Thinkers Forum USA
Cordially invites all participants to the monthly Meeting/Discussion
On Sunday, November 24, 2019
Time
12: 05 PM
To
2: 30 PM
Speaker
Fayyaz A Sheikh
Topic
Is Liberal Democracy necessary for Capitalism to flourish?
Moderator
Dr. Nasik Elahi
Location
Casa Del Mare
536 N. Highland Ave, Upper Nyack, N.Y. 10960
845 353 5353
Brunch served after lecture
Outline of topic for discussion.
Is Liberal Democracy necessary for Capitalism to flourish? (Brief thought by F. Sheikh).
James Wang argues in his article in Eurozone (https://www.eurozine.com/the-end-of-the-liberal-world-as-we-know-it/) that there is an alternative for capitalism to flourish without Liberal Democracy. He writes, “While the rest of the world concentrated on the fall of the Berlin Wall, another wall in China brought about a different type of change. The economic power the most populous country has accumulated is now challenging the western claim that only liberal democracy would provide ideal circumstances for capitalism.”
China’s economic policy confirms that capitalism and authoritarianism or one-party rule can not only exist together but also re-enforce each other. One party rule provides consistency, reliability and efficiency in streamlining the economic policies which provides assurances to capital markets to plan for the future. It eliminates the chaos and messiness of the liberal democracy. China’s success has given heart to former communist Eastern European countries which are keeping capitalism but abandoning liberal democracy and reverting back to authoritarianism. Even some Asian and Pacific countries are adopting the same model.
However, it is too early to make a conclusion and it needs more time to prove that this model is sustainable. When critical population mass in these countries is economically self-sufficient, will they settle for just economic success or ask for more personal liberties and civil rights? The author thinks China has already provided the answer to this. I think it is still too early to conclude and will need few more decades to have the answer. Up to now, USA has been accommodating to China and hoping for liberalization of Chin’s policies. But now, dissatisfied with China’s economic policies and surprising strength, USA has started to fight back and it creates uncertainty how the China will adjust, react, and that will impact not just upon the future relationship between capitalism and liberal democracy, but perhaps it will also provide the road map to follow in the future for all other countries.
I wrote above paragraphs few months ago as “Brief Thought” but did not posted it. Today I came across another Book Review article by Don Nexon “Exit from Hegemony”. The author argues that every country is picking parts of liberalism as it suits it, and that could be a problem for liberal global order. Below is interesting chart of comparison between USA and China. 
https://www.eurozine.com/the-end-of-the-liberal-world-as-we-know-it/