Progress in society can be viewed as progress in standard of living and education. Using this as the basis of analysis, it can be seen that China has indeed made huge progress over the years.
Anyone old enough to witness Mao Ze Dong’s China can tell you that the China of today is nothing like it was then. China was a backwards and supposedly communist society, where education was nonexistent after the Cultural Revolution of 1965, and people barely had enough to eat and were starving. However, the China of today is that of economic prosperity, where people worried no longer worried about food and basic necessities. All this came into being, when China, under the guidance of Deng Xiaoping, undergone economic reforms in 1978, and accepted capitalism. After that, China has made huge progress, with its economy expanding rapidly, bringing China into the age of material prosperity. It recently overtaking Japan, becoming the world’s second largest economy, poised to overtake the United States as the world’s biggest economy. This is reflected in China’s society, with many people possessing commodities ranging from branded bags to gaming consoles.
China is even becoming a powerhouse in the field of education. A simple look at the statistics would prove this fact: China has came out tops in numerous academic tests, such as achieving top marks in the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) comparative survey, a huge improvement from the dark days of China’s Cultural Revolution. A reason for this improvement is that the Chinese adopt a far stricter education system than what the US provides. While in China, students can get punished for not doing their homework, while failing provides severe consequences, both in school and at home, where angry parents will be awaiting, where they receive harsh scoldings and even beatings. This causes many Chinese students to resort to drilling and memorising, which may get them good results but many feel will restrict their creativity. On the other hand, in the US, homework has largely been considered to be optional, while parents are overly liberal and forgiving, while the curriculum too is liberal and flexible, and you will learn as much as you want to, and learn whatever you're interested in. As such, Chinese students achieve good exam results but have limited creativity and are generally seen as more hard-working, while American students have proven to be more on both extreme sides of the spectrum: either exceptionally bright or dull.
The Chinese today enjoy material and economic prosperity, and education has been increasingly successful, showing that China has indeed made huge progress in society, in the standard of living as compared to just a mere generation ago.
The United States, on the other hand, has been barely progressed. After facing a huge economic depression in 2008 that has sunk the USA into heavy debt, with sky-high rates of unemployment. The US has a national debt of US$15 trillion, while unemployment is hovering at 8.5%. The standard of living in the US has not progressed, and has instead even dropped, with many jobless and unemployed people barely making a living, and many more face bankruptcy, while the average debt of a taxpayer is over US$100,000. Yet, many US university graduates find it hard to get a job in the US because of the high unemployment rate. As such, standard of living in the US would have regressed instead of progress. This caused many to be displeased with US government, causing even the occupation of Wall Street as protests. The US education has also failed to make any progress, with students producing mediocre results in international tests such as the PISA, and results were worse than their previous results, showing an overall decreasing trend. Although the US remains the world’s biggest superpower, with a per capita GDP of US$48,147 far higher than US$8,394, it has not progressed, and has instead, regressed, with its huge national debt, high unemployment rates and relatively unsuccessful education.
The progress in societies can be seen in the youths of US and China today. As seen in one of my CDE lessons, youth of China are more politically apathetic. This can be directly attributed to China’s huge progress in society. The youths of China are mollified by the economic and material benefits that have been brought about by China’s economic boom, the youths see no reason to get themselves involved in politics, and would rather focus themselves on the pursuit of material comfort, such as a car or a bigger house. This can only continue, though if China continues providing the economic benefits, and the people of China are starting to wake up. Many youths are starting to voice their opinions openly, in portals such as micro-blog (China's twitter), and even attempted the Jasmine flower revolution, voicing out their desire for change openly, though the majority of Chinese youths are still relatively apathetic. However, the youth in US are, on the other hand, have been stirred from their apathy, because of the crisis their country is facing, and because of the lack of progress. This is why US had a record high number of young voters when Obama ran for presidency in the year 2008, the most number of young voters, between the age of 18-29, since the US allowed youths to vote in 1976, at 52%, because the youth wanted change, which Obama promised, change so that the US could progress.
However, on the issue of democracy and human rights, China has made no progress in comparison to the US. While the US is considered the most liberal and democratic country in the world, China is considered to be an authoritarian country, with no free elections. While the US allows freedom of expression, allowing protests, such as the occupation of Wall Street, China has proven otherwise. China does not allow any form of protests, and many prominent activists have been arrested, such as artist Ai Weiwei, who was arrested for his anti-government works. However, more and more activists have been emerging, through platforms such as the internet to voice their opinions anonymously, and if this trend continues, China may too progress towards democracy.
In conclusion, China has made more progress than the US in terms of standard of living and education, whiles the US, on the other hand, has instead made more progress than China in terms of democracy and human rights. However, citizens of both countries are starting to see the need for progress, and are beginning to influence their country, and this may just prove to be what it takes to push both countries forwards.
