Can democracy work in Asia?

[castille]

Well seeing how every thread is about capitalism vs communism, here's a change.



Now Asia, as most people would know, was never really that receptive to American or European democracy. Japan is ruled by a single monopolist party, Singapore jails all of their political opponents before elections, and Thailand....well I won't go there. Even Taiwan did not have true elections until recently.


Problem with Western democracy is that it is for Westerners. There is no "democracy" for Asia because democracy is a Western invention, and thus adapted to the Western lifestyle. Even communism and fascism was short-lived in Asia, both were Western concepts.

If you consider the 2 major Asian cultures, China and Japan, you probably noticed the cultures prefer either joint agreement or having a strong hand rule (in a generalised context). There have been cases of disobedience, such as the Communist uprisings in Japan during the 1930s, the 1989 Tiananmen Square protest, and the various terrorist groups in SE Asia. However, compared to the West, these events are often minor, and very rarely society-changing (consider Chinese Communism failed to destroy the notion of strong family ties).


Has democracy ever succeeded in Asia? Perhaps in India, where political violence has taken over 2000 lives, and where daily deaths are recorded from terrorist or seperatist attacks. Perhaps in Japan, where family ties and social prestige are the only real factors in politics. Or even South Korea, where political assassination became popular in the 1970s?

Even on the scale of capitalism, Asia and the West are markedly different. The West prefer fast profits and short-term perspectives; Asia looks to long-term growth and steady profits. Even the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis affected mainly the smaller South-East Asian nations, which had fallen prey to plain idiocy.


Its not to say democracy has no place in Asia - just Western democracy, Western communism, Western fascism, and Western capitalism has no place in Asia.

[Impenitent]

how about a "western" emporer?

[white rice]

It's hard to say. Globalization and instant media have bridged cultural gaps to some extent. In India, social pressures and remnants of the caste system still hold refuge in some areas, and the family is as tight knit as ever.

It's been typically viewed in Asia that democracy fosters capitalism. This mentality comes from a hundred previous years of poverty (around 1850-1950), Western imperialism by Western democracies, and war. The American machine reinforced that image for the past 50 years. The average villager had to scrounge and save in order to survive, and the pressing need was money and security, rather than the basic freedoms a Westerner thinks he has. So democracy is only a means to an end.

Maybe that's why there's no pressing need for a Western Democracy because of it's conflict with daily life culturally and morally (unfettered individualism) and because it's not a burning desire in the life of the average person (economic security).