The Prime Brief - How The US Got China Wrong
It's not democracy vs. comunism it's freedom vs. harmony
For decades, the US tried to change China, but China does not want to be liberated by the US any more than America wants to be liberated by China.
US policy toward China centered on the belief that if the West included China in open markets, shared technology, and welcomed them into the global system, China would gradually become a democratic nation.
The US thought capitalism would bring democracy.
The US thought capitalism required democracy
It does not. Because other forms of government work just as well with capitalism.
It should not be a surprise that China never wanted to become like the US, any more than the United States wants to become like China
China wants to be Chinese. America wants to be American.
This is a shock to many Americans because they genuinely believe everyone wants to be just like them. They believe that freedom is the ultimate goal of government, of life itself.
But freedom is not a universal priority; priorities are determined by culture.