The Fall of Communist China

A while back, I wrote about how China's policies of suppression will probably work as long as the economy is sailing. Once the economy goes into some sort of recession, though, I think they will be in trouble.

I read Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion over spring break, and it only reinforce my viewpoint. The author writes about how when freedoms or material objects are given and then at some point taken away, it creates a big backlash:

Perhaps, the most prominent proponent of this argement is James C. Davies, who states that we are most likely to find revolutions where a period of improving economic and social conditions is followed by a short, sharp reversal of thsoe conditions. Thus it is not the traditionally most downtrodden people--who have come to see their deprivation as part of the natural order of things--who are especially liable to revolt. Instead, revolutionaries are more likely to be those who have been given at least some taste of a better life. When the economic and social improvements they have experienced and come to expect suddenly become less available, they desire them more than ever and often rise up violently to secure them (page 257).

Once prosperity and freedom are given, it is very painful to take back.