Thanks for the follow-up.
You should travel to China, talk with the common citizens. They’re chafing mighty hard, and most are starting to agitate for greater autonomy.
HK, Macau, and a dozen free enterprise zones along the East Coast of China have led the country in terms of economic prosperity. Now those who have benefitted from the economy are agitating for more freedoms. Direct elections of mayors and governors. Even multiple parties running for the Congress.
China’s revolution to freedom will come BECAUSE of its growing prosperity. We couldn’t break their economy like we did the USSR - in the 80s they were still an agrarian society. The approaches used against the USSR would never work - how do you make the life of your typical peasant working a rice paddy any worse?
But now the majority of Chinese have tasted economic success, and with it want all things Western, including personal and political freedom. Using the policies we used towards the USSR will certainly now hurt China, but also hurt us AND the rest of the world, and cause a significant slow-down in the liberalization and Westernization of China.
No, China will move from communism towards a social government akin to that of Finland or Sweden BECAUSE of the internal demands from its citizens. They’ve tasted freedom in one area (economic) and are now pushing for it in the other areas of their lives.