Nerd Analysis: Ian Buruma on China's Problematic "Soft Autocracy"

Professor Buruma has an interesting piece in the Los Angeles Times. Here is a blurb:

To justify its monopoly on power, the Chinese technocracy relies on the promise of order and constant economic growth, and the claim of patriotism. Supporting the government is patriotic, and criticism is unpatriotic or, if voiced by foreigners, "anti-Chinese."

But in the end, the greatest flaw in the system is that China's boring rulers are self-perpetuating. They cannot be punished by the ruled for their incompetence. Great blunders go unchecked. Conflicts of interest fester or erupt in violence. China's technocracy might well look stable and successful for a while to come, but it is unlikely to last without basic political reform. Some think the new wave of technocrats, the ones who went to Harvard or Yale, can bring this about themselves. One never knows. But as long as they haven't, I'd still put my money on messy democracy any day.

Hear, hear!

Read the whole thing. I offer the opinion that the autocracy isn't that soft. Ask a dissident. Or an exploited farmer in the Chinese hinterland. Or a Tibetan.