has never before been so united, so spirited, so confident in the leadership of the Communist Party of China, so proud of its political system, so happy with its conditions, so proud of the country’s achievements in the past 40 years, and so optimistic about its future. Indeed, “Chinese authoritarianism” has been able to deliver robust and sustained economic growth, reduction of absolute poverty, public security, social well-being, effective and good governance, technological feats and the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.
China sees its political model as rooted in Chinese history, culture and experience and thus it is unique and cannot be exported or replicated. China has no intention or desire to engage in an ideological struggle with the US. In any case, the Chinese political model will never appeal to the Western public. In Chinese political culture, strong political authority, people-oriented governance, collective interests, national solidarity and national prestige are more treasured than individual or partisan interests. And this is frequently interpreted and accused by the US as suppression of human rights in China, even though the Chinese people do not see it that way. Even though China does not see its political model as the embodiment of “universal values”, if, however, enough non-Western and developing countries as well as a portion of the Western public rate the Chinese political model as successful and see some elements of it as worthy of emulation, their admiration and support for the American political system will inevitably falter. Consequently, the so-called universal values which are presumably “embedded” in the American political system will no longer be seen as “universal” and as morally superior. This is probably the major reason the US feels threatened by the Chinese political model. This sense of threat is magnified by the poor performance of the American political system in recent decades. A major reason the US is launching an ideological war against China is an unnerving sense of insecurity and self-doubt among decision-makers and public intellectuals. By treating the Chinese political system as a worthy competitor, the US is indirectly paying tribute to the Chinese political system. As such, the US embarks on this ideological war from a position of weakness and diffidence. There is a lack of confidence that the US can win this ideological contest eventually.
In fact, inasmuch as more countries in the world are moving toward what the US is calling “authoritarianism”, “autocracy”, “illiberalism” or “electoral authoritarianism”, the appeal of “American democracy” in the world has been falling inexorably. More people are losing interest in “American democracy”. The cultural heritage of many non-Western societies would discourage them from opting for political systems that allow individual interests to run amok to the detriment of a common well-being. This means that it will be increasingly difficult for the US to galvanize the international community to support its struggle against “Chinese authoritarianism”.
By elevating the game of “American democracy” versus “Chinese authoritarianism”, the US is urging people around the world to pay more attention to and judge the merits and shortcomings of the two political models. The US hopes that other people use American values as the criteria for judgment and proceed to castigate the Chinese model. But the outcome is more likely to be contrary to the wishful thinking of the US. In today’s world, particularly after the COVID-19 pandemic and worldwide economic disarray, most people will place a priority on economic growth, jobs, healthcare, social welfare, social justice, social solidarity, personal security, law and order, quality of life, and the future of their countries than on the so-called universal values extolled and propagated eagerly but poorly and inconsistently realized in the US. The animus of the US toward China will increase anti-American sentiments in China and among overseas Chinese, and will make Chinese people in China and all over the world rally behind the Communist Party of China, allowing the Chinese political system to perform even better in promoting economic development, effective governance and social well-being, widening further the gap in government performance between the two countries, and making “American democracy” look even more unattractive and undesirable. I am sure that the contest between “American democracy” and “Chinese authoritarianism” will eventually be won by China. By challenging China to compete with the US on which political model is superior, the US is unwise and at risk of losing face both at home and abroad.
The author is a professor emeritus of sociology at the Chinese University of Hong Kong and vice-president of the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macao Studies.
The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.