The lesson of the "Chinese system" is that the average guy will happily support an arguably "oppressive, brutal, antidemocratic, and ... corrupt" government if it's the one option that keeps delivering continued economic growth and development-- there's very little use for being properly "democratic" when you lack the other prerequisites of strong growth. (To be sure, these do include things like a robust civil society, but 'civil society' can take many forms - and Chinese society isn't exactly known for its lack of guanxi!) Authoritarian governments are a dime a dozen outside the developed West (and this is with many of them being outwardly democratic), so there's no way that this is the 'key issue' that so many fans of 'Western values' want it to be. Like it or not, the Chinese leadership is definitely doing something right.
It works until the gravy train stops then you have a problem.
Democracy has many problems but it’s fairly robust vs discontent. Got a problem? Try to vote out the people you believe caused it. It keeps violent overthrows at bay - most of the time.
I see it very differently, the lesson of Chinese System is that everyone will only work for this own interest. Especially the Chinese. And will be precisely why we have democracy in the first place. To balance the interest of all parties. Once the average guy no longer get the benefits from the Chinese System, they will, like any other system, revolt.
Although I am not sure if this will happen in my life time.
"Everyone will only work for their own interest" when they're poor and underdeveloped, and especially when the stakes (becoming a fully-developed country vs. getting stuck in the middle-income trap like so many other places in the world) are so high. There's very little that's surprising about that. But to talk about "balancing the interests of all parties" is a distraction at present. Growing the pie is still the priority in people's minds, splitting it in a properly "balanced" way can happen later.
This is very true. Mao almost killed the Communist Party. So long as the Party can provide stability and prosperity they will stay in power. But I fail to see the problem here? Most people just want to live their lives- not sit in caves and have philosophical debates about human rights and democracy.
