Many classical studies from Soviet and post-Soviet societies have found that, when given the choice between liberty and social order, those who support democratic principles tend to choose liberty in preference to order. Yet the results from our two sample surveys conducted in Beijing, China in 1995 and 1997 directly contradict their findings. We find that those who support democratic principles are more likely to choose order over liberty In this study, we present differences between their findings and ours. Then, we draw some important theoretical and political implications from such differences.
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