Brett Daniel Shehadey
Albany Tribune
June 14, 2013
Is there such a thing in China? Is it just another story from rags to riches? Do the Chinese dream of bioengineered and controlled sheep of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)?
The “Chinese Dream” that Chinese President Xi Jinping speaks of has three key impressions in the minds of the CCP which may be different from the dreams of the Chinese people, but there is some cross-over. For instance, the Chinese people want to prosper and be like the US but they also want to remain Chinese. There are some things that they can easily see themselves adopting from the US, but there are others that are vastly different. Both the government and the common people have a sense of the chasm that separates two distinct civilizations. But that chasm has narrowed over the years, mainly economically and via modernization. Yet many areas remain like those “good old days” of Chinese wealth and majesty. Let’s talk about that.
The Officially Sponsored Dream
First, the Chinese Dream is about China’s glorious rise—the path to supremacy and prestige on the world stage and the expectations of a “China Century.”
Second, the Chinese Dream is about expansion of China—akin to the concept of the early American Manifest Destiny—the exploration, the innovation, the increasing global share of due political influence.
Third, the Chinese Dream is potentially an alternative dream and expression—it is thought as a replacement to the “American Dream,” both one of a cyclical nature and that of progressive engineering.
It is nothing short of a revival of China hopefulness to be accomplished by 2050. China looks back on its past glory (e.g. great empires) and sees itself now in the midst of a 21st century Renaissance and Enlightenment. It is not just nostalgia or nationalism but an experience. Meanwhile, the leadership observes the faltering of Western Civilization in everything from cutbacks to prolonged economic crises as its Eastern Civilization template prospers. But is not where it needs to be or wants to be just yet.
At its height, China in the early 19th century China was over 30 percent of the share of the world market and now it is increasing to about 11 percent. Hope, nationalism and conservatism is a sentiment led by the General-Secretary of the CCP and the President of China, Xi Jinping.
Nostalgia and nationalism also come at a price—how to weigh politically sponsored propaganda of abuses of the past to fuel the rise of the present? China must have a strong army, but not to strong. China must have nationalism, but not too much nationalism. The dilemma of a yin/yang active balancer becomes the juggle of the party.
The idea of the constitution and the rule of the law is being stressed more and more. Does this mean that China will be ruled by law or party?
In the Western mind, it can only be one or the other. In the Chinese mind, the nature of laws are not the same. The notion of being ruled by law to Americans, for example, is an absolute. Interpretation is to be narrowly centered on the letter of the law.
In China, the laws are more like guidelines for the party and laws for the people. Do not do anything stupid that would compromise the party. Do not break the laws too much. It is all about the spirit of the law and avoiding corruption scandals. There is no “letter of the law” interpretations but that does not mean there should be chaos.
Order is highly prized and the CCP remains in constant threat of replacement. Duty and responsibility to the people are not cast aside. But such a system naturally leads itself to greater political corruption, with few safeguards. Party purges have never offered a real solution. So political reform, although not sponsored, may become a necessity in avoiding instabilities. The CCP wants the old Daoist blessings of “health, wealth, happiness, peace, and longevity,” but its methods of getting there are oppressive in the most basic Western freedoms.
The Glorious Rise
The “Chinese Dream” is a process. The official sponsored myth will tell a tale of a beginning of struggle, past exploitations and the only workable path to utopia. It shows a past of colonialism to a rosy revolution. It teaches the long march is not over and we must push hard against imperialists.
China ranks second of the most prosperous states by measure of GDP ($7.3 trillion). This is about half of the US GDP ($14.9). So what is the big fuss? Growth.
The US is expected to slow growth to 1.9 percent this year. For many years US growth has been hovering at around 2 percent and not exceeding an average of 3.2 percent. China has grown around 8 percent over the last three decades and now around 7.4 percent.
The CCP’s biggest worry is that their growth rate will fall below the intended goal of a 7.5 percent growth rate. This rate may not be sustainable to cover their growing programs of health care coverage, unemployment, retirement, and ongoing foreign investments. Other worries like pollution are not quantifiable costs but will have a massive long-term negative impact.
