Modern global politics has been deeply shaped by the European model of development. Constitutional monarchies and democratic republics that emerged from England’s and France’s imperial transformations defined the foundations of modern governance and exerted worldwide influence. The US and the Soviet Union represent two divergent political traditions that emerged from Europe, both rooted in the continent’s theories of democracy.
The Soviet Union was a federation of communist states grounded in extreme state socialism, while the US is a democratic federation shaped by European liberal capitalism. The former has since disappeared, but the latter endures as a dominant power.
The US began its ascent in the early 20th century, while the Soviet Union grew into a superpower after World War II. Allied in the struggle against fascism, they emerged from the conflict as leaders of rival global blocs. Their prolonged confrontation defined the Cold War until the Soviet collapse, which coincided with China’s rise and ushered in a new era of US-China rivalry. However, communist China is not a product of Europe, but of the Soviet Union — a state founded on Marxist-Leninist principles.
The US, as a child of Europe, and post-Soviet Russia have followed markedly different trajectories. Their experiences suggest that a democracy rooted in liberal capitalism fosters a more dynamic national evolution than a communist state built upon radical forms of state socialism. Looking back at Europe’s development, a democratic system that is capable of accommodating liberal capitalism and democratic socialism appears to be the more sustainable political model.
China’s historical path contrasts sharply with Europe’s. Unlike Europe, which never consolidated into a unified power even at the height of the Roman Empire, China achieved unification under the Qin Dynasty and remained a dominant power centered on Han culture through successive dynasties, including the Yuan and Qing. Europe’s tradition of political fragmentation and decentralization helped bring about democratization, while China’s enduring centralization has consistently impeded democratic transformation.
In the aftermath of World War II, several European nations established what would become the EU — a union of states that remain sovereign, but are capable of collective action — although the UK formally withdrew in 2020. The EU’s creation reflected a political maturity born of long histories of colonial expansion and the devastation of Europe’s wars, including the destruction wrought by Nazi Germany. Despite such turmoil, the trajectory of these nations ultimately followed relatively civilized paths.
China boasts of its long history, but its imperial worldview, encapsulated in the maxim “under the wide heaven, all is the king’s land,” coupled with what it views as humiliation in the modern era wrought by Western powers, led it to follow the Soviet example of adopting Marxism-Leninism. All seemingly democratic measures in China are merely a facade; authoritarianism is the reality. A state that disguises socialism under the cloak of nationalism cannot possibly be a good country.
Today, with China, Russia and North Korea aligning as an authoritarian axis, and the US, Europe and Japan consolidating into a democratic coalition, history appears at risk of repeating its cycles of confrontation and crisis.
Caught in the middle, Taiwan — a country that still lacks true sovereign status — is left unanchored, drifting through the turbulent tides and shifting light and shadows of a disorderly world.
Lee Min-yung is a poet.
Translated by Kyra Gustavsen
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