Inherent Features and Future Practice of Whole-Process People’s Democracy from a Comparative Perspective

Democracy is a common value pursued by human society and is often viewed as an important symbol of the development level of a political civilization. However， after a review of the histories of different countries around the world， it’s fair to say that democracy is diversified， concrete and developing. Holding high the banner of people’s democracy， the Communist Party of China has united and led the Chinese people in successfully blazing a socialist path of political development with Chinese characteristics. This path not only has distinctive Chinese features， but also draws on the achievements of world political civilizations， and conforms to the law of political development. In practice， it has shown great vitality and great superiority， and will play a positive role in promoting and leading the development of political civilization.

The Inherent Features and Comparative Advantages of Whole-Process People’s Democracy

The most fundamental feature of Chinese democracy is that the people are masters of the country. The whole-process people’s democracy China adopts is the latest generalization and unique expression of the country’s democracy. This brand new form of democracy believes that the people are the creators of history and the fundamental force that determines the destiny and the future of the Party and the Country.

I. A Chinese-style and autonomous democracy rooted in its own soil

Democracy is a common value pursued by mankind. However， as different countries have different social and political environment and historical and cultural backgrounds， it should be the people in each country that decide what view of democracy to adhere to， what path of democracy to choose， and which form of democracy to take. As pointed out by General Secretary Xi Jinping， “democracy is the right of all peoples， rather than an exclusive privilege of the few. There are multiple ways and means to realize democracy， instead of a single stereotype.” After a long-term autonomous exploration， the Communist Party of China has led the Chinese people in gradually building a socialist democratic system that suits China’s national conditions， meets the needs of the people， and is conducive to social development and progress， providing a solid institutional guarantee for the people to truly become masters of their country.

II. A socialist democracy that puts the people first

Different from the Western oligarchy and plutocracy under the cover of intermittent voting， the socialist democracy takes ensuring the people’s position as masters of the country as its fundamental nature. The whole-process people’s democracy embodies the distinctive features of socialist democracy. As pointed out by General Secretary Xi Jinping， “If the people only have the right to vote but are denied access to wide participation of public affairs， and that they are awakened only to cast a vote but become dormant afterwards， and then such a democracy is not a true democracy.” The whole-process people’s democracy is not a narrow democracy in which only intermittent voting rights are exercised. Instead， it is a true democracy that is people-centered and aimed at guaranteeing and realizing people’s political， economic， social， cultural， ecological and many other rights.

Upholding the people at its core， the whole-process people’s democracy always adopts people’s satisfaction as the sole criteria. While highlighting the people’s position as masters of the country， this democracy has fully mobilized the people’s enthusiasm and initiative， and is conducive to pooling the wisdom and strength of the Chinese people.

III. A solidarity and consensus-generating democracy with comparative advantages

Socialist democracy with Chinese characteristics can be realized in two important ways. First， the people exercise their rights through elections or voting. Second， all parties within the people conduct full consultation and reach consensus on common issues as much as possible before making major decisions. The two forms of democracy complement and improve each other， which is an important feature of the socialist democratic political system with Chinese characteristics and is important to bringing institutional advantages of socialist democracy with Chinese characteristics into play.

The Western democracy only emphasizes the campaign-based elections and voting， which is not only an oversimplification of the form of democracy， but also the emasculation and distortion of the essence of democracy. In countries that practice Western democracy， democracy has basically been transformed to elite politics， which is ruled by “majority decision” and eventually leads to games between different groups and factions， bringing about endless disputes and even social disunity.

To find the greatest common ground of the will and demands of society is the essence of the whole-process people’s democracy. In China， major decisions are usually made through public opinion gathering， democratic deliberation， extensive consultation， scientific argumentation and democratic decision-making. Opinions and suggestions at various levels， especially public opinions at the primary level， have been widely incorporated into the decision-making process through hearings， correspondence inquiry， discussion forums and online political inquiries.

IV. Effective and quality democracy that is development-oriented and in various forms

The whole-process people’s democracy is a high-quality and effective democracy that is development-orientated and aims to solve problems of concern to the people. The evaluation of a country’s political system boils down to whether it can promote social development and progress， and whether it can truly improve the people’s lives. If it fails to effectively promote social development and ensure people’s well-being， a political system， no matter how gorgeously designed and packaged， will remain a mere facade. The whole-process people’s democracy is rich in democratic content， making it necessary to employ multiple methods to ensure that it’s implemented and realized， such as combining direct democracy with indirect democracy and electoral democracy with consultative democracy， giving full play to the enthusiasm and initiative of the people in community-level governance， and encouraging the people to create new forms of democracy that meet the characteristics of community-level governance under the leadership of the Party. In this way， social consensus is built， political unity is strengthened and the people are guaranteed participation in national political life and the governance of social and public affairs through various channels and forms in accordance with the law.