The extreme wealth of China's political elites has lately been a hot topic in the Western media. The Bo Xilai scandal dribbled blood into the mental waters of writers from The Daily Beast to the New York Times, and a raging feeding frenzy is now under way. The conclusion of all of the coverage is the same:
China's leaders are filthy rich; they get this way by using political influence to make their money; corruption is endemic.
The reporting leading to these conclusions has been great fun to read. Bloomberg News recently offered a complex, illuminating piece on the ways Xi Jinping -- future supreme leader of China -- amassed his wealth. Others have been following the ways China's elites are funneling their kids into Harvard. On the more scintillating end, rumors have surfaced that Bo Xilai paid actress Zhang Ziyi a million dollars a pop to have sex with her.
But while the facts are clear, the conclusions we in the West are drawing are unfair. It is a fact that Chinese leaders are rich. It is fact that they use their power to maintain their wealth and dominance, that they strive to pass power on to their children, and that all of this can be viewed as skewed and corrupt.
Yet those who conclude that this makes China unique, special, or destined for a political reckoning are wrong. China is, in fact, simply following the American model of political stability. America's political elite are, of course, also filthy rich -- and perhaps even filthier. See here for a look at the long reign of millionaire presidents, or do a google search to find out if your Senator or Congressman is in the top 1/10th of 1% of overall income (more than 50% of Congress is in this uber-elite, millionaires club).
Americans are fine with rich people running the country, and a Supreme Court entirely stacked with Harvard and Yale graduates. We seem unconsciously to yearn for it (as some noted after Republicans elevated their least favorite but richest candidate for president). We know our elections are tied to money (if you outspend your opponent in America, you win somewhere between 75-90% of the time). And here in New York, we are ruled by the richest man in the city, a man who changed the rules to extend his administration into a second decade.
We should not harbor illusions about China. It is largely run by the rich, for the rich. Perhaps that's why it feels, to me, so much like home.
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It is here below. Interestingly, its welfare benefits read like the human rights in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights although here they are to be provided by the ruler as his/her obligations.
Datong Society
When the Great Way prevails, the world belongs to all. Men of great virtue and talent are selected who will foster mutual trust and promote universal understanding. Thus, men do not regard as their parents only their own parents nor treat as their children only their own children. Sufficient provision is secured for the aged till their last day, employment assured for the able-bodied, and funds provided for the loving care of the young. The widowers, widows, orphans, the childless, and those who are disabled by diseases or mishaps are adequately cared for. Each man has his duty, and each woman her hearth. While they detest those who throw away things wastefully, they do not hoard things for their own self-gratification. Disliking idleness they labor, but not alone with a view to their own advantage. In this way, selfish acts of cheating and profiteering are discouraged. Hence, their front doors need not be locked. Such is the State of Universal Peace and Harmony for All.
- The Book of Rites (Li Ji): Evolution of Rites
Universal Declaration of Human Rights: Article 25 (1) and (2) and Article 26 (1) - (3)
A good two decades ago, communist ideology still tied the Chinese down. Today, people have cell phones, travel inside China and even overseas, have computers and - be it censored - Internet (only recently allowed in Cuba), can drive cars and often voice forceful opinions. The change has been enormous, yet your columnist can just dismiss this as 'a country ruled by the rich.'