I recently read “Dictatorship in the 21st Century” (Shodensha Shinsho, by Sato Masaru and Masuzoe Yoichi). The book is a so-called current affairs book that analyzes the trends of hegemonic Russia and China, the imperialistic United States, and right-wing Europe. However, I found the anecdotes about the standard of living in Russia and China fascinating. Sato is a Russia expert, and Masuzoe is well-versed in China. In their view, both Russia and China have seen economic development, leading to increased satisfaction among their residents. They believe the standard of living is higher than in Tokyo.

In Moscow, various systems have made it easy to acquire land, and it’s now possible to own a home in your 20s. In Beijing and Shanghai, security has improved, with crimes like pickpocketing and robbery decreasing thanks to cameras and cashless transactions throughout the city for surveillance purposes.

Due to the influence of Western media, Russia and China tend to be viewed as frightening countries in Japan, but in reality, they may be more stable and prosperous than imagined. In fact, social unrest is deepening in developed countries like Europe, the United States, and Japan, which are increasingly focused on short-term growth. Perhaps this is because people’s values ​​are shifting from diversification to fragmentation and radicalization.

Currently, many countries around the world are distancing themselves from democracy, likely in response to the dire state of democratic nations.

For Japan, Russia and China are countries with unacceptable values, but there are certainly things to learn from them. To put it in extreme terms, even in a dictatorship, if it puts its people first, its people may not be free, but they will not be completely unhappy. Even in a democratic nation, if it does not care about its people, its people may have a certain degree of freedom, but they will live in a dog-eat-dog chaos, and no one will be happy.

Democracy is an imperfect political system. It is merely the best of the political systems humans have created so far. If there is a better political system than democracy, we should move to that. (Kei Kitajima)

※Translating Japanese articles into English with AI