World politics enters uncharted waters 

(Global Times)

09:14, August 09, 2011

The US political system has long been seen as the highest achievement of capitalist politics. It produced the notion of "checks and balances," which are recognized as the modern standard for democratic politics. 

However, the downgrading of the US credit rating by Standard & Poor's has smashed the country's political capital.

Standard & Poor's asserted that the fights in Congress are not helping to resolve the debt crisis, but are worsening it instead. 

Its view is echoed by global media criticizing the US government as "incompetent," actions that provoked a new global stock market fall. Standard & Poor's merely told an innocent truth.

The development of the Internet and globalization do not solely impact African countries and emerging nations like China, but also the US, where the Internet was born. 

The US decision-making capacity is weakening. The Democrats and Republicans compete to please voters by promising unaffordable welfare. 

Of course, an AAA credit may return, but the imperfect political system will remain. The international community should not expect too much from the US. 

The real problem is that the US denies its own problems. It is confronted with new competitions and challenges, but still takes its system for ideal and denigrates all those that disagree. Such arrogant behavior is at the very core of the US downfall. 

The West can no longer cover up its problems. Large numbers of immigrants have poured into the West; an aging population is bringing escalating pressure on the economy; the rising of emerging powers is challenging Western dominance. However, the West only tries to deal with these problems by highlighting past achievements.

Political reform is more unlikely to make any progress in the US than in other countries despite the illusion of change that comes as parties rotate each couple of elections. 

President Obama may not be able to secure reelection if the current US economic situation persists. 

However, the Republican Party will not bring the US the determination for change should it recapture the White House.

Perhaps the US needs to undergo more pains before it finally makes real change. Before that, it will likely experience a troubled time, as many European countries continue to have. 

Western countries are losing the authority of their system. All the major powers have their own problems. The world is losing its leading examples.

It is hard to predict what this means for China. For the country, the key is to take control of the direction of its reform and avoid serious mistakes.