This topic is very serious and difficult to discuss simply. No matter who you are, you cannot describe this topic in a few words. If you are a scholar, starting from the theory, you will think about how a government is formed, what its ideology is, how leaders are produced, what policies are proposed, and what problems are solved, but there are many issuess in a country no matter how big or small IT is. The complex domestic social issues and the intrigue of foreign relations cannot be explained clearly in a few words. If you are an ordinary citizen, you will directly and subjectively think of whether a government is good or bad for you, and the answer will come to your mind quickly depending on the time, place, and mood. But if you want to tell how you measure a government, you cannot explain it clearly in a few words. You don't have enough information to compare different governments, and there is no systematic long-term record of a government's administrative achievements (scholars may find them), on the contrary, what an ordinary person gets is mostly official PR documents and media news, let alone compare the governments of different countries. Unless you are an immigrant, ordinary people do not have the experience of living in two or more countries for a long time. So, the challenge of this article is to talk about how to measure a government fairly within the column space.
There is no perfect government in this world (Xanadu is a fantasy story). The quality of a government can only be determined by history. Both ideology and political ideas are theories that must have practical proof (experiments or real results). However, in a changing world and human society, any government system must respond to changes. So, the measurement of a government must have a time factor that includes historical influences and geographical factors that include natural and man-made effects. Therefore, people's evaluation of the government at a certain time and place is mostly a subjective judgment. This subjective view is usually influenced by the government's propaganda and the media, so a citizen’s evaluation of the government should be mindful of the government/media influences and find some objective measurement factors that can be used as a standard in measuring different government systems. To give a simple example, public opinion surveys are often affected by two factors, one is that big capital influences polls (US capital almost controls all global media including opinion polls), and the other is the legacy of colonialism (colonies after independence are still strongly influenced by colonial powers. (Effects include news). Whether the current government can get rid of the above-mentioned influences is something that a citizen must recognize when measuring their own government and/or other governments, such as the former ruling country.
Let's discuss with practical examples how objective factors can be found to measure government. There are many domestic and international polling research companies in the United States that often conduct polls to measure the effectiveness of the government. These results cannot be trusted blindly, let alone fully believed in it. For example, when the US government suppresses the Chinese government in trade, technology, etc., it is not credible to measure the American people's favorability of the Chinese government. Even if the statistics are duly collected, the questionnaire/method and the time/place of the interviews are not objectively carried out. American people’s impression of China can be seen from the adoption of Chinese orphans by Americans. To adopt a Chinese orphan, they have to travel to China, so they understand the stability and peace of the huge Chinese society, the efficiency of their government, the progress of their infrastructure, and the staff’s prudence and carefulness in handling the adoption procedure, all admirable. If you said that those who adopted Chinese children had a bias towards China, you could also look at the views of the world tourism industry about China and Chinese people. From the feeling that Chinese tourists were uncultured (in the last century, many didn’t understand Western civilization and etiquette) to this century, they had become the world's largest sophisticated tourist body who loved high-end consumer products. Many countries are afraid that Chinese tourists will not come to their countries. They can see, through Chinese tourists, how efficient the Chinese government behind them is, how the policies benefit the people, and how the people get rich. No wonder Europeans, Asians, Africans, and Russians are so envious of China. I want to ask why the American people still believe in propaganda that smashes bad news about China? Can America's deterioration be blamed only on China and not on the American people's own government?
In fact, an ordinary citizen can find a fair measure of the government, or even compare two governments, without being a scholar or an expert in China and the United States. (Many scholars who speak badly about Sino-US relations are often wrong and not credible.) We can give some real examples. It is best to be able to compare the two countries. Otherwise, the data of one country can at least measure the strengths and weaknesses of its government. Let’s look at the country’s infrastructure. The United States was envied by the world in the 1960s. Today, China’s high-speed railways, highways, ports, and airports are all world-class. Let’s look at housing. China has grown from one of the poorest countries in the world to a country with its third-tier city more beautiful and functional than the world’s metropolises, ahead in transportation, environmental protection and energy management. The number of homeless people in the United States is increasing, not only an eyesore, and an economic burden, but also an inhumane phenomenon. Promoting the economy is the heavy responsibility of every government. Yet, the national debt of the United States has increased to 31 trillion ($97,000 in debt per American). Isn’t this a fiscal mistake of the government? While the U.S. government is paying attention to trying to suppress China's development (using national security as a fig leaf to cover up the shame of suppressing the Chinese private enterprise Huawei), China's BYD has become the world's number one seller of electric vehicles. Can negative suppression replace positive cooperation? There are more factors for measuring government efficacy that we ordinary people can check. How many students are there in China and the United States? What are the high school and college graduation rates for each country? What are the average personal savings of a Chinese and American citizen? These are numbers that are a fair measure of the government. Do American people really want to live their lives with their heads buried in the sand?
Nearly 200 countries around the world have different governments, which can be divided into democratic condominium-like governments and centralized corporate-style governments, varied in size, according to the broad classification by scholars, In fact, from the perspective of ordinary people, what kind of system a government adopts is not important, but to be able to improve, innovate, and put people's welfare first is critical. Ordinary citizens should ask why the annual salaries, benefits, and pensions of U.S. senators, congressmen, and government officials are so high, while the government’s efficiency and effectiveness are so low. Before asking for improvement, citizens can use the above mentioned factors to create a list to measure their own government fairly. But, we must know and admit that our government is not good enough, and then we can ask for improvement. The American people cannot let the incompetent government continue forever!