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Whole-process people's democracy (), formerly termed whole-process democracy (), is a
Chinese Communist Party The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victorious in the Chinese Ci ...
(CCP) political concept describing the people's participation in, and relationship to, governance under
socialism with Chinese characteristics Socialism with Chinese characteristics ( zh, s=中国特色社会主义, hp=Zhōngguó tèsè shèhuìzhǔyì) is a set of political theories and policies of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) that are seen by their proponents as representing M ...
. Whole-process people's democracy differs from
liberal democracy Liberal democracy is the combination of a liberal political ideology that operates under an indirect democratic form of government. It is characterized by elections between multiple distinct political parties, a separation of powers into ...
in that it is a
consequentialist In ethical philosophy, consequentialism is a class of normative ethics, normative, Teleology, teleological ethical theories that holds that the wikt:consequence, consequences of one's Action (philosophy), conduct are the ultimate basis for judgm ...
model of political decision-making, aiming to be judged by how well the government is able to improve the socioeconomic lives of citizens, rather than solely being based on democratic processes.


Development of the term

The term whole-process people's democracy developed in distinct stages. Narratives of a CCP-style "democracy" and
democracy in Marxism In Marxist theory, a new democratic society will arise through the organised actions of an international working class enfranchising the entire population and freeing up humans to act without being bound by the labour market. There would be litt ...
have evolved in CCP's language since its founding. First, the term "whole-process democracy" was used to describe existing governance practices such as Chinese experiments with democratic elements in the legislative process and in local government activities. CCP general secretary
Xi Jinping Xi Jinping ( ; ; ; born 15 June 1953) is a Chinese politician who has served as the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), and thus as the paramount leader of China, ...
first used the term publicly on November 2, 2019, while visiting the Shanghai grassroots consultative center for the
National People's Congress The National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China (NPC; ), or simply the National People's Congress, is constitutionally the supreme state authority and the national legislature of the People's Republic of China. With 2,9 ...
(NPC). Xi stated, "China's people's democracy is a type of whole-process democracy" in which legislation is enacted "after going through procedures and democratic deliberations to ensure that decision-making is sound and democratic." Second, the term "whole process democracy" was incorporated into Chinese law in March 2021. The NPC passed the ''Decision on Amending the Organic Law of the NPC,'' which incorporated "adherence to whole process democracy." The NPC viewed whole-process democracy as an area where it could make significant contributions. As a result, the NPC led a national campaign (in which local people's congresses at all levels participated) to promote the principle. The CCP then incorporated the concept into its ideology, promoting it and explaining it as an improved model of
socialist democracy Socialist democracy is a political system that aligns with principles of both socialism and democracy. It includes ideologies such as council communism, democratic socialism, and Soviet democracy, as well as Marxist democracy like the dictators ...
suited for the needs of the 21st century. On July 1, 2021, Xi incorporated the word "people's" into the term during his speech at the 100th Anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party, giving the new name: "whole-process people's democracy." Xi tied the term to " common prosperity." The addition of "people's" to the term emphasizes the
Maoist Maoism, officially called Mao Zedong Thought by the Chinese Communist Party, is a variety of Marxism–Leninism that Mao Zedong developed to realise a socialist revolution in the agricultural, pre-industrial society of the Republic of Ch ...
practice of the
mass line The mass line is the political, organizational and leadership method developed by Mao Zedong and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) during the Chinese Communist Revolution. It refers to formulating policy based on theory, implementing it based pe ...
.


Theory

Xi describes four components of whole-process people's democracy, expressed as paired relationships: # Process democracy (过程民主) and achievement democracy (成果民主) # Procedural democracy (程序民主) and substantive democracy (实质民主) # Direct democracy (直接民主) and indirect democracy (间接民主) # People's democracy (人民民主) and the will of the state (国家意志) According to Xi, this results in "real and effective socialist democracy." The concept's emphasis on "whole-process" is intended to further distinguish the CCP approach to democracy from the procedural qualities of
liberal democracy Liberal democracy is the combination of a liberal political ideology that operates under an indirect democratic form of government. It is characterized by elections between multiple distinct political parties, a separation of powers into ...
. It includes primarily consequentialist criteria for evaluating claims of democracy's success. In this view, the most important criterion is whether democracy can "solve the people's real problems," while a system in which "the people are awakened only for voting" is not truly democratic. Whole-process people's democracy also serves as a political tool to both defend the
Chinese government The Government of the People's Republic of China () is an authoritarian political system in the People's Republic of China under the exclusive political leadership of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). It consists of legislative, executive, mi ...
's governance practices and criticize liberal democracy. In the CCP's view, whole-process people's democracy is "more extensive, more genuine and more effective" than American democracy. Under the concept of whole-process people's democracy, whether a country is democratic should not be measured by the electoral process but instead by the results it delivers to the people. By using the improvement of living standards and development as the measure of democratic success, this framing favors China, which has undergone major advances in development and living standards during the last four decades. The CCP uses the concept of whole-process people's democracy as a means to participate in global discourses on democracy, seeking to deflect criticism and improve its
foreign relations A state's foreign policy or external policy (as opposed to internal or domestic policy) is its objectives and activities in relation to its interactions with other states, unions, and other political entities, whether bilaterally or through m ...
. This ties into the government's larger efforts to promote its global leadership. In that regard, the Chinese government's 2021 white paper '' China: A Democracy that Works'' emphasizes the whole-process people's democracy perspective in an effort to demonstrate the country's "institutional self-confidence." Zubeda Anjum Niazi argues that the white paper states that whole-process people's democracy is the impetus behind China's development and growth. In another example of the government's promotion of the whole-process people's democracy concept in an effort to increase its "discourse power," then-Ambassador to the United States
Qin Gang Qin Gang (; born 19 March 1966) is a Chinese diplomat and politician who has been serving as Minister of Foreign Affairs since 2022, making him China's second highest ranked diplomat after CCP Politburo member Wang Yi. He previously served as V ...
gave remarks at a conference organized by U.S. thinktanks the
Carter Center The Carter Center is a nongovernmental, not-for-profit organization founded in 1982 by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter. He and his wife Rosalynn Carter partnered with Emory University just after his defeat in the 1980 United States preside ...
and The George H.W. Bush Foundation for US-China Relations, in which he stated, "Isn't it obvious that both China's people-center philosophy and President Lincoln's 'of the people, by the people, for the people' are for the sake of the people? .. Shall we understand China's socialist whole-process democracy as this: from the people, to the people, with the people, for the people?"


See also

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Democracy in China The debate over democracy in China has been a major ideological battleground in Chinese politics since the 19th century. China is not a Western-style liberal democracy. The Chinese government and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) state that C ...
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Ideology of the Chinese Communist Party The ideology of the Chinese Communist Party has undergone dramatic changes throughout the years, especially during Deng Xiaoping's leadership and the contemporary leadership of Xi Jinping. Ideology In the early days of this party, the pre ...
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People's democracy (Marxism–Leninism) People's democracy is a theoretical concept within Marxism–Leninism and a form of government which developed after World War II and allows in theory for a multi- class and multi-party democracy on the pathway to socialism. People's democracy w ...


References

{{Xi Jinping Politics of China Ideology of the Chinese Communist Party History of socialism Political theories Types of democracy Criticism of democracy Democracy