China’s post-90s generation says no to liberal democracy, confounds West
Study contradicts decades of assumptions that the economic boom and post-materialism would lead to more support for democratic values
Chinese who came of age during
the country’s economic boom are less supportive of liberal democratic values than older generations, a study has revealed, contradicting the predictions of Western policymakers and academics.
The study by researchers based in China and Britain found that Chinese people born after 1990 were “less likely to support democratic values than the older generation”, despite greater economic security and “a higher level of post-materialist values”.
Their findings were published online by the Journal of Contemporary China on Sunday.
The researchers took 1996 as the starting point of China’s rapid economic growth, which saw per capita GDP nearly quadruple over the next decade, according to World Bank data.
They designated 1990 as the generational dividing line between the two economic eras, reasoning that individuals born in that year would be more attuned to life changes from the age of six.
The indicators used in the study to determine support for democratic values differed from the “Chinese-style democracy” promoted by Beijing to describe China’s political system as more effective than the Western electoral version, they pointed out.
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