There is a growing dangerous idea that democracy has become a competitive handicap, a disadvantage or a problem for countries, illustrated by the apparent comparative advantages and higher levels of economic well-being that some authoritarian governments are able to provide their citizens.
Which country has been able to generate the largest GDP growth based on purchasing power parity or has been the most successful in bringing millions of people above the poverty line? China, a country that in fact regards democracy as unnecessary. The most populous country in the world is governed by a party whose decisions are incontestable, which is not in any way subject to the popular will, and whose respect for human rights has long been disputed. China restricts its citizens access to information and has the world’s largest system of internet monitoring and surveillance, employing an army of censors larger than its armed forces that largely resembles the real world incarnation of George Orwell’s “1984", despite which is set to become the global leader in terms of patent applications and intellectual property protection (obviously, the current, defective and unreasonable model of intellectual property lives much better under a dictatorship).
