ROCKING OUR PRIORS The Rise and Fall of the East, Professor Yasheng Huang
Aug 29, 2023
MIT Professor Yasheng Huang discusses the resilience of the Chinese Communist Party, the impact of the keju imperial examinations on Chinese autocracy and culture, and lessons from South Korea on growth and democratisation. They also explore the role of civil service exams in Chinese history and the rise and fall of Chinese dynasties' innovativeness. Additionally, they discuss the long-term effects of the KJU examination and concerns about China's future and succession.
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CCP's Unexpected Resilience
- The CCP remains resilient despite many predictions of its fall and multiple disasters over its history.
- Its survival challenges existing modernization theories linking economic growth to political liberalization.
Trust Through Policing
- The Chinese social credit system is supported by 80% of people because it addresses trust issues via surveillance.
- This system solves trust through policing rather than by building interpersonal trust.
Limits of Performance Legitimacy
- CCP's legitimacy is not solely based on economic performance, as it survived both successes and failures.
- Thus, performance legitimacy does not fully explain CCP's authoritarian durability.