It’s official: China’s not communist and US is becoming authoritarian

POLITICAL SCIENTISTS SAY China is no longer a communist state, but one that runs on a party-state capitalist system—and at the same time, the US is moving towards authoritarianism, particularly in regards to anti-capitalist behaviour internationally. . First China: China is not a communist state, says a new study from Cambridge University Press. The country runs a freemarket capitalist system, albeit one that is more tightly moderated than some elsewhere. “The State and Capitalism in China” is a new book that features the work of Margaret M. Pearson of the University of Maryland, Meg Rithmire of Harvard Business School, and Kellee S. Tsai of Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. . The Chinese governance system is best described as party-state capitalism, in which the leadership steers the economy not towards communism, but towards economic health, the study says. . But while capitalist in practice, the government opposes profiteering by tech and education firms, and re-channels over-large profits to social programs, through a system called Common Prosperity. These funds are also channelled to fund renewable energy and other pro-environment programs. . The work of these scholars is worth reading, especially if you are into economics. . . . NOW THE U.S. A deep strain of authoritarianism has emerged powerfully in the United States in recent years, says Matthew C. Macwilliams. He is an academic at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, and author of a book called On Fascism: 12 Lessons from American History. . Steve Corbin, a professor at the University of Northern Iowa, notes a similar trend: “Never in my wildest dreams did I think America would be on the verge of changing from a democracy to authoritarian rule,” he says. “But overwhelming evidence abounds” that traits are changing among voters and at party level. . And then there’s Grant Tudor, lead author of a paper called “Advantaging Authoritarianism”, which warns of “the escalating extremism and success of America’s authoritarian faction”. . Many studies in this area focus on the loss of democratic and freemarket principles in internal politics, but I’m going to look at examples of outwardly focused anti-capitalist behaviour. . . 1. BASED ON COMPETITION Capitalism is based on the principle that honest competition creates the best products at the best prices. . Consider Huawei. This company’s products were so good it became the global king of 5G telecommunications, and overtook both Apple and Samsung to become the world’s top seller of smartphones. Britain’s spy chiefs and many other bodies confirmed that Huawei telecoms products were free of spyware. . But the US banned it and pressured others to do the same. That was a knife in the guts of capitalism. . . 2. RULE OF LAW Capitalism depends on the rule of the law. . But to take just one example, the US invented rules that said all goods in Xinjiang, China, were legally assumed to have been produced by slave labor unless declared otherwise: by US Commerce Department officials. . Guilty until proven innocent—by your business rival, who of course has no interest in proving your innocence. Hard to see this as anything but another attack on the foundations of capitalism. . . 3. SECONDARY SANCTIONS This war against freemarket trade turned dirtier still when the US unilaterally pressurized people around the world to stop selling high end computer chips and chip-making machines to China. . It claimed that the military was using them, but US tech experts said the PLA used only a fraction of one per cent of the chips. . . MANY EXAMPLES Economists have a long list of examples. We could mention how China’s DJI singlehandedly created the modern drone industry – and has been legislated against by the United States. . Or how Tiktok transformed the way the world watches videos—and its reward is that the US is trying to kill it. . Now US politicians and media have now set their sights on Shein and Temu – these are firms which have committed the crime of being successful while having Chinese origins. . America is, in effect, fighting a war against international capitalism. . So-called watchdog groups, like the World Trade Organization, and the media, are looking the other way. . . ULTIMATE RESULT But what will be the result of all this? . I believe the truth will eventually come out. And it’s this. Both the US and China are moving towards having mixed policies in regards to economics and governance: neither is communist, neither is wholly democratic, neither is purely capitalist, neither is purely authoritarian. Neither is all bad or all good. . They’re just different...