Thus, now more than ever, when the dream may be in peril, China watchers can expect more political assurances and appeals to hope; especially with 60 percent of the wealthiest wanting to leave China and put their money somewhere else.
“New China” Expansion considered the “New America”
In spite of the many problems and challenges, the notion of Manifest Destiny leads China to expand as a nation. This is after it has enriched itself internally through its manufacturing sector. The need for new opportunities and resources, mixed with great incoming wealth and a shift from infrastructure to high tech, appears to be going as planned.
It is also important to remember the resemblance of an early America analogy taking place in modern China, including: unbound nationalism, high corruption, political censorship, elitism, discrimination of minorities, pollution, intellectual piracy, robber barons of industry, capital punishment, labor camps and so on.
Also, American migration moved out West for settlement and dreams to the coast and Chinese migration moves East to the urban centers and seashores. Meanwhile, as a nation, China expands internationally, first through trade—much like early America. One might add theft as well to trade.
The “Chinese Dream” that Xi speaks of is not just an empty slogan or a nefarious plan concocted by the CCP, but it is as much of an observation as it is an ideal of pride, honor and national sponsorship.
An Alternative Dream
“The Chinese dream is an ideal. Communists should have a higher ideal, and that is communism.” – President Xi Jinping
President Xi is first and always a “communist” conservative, in spite of Western hopefulness. He does not mind walking the broad road to communism as long as he believes he is headed in that direction. If that road is capitalism for the last three decades, then so be it. If the road is the combination of social single-party centralism or the mixed-economy socialism and capitalism, then so be it. All of this temporary, including the dream. All of this is subordinate to the greater ideals of the party.
Thus, one might think of the Chinese Dream as the path to the greater philosophy and endpoint. It is not be an opposite dream to America at its earliest stages, but an alternative. At the more advanced stages, the Chinese Dream must in Xi’s mind, give way to communist principles when the time is right. One might consider this a more pragmatic Marxist orthodoxy than Maoist: more socialism planned after capitalism. China has photocopied many Western economic strategies even in the sphere of the mixed-economy; in spite of labeling the former practices “Chinese Characteristics.” Nevertheless, there now appears to be a uniquely Beijing variant. China is in a good position to pick and choose the socio-economic characteristics that it desires. It is only recently supportive of an incipient potential new model that will mix the Nordic European, American and Chinese traits together.
The unique State-Owned Enterprise system is part of an entire modern political strategy. Thus, lately, “Chinese Characteristics” are certainly increasing as the world observes Western decline and strategic Chinese purchases.
Not everyone will have to go to the US to hide their money. Many Chinese millionaires fled the country for fear of a socialist shift. The Chinese Dream is likely to be put in place as to keep communism away from capitalism through the social state transition; while at the same time requiring higher taxes and sources of revenue. This “Dream” is also to be considered one of prosperity, security and happiness for the Chinese people. This is the bedrock of its promise and the CCP political foundation. Thus, it must balance like the West, its capitalist growth with protections and social obligations to the needy.
It is uncertain if a particular model will be exported faster than China’s internal political reform. Political economists continue to argue the case of a “middle-income trap” and the inevitability of a two-party system with raised incomes of a given nation. Could the Chinese Dream become the American Dream by default? Is such a Chinese Dream susceptible to a natural progression of democracy?
This link between rising incomes and democracy however is proven invalid with the given and expected average income thresholds and in some cases completely ignored or reversed (e.g. Russia). This is why free access to information and education are among other factors are a determinant for a democratic outcome. Since China is raising its funding in education and research, among other things, the “Chinese Dream” may eventually cross into democratic territory but it is not an inevitability. It remains vehemently rejected by the CCP top leadership.
Brett Daniel Shehadey is an analyst, writer, and commentator. His areas of interest include: strategy, political theory, foreign affairs, intelligence and security.
