<...Could it be that declaring capitalism and/or majority rule is not, on its own, sufficient magic to rescue a country? Is it possible that these things take time?

In an earlier post, I listed one detailed description of "Western Culture." It may be that unless a nation's people first accepts such a culture, it may not be possible to bring about the political results of that culture, i.e. capitalism and representative democracy. This would be worth looking at in more detail, particularly in light of non-European nations which are apparent exceptions to this idea, like South Korea, Hong Kong, and other (primarily Asian) nations.

Is the culture of Hong Kong a "Western" culture, given the earlier definition?