Hmm, you mean something like “If I hate oppression and oppression correlates with lack of democracy, does China’s oppression cause lack of democracy, or does China’s lack of democracy cause oppression? Or both, or neither?”
I don’t know. Figuring out causation is a big problem, not just for this issue, but for all issues—a relevant post is Timeless Causality
Make two lists, one with countries that have representative democracy, and one with countries that don’t.
Then decide which set you’d rather live in. Not experience a revolution, just live in normal times under.
That establishes correlation. What do I do to establish causation?
Hmm, you mean something like “If I hate oppression and oppression correlates with lack of democracy, does China’s oppression cause lack of democracy, or does China’s lack of democracy cause oppression? Or both, or neither?”
I don’t know. Figuring out causation is a big problem, not just for this issue, but for all issues—a relevant post is Timeless Causality