America and China have often been thought to be
polar opposites in terms of the way they manage their country. It is thus
interesting to compare how differences in ideologies, education systems and
gender equality etc. contributed to the progress of the two nations. First, it
is only fair to ascertain the true meaning of progress. It is a universal fact
that progress is not measured by just one aspect alone but a combination of
many. Both societies are highly progressive since the early 1900s, so what is
the difference in their progression?
The progress of a
country is heavily dependent on her panel of leaders. It is therefore important
that citizens of the country are politically active so that there is a level of
restrain and diplomacy over the political field. America and China have been
progressing economically at an alarming rate, the first and second largest
economic body in the world respectively. As a country develops economically, it
is natural that her citizens become more and more political apathetic as they
see no need and no use for them to be involved in politics when everything is
"fine the way it is”. Such a phenomenon is especially prominent in the
youths of both societies, which supposedly results in a stagnation of the
political development of a country. However, in my opinion, it is flawed to say
that political apathy in a society signifies that the country have not
progressed politically. The rapid development of technology has enabled
citizens to get to know more about politics and develop a more critical view on
policies by the government. Hence, they would and have the ability to become
politically active when the need arises, as well as develop a better judgement
on whether it requires their intervention. In 1992, there was a sudden spike in
the number of voters, especially in youths due to an economic crisis in
America. Unemployment
in Britain rose from 1,600,000 to nearly 3,000,000 between April 1990 and
February 1993. Following that, British economy enjoyed a record run of unbroken
economic growth lasting more than 15 years, and the number of voters also fell
during that period of time. This thus showed that political activeness in this
time and day is dependant on the crisis the country is facing and that America
is still progressing politically as its citizens are aware of politics but do
not see the need for them to get involved as of now. For China, it will be more
difficult for political progress to take place because of the “one political
party” rule. Therefore, even if the citizens are politically aware, they are
not able to do a lot about their country’s politics, making progress slightly
more difficult than America.
No
progress is complete without the basis of economic progress. Economic progress
ensures that a nation can still function well economically even in times of
crisis. In this area, china has made revolutionary progress, especially over
the past 20 years. America on the other hand, has been facing problems in her
economy. On April 2, 2013, debt held
by the public was approximately $11.959 trillion or about 75% of GDP. Incurring
such a huge debt to other countries is not a good sign despite having a 1.7%
GDP growth in the second quarter of 2013 over the previous quarter. Therefore,
although America might have progressed better in other aspects, economic
progress is weak due to the debts of the country that will continue to weigh
down the road to rapid economic development.
Both societies are well known for their education system,
with one being criticised as too rigid, and the other, too liberal. China’s
education system holds a strong believe in memorisation and regurgitation.
Speaking from personal experience during an immersion trip to china, the
schools do an extremely good job in teaching knowledge to their students while
life job skills like project work or public speaking are less emphasised. It is
true that such life job skills can only be built upon a strong foundation of
knowledge, however, too much emphasis has been put on academics that the
purpose having knowledge, to apply them in the real world, is neglected. Every
year, there will be reports of china students getting overly stressed due to
the “Gao Kao”, an examination that determines a student’s fate and slowly
becoming a social marker. The ultimate question is, is this kind of system
suitable for china? Such an education might have been successful in the past,
however, as China is moving into a knowledge based economy, they need people
who can apply their knowledge, and not walking dictionaries that can only
provide politically correct definitions. In America, it is the complete
opposite of what is happening in China. The education system places too little
emphasis on academics and more often than not, the benefits of the liberal
education system that is supposed to prepare them for the real world crumbles
under the weak academic foundation. It is therefore important that both society
make changes to their education system so that it can complement their economic
and social progress.
It is undeniable that the American and Chinese societies
are the two most progressive societies in the current world. However, both
countries lack progression in one or more factors, and their education systems
do not complement that well with the progression of their societies. Therefore,
progression can only take place at a rapid pace and succeed if it is done
through various approaches. Tackling areas where progress is not sufficient is the
mark of true progression.
