The Paradox of Authority and Some Political and Social Issues in China

Last class we taked about the paradox of authority. It is a very democratic idea that authorizing others is the best way to solidify the authority of oneself. I use the word "democratic" because it reminds me of some political and social problem in China.

We are a group as a nation, and the government is the group leaders in power. To facilitate the group development, the leader should create a open communication with the group by empowering the members and  inspire the best performance of them. I wish this is what we do in China now, but it is not. We are experiencing the opposite of democratic open communication.

First, the leaders should recognize the importance and benefits of open communication and diverse opinions, and be consistant in their words and behaviors. The chairman and other top leaders of China has expressed how much they value the voice from the people in public speaking. However, the national and states policies are telling a different story. Those policies promote the conformity to the central government and eliminate critiques to it. For example, more than one major international website, including Facebook, Twitter and Youtube, have been censored by the government to tranquilize the voices that challenge its authority. On Weibo (Chinese Twitter), those messages that disclose major social events that are against the government and criticize governmental behaviors will be deleted by the order from the government. In this way, the group leaders are not using their power to facilitate communication and healthy group development, but silence the members to maintain the appliance of stability. Unfortunately, the repression of open communication does not help reduce resistance, but actually promote it. People may be silent, but they will be rebellious in their minds. In a society, the hint of rebellion is usually the seed of a influential revolution.

Second, according to the chapter, smart leader will authorizing group members to act on themselves in order to solidify their leading position. However, the Chinese government seems to be more interested in de-powering the people instead of empowering them. There are some important sign of the empowered citizens. They should be able to select the leaders that represent their intrest and de-authorizing them when they are not. They should be motivated to contribute the best to the society because of a fair rewarding system. Their personal assets should be respected and protected by the laws. Sadly, most of what I see is how the laws and the government are striping the rights of the people and centralizing the power and maintain its control over the people. According to some Chinese law, individual should never own any land. We can purchase an apartment and use it for 70 years at most. After 70 years, the real estate property will automatically belong to "the country" as public asset. The worst part is, despite the fact that we see how these policies affect the people negatively and does not serve to inspire the best of each social member, there is no way for us to veto it. The leaders seize the power in their hands and protect it from the people.

I believe these are part of the reasons why many Chinese people, especially the younger generation, are disappointed by the government, desire for change, but do not know how to change. The centralization of authority drains the energy and creativity of the group members, which should be the rich sources of ideas and possibilities. I really hope that the country leaders will see these points earlier and spare no efforts to work out effective ways to empower the people and promote sustainable development.