China, it was argued 20 years ago, could not become an industrialised country without democracy. History has yet to prove this conjecture. For the moment an alternative proposition seems plausible. Freedom can be bought with a rise in living standards. People may tolerate constraints on free speech and a lack of political influence in exchange for a growing economy and increasing prosperity.
Should growth in China falter, this implicit bargain may collapse and democracy may yet arrive. But for the moment, China is reaping the advantages of an autocratic regime in terms of coherent public policy oriented towards investment in the future; at the same time, Europe and the US seem unable to muster the equivalent political will.
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