Fareed Zakaria said:
- Over time, countries that grow economically tend to become more democratic, excepting oil-rich states that are run by dictators.
- China will not become a Western-style liberal democracy, but should consider Singapore’s example.
Minxin Pei wrote in 2006 that China had had virtually no move toward political openness despite decades of growth, and he predicted problems 6-7 years hence. Pei says the events in Hong Kong are unlikely to spill over into mainland China, where the system of control, patronage and surveillance is too strong, but could produce rifts within the communist party.
Robert Lawrence Kuhn said in China, Confucianism is making a tremendous come back and is being infused into Chinese socialism, with the market playing a decisive role.
Mark Whitaker said the “The Cosby Show” had a big impact on American society by presenting a picture of African-American family life that everybody could identify with, and a tremendous amount of black culture in the background.
The World Wildlife Fund says that the global wildlife population of fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals declined by 52% between 1970 and 2010, with hunting and fishing the primary cause, followed by habitat degradation, habitat loss and climate change. WWF said we would need 1.5 Earths to meet the demands humans make on the planet.
Watch the video at http://globalpublicsquare.blogs.cnn.com/category/gps-episodes/ or read the full transcript at http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1410/05/fzgps.01.html