Vertical Democracy
Vertical Democracy and Western Democracy
A new model of democracy has been evolving in the east over the past few years through shifts and evolution of ideologies in China. This model, dubbed Vertical Democracy by political analyst, offers an exception to the system of modern Western Democracy that was long accepted as the only functional democracy for developing countries to aspire to. Vertical Democracy differs from traditional western democracy in the fact that there is bi party periodic elections, China uses a uniform government, will elected offices as they become available. The model balances its peoples’ initiatives with the governments control and policy setting, eliminating much of the warring party’s counter-productive arguments against each other that we see in the traditional western model of the United States. As this new system develops, it leads policy setters to question their traditional paradigms of democracy, and raises yet another question; could it work in the west?
The answer would be no, at least not any time soon. The main reason for this is differences in culture. Culture is viewed as a system of values and norms that are shared among a group of people and that when taken together constitute a design for living. (Hill 89) As the modern model of the western democracy evolved in the U.S. since its founding, it has become part of its culture. Debate and slander has become part of American culture, and not just on a political level. While a lost or long way of cause for the United states, it’s not to say that other developing countries currently failing at implementing the western model may find betterment in looking to vertical democracy. Countries that were previously bound by socialist principles should prove to be more adaptable in evolving into the model, having similar past political structure. Individualism is referred to as the philosophy that an individual should have freedom in his or her economic and political pursuits, and is a
A new model of democracy has been evolving in the east over the past few years through shifts and evolution of ideologies in China. This model, dubbed Vertical Democracy by political analyst, offers an exception to the system of modern Western Democracy that was long accepted as the only functional democracy for developing countries to aspire to. Vertical Democracy differs from traditional western democracy in the fact that there is bi party periodic elections, China uses a uniform government, will elected offices as they become available. The model balances its peoples’ initiatives with the governments control and policy setting, eliminating much of the warring party’s counter-productive arguments against each other that we see in the traditional western model of the United States. As this new system develops, it leads policy setters to question their traditional paradigms of democracy, and raises yet another question; could it work in the west?
The answer would be no, at least not any time soon. The main reason for this is differences in culture. Culture is viewed as a system of values and norms that are shared among a group of people and that when taken together constitute a design for living. (Hill 89) As the modern model of the western democracy evolved in the U.S. since its founding, it has become part of its culture. Debate and slander has become part of American culture, and not just on a political level. While a lost or long way of cause for the United states, it’s not to say that other developing countries currently failing at implementing the western model may find betterment in looking to vertical democracy. Countries that were previously bound by socialist principles should prove to be more adaptable in evolving into the model, having similar past political structure. Individualism is referred to as the philosophy that an individual should have freedom in his or her economic and political pursuits, and is a
Cited: Hill, Charles W. International Business 8th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill/Irwin 2011