Source: Forbes

There has been much discussion lately of how China survived the financial crisis much more robustly than the United States. Many credit Beijing's centralized power structure, which Sen. Harry Reid mistakenly (and foolishly) calls a dictatorship under President Hu Jintao. Political scientist Francis Fukuyama recently wrote that China's command system allows for a fast response to problems while America gets bogged down in partisan turf wars. In a shocking turnaround, Fukuyama even now argues that he was wrong to say democracy is the only path forward. You know Americans are questioning their core values when Fukuyama says that.

It is true that China's system can quickly push through changes like health care reforms while America's remains in gridlock. However, America should absolutely not move toward any kind of command structure for short-term gain. In the longterm, the checks and balances of a democracy are needed to prevent tyrants from rising and to ensure creative thought. Yes, President Hu is focused on improving human rights and has the support of the Chinese people, but who is to say that will remain the case in five decades under other leaders?

No, the American way is not in definite decline, nor should China's rise be seen as a threat to our core values. Any political system must be viewed in the context of decades, not mere months. However, there are definite lessons in governance that President Obama and the U.S. can learn from President Hu and China to help get America's mojo back.

First, although China's leaders are not elected democratically, they are (contrary to what many Americans believe) very attuned to public opinion. When trouble brews, they issue statements and new laws quickly. Skeptics say they do this because they fear being overthrown and executed, like former Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceausescu, rather than from true humanitarianism. Whatever their motivations, China's leaders do in fact for the most part listen to the will of the people. Of course, they can't always fix problems immediately, but they do show that they care about the wants of ordinary folks.

For example, our research suggests that two of the greatest concerns of ordinary Chinese are rising real estate prices and food costs. Leaders show they are addressing these worries by regularly announcing how much square footage of new low-income housing is about to come onto the market or is under construction, and they use taxation to force real estate developers through to product affordable units. Likewise they put price controls on food for low income families, or exempt farmers from road tolls.

America's political system, on the other hand, is increasingly beholden not to the wants of the majority but to minority special interest groups that hijack the national discourse. Take for instance our absurd gun laws. Our elected officials are so scared about the power of the National Rifle Association that no one is willing to take it on and do what most Americans want--limit the proliferation of weapons like the one Jared Loughner used in Tuscon. Somehow we can regulate how high shrubs should be or how often someone needs to shovel snow in front of a building, but not how safe our streets should be, because of the outsized power of a minority.