Politics grows out of civil society and culture. A political system is not an artificial structure that can be imposed willy-nilly anywhere at anytime. Look how long Russia's "democracy" lasted. It only took ten years for the Czar to reappear, and by popular demand. This doesn't mean political systems can never change; however, the people have to actually want a democracy in the first place. Do Chinese want a democracy? If one says "yes," it is claimed one simply knows nothing about China or Chinese culture. China won't have a democracy anytime soon for the same reason Iraq won't: culture. You can get rid of the CCP tomorrow, hold elections tomorrow and then call me in 10 years, and we'll discuss how the next emperor is getting along.
Many assert that China's main problem is the utter destruction of Chinese civil society (during the Cultural Revolution for starters), which China has not recovered from.
China, Shibangou Bridge underpass, Fuling, Yan...
Made In China - Consumed All Over The World and th...
Siping Civil War, China,1946The society is cynical, apathetic, and corrupt. This is a much deeper problem than the CCP (which caused this problem). The CCP today is a symptom as much as a cause.
Let us go back to the fundamental question, why do we care if a system is democracy, dictatorship, monarchy, feudalism, etc etc etc. From an engineering point of view, all those different gov't systems are just different methods and styles to manage a nation, right? And the way to judge which system is good/bad is to see if it maintains good economic development, makes people's living standards high (food, transportation, housing, infrastructure, health care, clothing, etc etc), and make people feel happy and live long and make the country "well-off" as a whole.
What if a dictatorship delivers those things well, and overall delivers them better than a democracy? Would you say "I don't...