Weaponized Democracy

In China there's a General that is speaking of the need for democratic reforms, and he's being published and giving talks and is not being censured or imprisoned. Which means that there is some level of official approval.

But why is General Liu pushing for reforms?

Liu's backing of democracy is purely practical, and really has
nothing to do with political beliefs. He describes American democracy
as a system designed by a genius for effective use by stupid people.
As Liu puts it, ''a bad system makes a good person behave badly while
a good system makes a bad person behave well. Democracy is the most
important reform for China, for without it there can be no sustainable
growth.''

Liu has also been active in anti-corruption efforts, and points out
that democracies tend to have far less corruption than
non-democracies. This gets the attention of Communist Party officials,
who have long believed that the Russians made a mistake by enacting
economic reforms as well as political ones. Liu points out that the
Russians had no choice, as the communists in Russia were completely
discredited, and the economic reforms followed the political collapse.

Liu points out that communists can compete in a democratic
environment, especially since Chinese communists have abandoned the
most destructive aspects of traditional communist doctrine (state
control of the economy).

Consider that. A general is considering democracy (or at least representational government as a method to achieve military results via healthier business growth, cleaner government, and more technological advancement.


Isn't it interesting? A Chi-Comm sees the US's military and economic strength as a side effect of being a representative republic. He infers that the electoral process is a feedback system that can remove government officials that are... problematic.

Of course the US system only works when the populace response to provocations and "throws the bums out" when required.