Non-profit Organizations to Unleash People Power

I talked about my flying hobby and wanted to come back to look at the non-profit organizations in the context of Chinese modernization.

The best equivalent of the non-profit in China is the non-government organization (NGO). In China, the government seems to be the criterion to delineate everything. And in the US, the 'profit' seems to be the criterion ;-).

In China, it is quite cumbersome to start an NGO entity. It is like starting a new enterprise needing big money and structure. Government leaders and the elites cannot quite trust that people can manage themselves and innovate in the collective sense. In a way, this is true. It is a difficult thing to trust people if they are never educated and trained to conduct themselves independently. To work with others and to be governed by rules and laws takes practice and takes time.

As parents, we cannot prohibit babies from walking for fear that they'll fall. We have to let them try and fall and hurt themselves at times. This is the only way they'll learn to stand up and walk by themselves. A parent watches on the side to help them and comfort them, and sometimes teach and discipline them as the circumstances may call for. It is in faith that we believe that we shall not be in a vicious cycle and that our children can never succeed to stand up on their own.

I read one quote from an interview with someone who went through the Cultural Revolution in the 70's. The man said that the net effect of the Cultural Revolution is that no one can longer trust anybody anymore. It was food for thought. If that's true, this was a deeply wounded people and nation. Fortunately, younger generations grow up and have a chance to shake off that burden and gain confidence and trust again in personal relationships. They will be able to build up a new community. The collective power can then be unleashed to serve the common good of mankind.

The line between personal freedom and complete chaos in the society is self-rule, respect, and awareness of the common good. The law and regulations are there to guarantee order and fairness. The lawmakers and the enforcers of the laws cannot be the same entity for obvious reasons; when necessary, the interpreters of the laws interpret and they have to be completely independent of the aforementioned entities.

Similar to many titles in the computer trade books, one day I would really like to see the book and the action entitled "People Power Unleashed" in China.