Richard Baum's Syndrome: The Socialist Regime Of China

1. Richard Baum suggests five reasons in “The China Syndrome” as to why the socialist regime of China stood firm while many others around the world fell. These reasons are: successful economic reform, communist party unity, military discipline, absence of “civil society”, and a fear of “chaos”. On the argument of economic reform, China was vastly more open to foreign investors and privatized businesses than the socialist regimes of Eastern Europe. For party unity, China did experience a strong split between reform minded and conservative members, but once again not to the extent in Europe. The disparity in ideology between Gorbachev and the rest of the party was immensely stronger than that between Zhao Ziyang and Deng Xiaoping. The third point, military discipline, is also in …show more content…
Regarding the absence of “civil society”, the protesters in China didn’t have a strong foundation for their cause. Their leadership was weak, and a lack of support from the army only made matters worse. Finally, the people of China had a fear of chaos. While they might have disagreed with the party, there was no arguing about the stability of China. Eastern Europe had seen far too many revolutions, conflicts, and wars to be concerned about chaos. I agree with Baum’s assessment as to why the Chinese socialist regime withstood protests and challenges while others around the world fell. I think the discipline of the military was the most important factor of the party retaining power. In most other regime changes, the military plays a strong role in either ousting the regime or protecting it. If Baum were to add another point, it would probably something along the lines of the people’s ignorance to revolution. This, to a certain extent, goes hand in hand with his “fear of chaos” point, but it could probably stand on its own; looking at China’s protests from a global