The Future of Freedom

Since the start of the 20th century, with the fall of the Qing dynasty, when China was in shambles with no industry, a corrupt government and no international presence, all the way up until today, where China has evolved into one of the strongest internationally recognized countries with a highly globalized market, the relationship between the Chinese people and its government has been debated on whether or not Chinese society is one ruled and dominated by a central government or a society where social change occurred because of bottom-up forces leading to a government for the people. China, since 1949, has been a country, which has been run by a single party state, known as the CCP (Chinese Communist Party). The CCP is organized under the basis of a central, unchallenged party governing the people by the means of communism. Throughout the past century, the CCP has dictated and maintained a rule over the livelihood of its people by monopolizing Chinese politics and penalizing those who opposed it, through central command planning and on the other spectrum, radical economic reforms at the end of the 20th century in the interest of keeping the CCP in power.

Freedom forms the essential basis for prosperity. Freedom allows us to innovate, develop, and expand into horizons previously believed to be impossible. A free society is the crucial foundation on which America has been able to flourish, and the foundations underlying this society are vital to its continued success. The economic, political, and moral elements of a free society are all equal in importance, and, together, they form the basis on which we, as the American people, are able to thrive.

The economy of China boomed once Deng opened its market to foreign investment. It was this shift that caused Wong to start to feel “schizophrenic” (186), and made her reflect on exactly who she was and what she truly believed in. It was also here that a small sentiment of democracy begin to upheave.

Everyone has their own version of what the definition of freedom is here in the United States but the basic definition it is the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint. Under the circumstances of following the laws. As time has gone on it has helped freedom come along way with all the different eras and the ups and the downs that occurred that has shaped us to that “American Dream” of freedom we have today. There are many events that helped shape Americans freedom today and these are just some of the events that really helped push the rights we have today, woman starting to get jobs, slaves getting freed, Native Americans sharing land, segregation, equal rights to all and passing the law for gay marriage.

When martin Luther King Jr. proclaimed to the world that he had a dream, people stopped and realized it didn’t have to be just a dream. People didn’t just listen to what this leader had to say, they actually heard him, and they understood him. Society today reflects the hundreds of peaceful, or sometimes not so peaceful, protests held by leaders of our past and present that were heard and understood. Without peaceful protest to laws, segregation may still be in America. Same sex marriage may not be legal. Women may not have as many rights as they do now. Freedom today in America, for example, is different than freedom fifty years ago. Freedom today includes all peoples instead of a select few. Resistance to laws brought this free society farther

Freedom is something that everybody wants, it has been fought for by many countries for many years. When I think about freedom I think of all the things that we have the ability to do that other countries or other societies don’t have. From wing able to voice our opinion to being able to go see a movie like dead pool or other movies like that, which, in many countries seeing it wouldn't even be an option. Freedom is in everything, we live and breathe freedom.

(Lihua) Again, the unwillingness of the Chinese to retaliate against established authority becomes increasingly evident, and can also be traced back to Confucianism. It is important to the Chinese that they maintain the order that has been put into place, simply because it acts as the basis on which harmony can grow. The Chinese do not generally think of the government as a system that they can change if they actively participate in it; but rather, if they do actively participate, it is usually for the good of their country and for the preservation of the political system that has already been put in order. This idea stands as a stark contrast to the democratic attitude of the American, whose involvement in the political system is usually used only as a means through which to lessen the grip of the government on the people, or to ensure that what grip the government does have is benefiting the people the best that it can.

Our world is a rich and amazing environment with a vibrant past, present, and quite possibly future, and hundreds and thousands of years ago, we humans took it upon ourselves to record the events of importance that happen over time. However, each person has their own unique perspective, influenced by experiences, childhood, belief systems and more, and each of these aspects of our personality affect how we view and record historical events. It is inevitable that we will take sides -- it’s what people do. Still for the sake of history, historians try to remain objective. However, sometimes people want opinions. In these cases, experienced persons might publish professional, personal beliefs about an important historical or political event.

At first these plans along with an extremely ingenious propaganda campaign stirred great optimism and productivity within the Chinese people, but as years went by the initial flare and excitement went out and few of these promises, reforms and goals had been reached. In some cases the promises were lies. The real actions of the Communist party showed quite a different picture than the lie of democracy that it was feeding the people. The new government never was a democratic one. As a matter of fact it was a dictatorship controlled by the China’s Communist Party (CCP). Throughout the years the communist government consistently and cruelly suppressed any attempts for the country’s democratization.

“The Party: The Secret World Of China’s Communist Rulers,” by Richard McGregor is a book which provides detailed insight into the Communist Party of China, revealing many of the secret underpinnings of how the party is run, and explores the question of how they have continued to stay in power for so long. While other strong socialist powers, such as the Soviet Union and Eastern Germany, fell at the end of the 20th century, the CPC was able to stay in control and ultimately come out of that period even stronger. In McGregor’s own words “the party picked itself up off the ground, reconstituted its armor and reinforced its flank. Somehow, it has outlasted, outsmarted, outperformed, or simply outlawed its critics, flummoxing the pundits who have predicted its demise at numerous junctures.” Instead of letting its own ideologies weaken its power, the CPC has continually adapted and transformed its policies and goals in order to maintain their stronghold over the nation. Through his impressive list of Chinese scholars and political contacts, McGregor is able to lay out the fundamental workings inside the Chinese government and the impressive actions they’ve taken to remain such a powerful organization.

Without the freedom that is granted to me and my fellow Americans, life would be nothing like the way we live

Chinese philosophy places great emphasis on gradual change in order to maintain stability. Many Chinese elite, scholars and technocrats, who are affiliated with the CCP, are the ones who shape the debate and are able to change norms and policies. Whereas Americans, regardless of social standing and political patronage, have been known to challenge social, economic and political norms, resulting in constant innovation. In China, pulling the lever is reserved to a minority elite with limited room to address issues beyond business, finance and economics. The Chinese government is already grappling with the consequences of market reforms which has given Chinese citizen the ability to voice their opinions through their economic rights. Unfortunately, challenging orthodoxy does not go hand in hand with Chinese

When it comes to a communist country following the capitalist standards, they have to take in to consideration the need for freedom and the chance of prosperity for the people. The dictators in China will not be successful in using a capitalist system if they deny Milton Freidman’s thesis that prosperity will create individual freedom and end dictatorship, because for a capitalist government to work they cannot be in a dictator ship because there is no freedom to the people and that limits their chance to prosperity.

Finally, it is important to note that the geography of Huang’s sample is also not comprehensive: research subjects surveyed in the East, as was the case in Huang’s research study, cannot be said to be representative of the entire Chinese population. In fact, citizens such as the students who live in cities and thus have more exposure to government activities and presence may be more predisposed to perceiving the government’s strength than citizens in China’s rural countryside.

Political outlook in china is stable due to a one party system and there is almost no opposition to the ruling party and its constant reform on its political systems. By reforming on the political system, it has greatly improved the nation’s development such