India - China: Relations And Developments-2

[Guest]

<b>Comparing India and China</b><!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Ryan Streeter, a fellow at the Legatum Institute, tells me that<b> “India beats China solidly owing to the way that its governance contributes to the economy. That is the democratic institutions index, where India is 36 and China 100. Couple that with other key measures of governance, freedom and social capital—social capital is amazingly high in India, which is ranked fifth in the world—and India is far more prosperous than its rival”</b>.

<b>The social capital component is especially interesting. “Indian citizens report high levels of membership in community organizations, allowing for a broad network of social capital,”</b> the report concludes.

Indians seem to be like Americans in this respect. When Alexis de Tocqueville published his magisterial account of the American experiment, Democracy in America, he was struck by the high degree of social capital he observed during his travels. <b>Americans were a nation of joiners, he witnessed. Indians seem to be similar in that regard—indeed, Indians are even ahead of the US on this metric, which ranks two spots behind, at seventh, in the world. And the report’s authors note that high levels of social capital are needed to bolster human happiness</b>.

My colleague at the American Enterprise Institute Roger Bate notes that<b> “China outperforms India in both of the main economic sub-indices because it provides greater economic certainty to investors, receiving far more foreign investment than India. Still, the overall index implies that trouble is brewing for China as it loses out to India in all other sub-indices, especially in its lack of democracy and personal freedom”.</b>
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Indeed, on my visits to India, I am always struck at how vibrant Indian democracy is and how robustly pervasive the sense of personal freedom is. There is a rowdy, even chaotic, spirit in India that is refreshing and lively and is the hallmark of a free people enjoying their rights and liberties.

There are, of course, areas in which India needs to make significant progress. Education, health, and safety and security are all areas in which India’s performance is badly lagging much of the rest of the world.

But the overall picture is quite encouraging. And in this version of the India versus China parlour game, we must tip our cap to India.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->