The Politburo

[griz326]

I'm reading the backgrounds of the 24 members of the Chinese Politburo after a person on another forum asserted that they were all engineers...

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politburo_of_the_Communist_Party_of_China#Current_.2817th.29_Politburo_members.5B2.5D

 

...well they are not ALL engineers, but they all seem to be very accomplished. There are a boat load of engineers, chemists, mathematicians and economists.

 

It surely gives me a sense that China is being led by the best and the brightest in China.

 

We do not have a politburo, so a 1:1 comparison is not possible...but I wonder...

Edited September 6, 2011 by griz326 (see edit history)

[Beachey]

Be careful reading too much into the backgrounds of the Chinese Leaders. Make no mistake, they are all career politicians. Many are Princelings or sons of prominent members of the Communist revolution. And your background matters as to whether you are a true Communist.

 

For someone to be a true Communist, It is much more acceptable to be an Engineer from rural China than a Lawyer from Beijing.

 

And not for nothing, Herbert Hoover was an Engineer.

[IllinoisDave]

Hmm. The youngest is 56. By my count three are in their 50s, five in their early 60s, thirteen in their mid to late 60s and four 70 or older. One woman. No disrespect meant to the older generations, here or there. But if these are the "best and brightest" China has to offer, either it doesn't say much for the young and middle aged generations and women of all generations. Or it says a whole lot about China's ability to maintain a solid good ole boys politburo.

[griz326]

Considering the progress made since my first trip China 30+ years ago, I'm inclined to think that they're doing a pretty good job overall. Looked at the Politburo because of that erroneous post elsewhere...but still think the qualifications are quite impressive.

 

We too have princes and litmus tests for both parties. Youth rarely gets much power until the youth is gone from them. Of course, Obama is a young guy and we see what he has done.

 

I imagine that if we compared backgrounds of our politicians, we'd find far too many lawyers and far too few engineers. ...as for Hoover, there's an exception in every class

 

I'm inclined to think that China's last 30 years delivered more to the people than the last 30 years delivered to the people in the USA. ...although there are so many more ways to consider our situation compared to the basics that were essential for China in that time that perhaps such a comparison is invalid on the face of it.

Edited September 6, 2011 by griz326 (see edit history)

[IllinoisDave]

perhaps such a comparison is invalid on the face of it.

I agree.