Virtual Polibureau Debate

david dorkin ddorkin at aye.net
Thu Nov 26 17:18:55 PST 1998


Henry C.K. Liu wrote: "Three People's Principle (Nationalism, Democracy and Wefare)" is a soical democartic
> program, was as close to a EU type social demacratic as any Chinese can be.

I am not sure what this could mean; for what period of time would you consider this to be a valid observation?


> The vision failed, albeit for very complex reasons, and the KMT turned fascist.

Yes, I am aware of the events to which you refer above (do parties simply turn fascist?) but your statement was universal in its scope and it is with this that I am taking issue. I believe it is the case both that significant differences existed between the China you describe and European social-democracy and that the phenomenon you have observed (the fall of social democracy leading to fascism) is anything but universal. (Allow me to add that I am not advocating European social democracy necessarily)

Respectfully

David


> A similar example is Weimar Germany of the 1920s which gave way to the Nazi era.
>
> Henry C.K. Liu
>
> david dorkin wrote:
>
> > Henry C.K. Liu wrote:
> > > The current EU type of "social democrat" socialism had been tried in China in the early days of the Nationalist Party, before it turned fascist. It did not work for very
> > > complex reasons.
> >
> > It is certainly not the case that European social democracy has been
> > "tried " in China
> >
> > > But the fact remained it did not work. Social democratic systems,
> > > when they fail, naturally invite fascism, as history has shown.
> >
> > History has shown nothing of the sort



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