Vladimir Lenin, who died 100 years ago as of next Jan. 21, was having a good 21st century because the Chinese Communist Party emulated him. Now, however, China has ailments partially caused by, and made incurable by, Leninism. In Russia, then in Mussolini’s Italy, Hitler’s Germany and elsewhere, including modern China, Leninism provided a new model of government: the party-state. Except China cannot be both modern and Leninist. Modernity requires social openness, and a nimble response to information and innovations that move faster than bureaucracies can or want to move.

Source: Washington Post September 10, 2023 12:24 UTC