Sorry, you are correct; what I had in mind and should have written was more along the lines of "within the same order of magnitude." I'm guessing/hoping India will be caught up by 2035-2040. Anyways, I'm not denying that there are benefits to top-down, non-democratic planning in the early stages of economic development. Again Taiwan, and its use of eminent domain in the 1970s, 80s. But I don't think long-term it leads to the most stable & innovative society. Last but not least, I don't agree with your assertion that the "best democratic examples have fallen short of China's success." How are we measuring that? GPD per capita? Life expectancy? General happiness? Anecdotally, I've spent enough time in the PRC these past few years to tell you that on what I'd consider all the relevant dimensions, Taiwan, Japan, or South Korea respectively just crush the average quality of life & wealth levels you get in China's Tier 1 cities today.