de-Westernisation

The US package was hijacked by several special interest groups that were more interested in feathering their own nests than rescuing the economy. The Chinese package has worked brilliantly.

Something else the Chinese are doing better at is response to natural disasters.  Compare the Chinese gov't response to the two recent earthquakes and the US handling of the aftermath of Katrina.

It was the Great Depression of the 1930s that contributed significantly to the outbreak of World War II.

I'm not the sharpest knife in the drawer, but how did America's dust bowls contribute to Hitler invading Poland?

Quote

It was the Great Depression of the 1930s that contributed significantly to the outbreak of World War II.

I'm not the sharpest knife in the drawer, but how did America's dust bowls contribute to Hitler invading Poland?

Hitler's demagoguery struck a chord in the people's hearts because they were hungry. Their plight was partly a result of economic repercussions stemming from the situation in the U.S. (and, of course, the aftermath of the Versailles treaty). When stomachs grumble long enough, revolutions happen. Or at least people are more susceptible to radical measures. That Germany later reclaimed its territory from Poland, prompting England to declare war, came after the fact.

By the way, your next post will be your thousandth one!

The original article is very interesting but just because the big bad biased West predicts instability at some point in China's progress does not mean it won't actually happen. I'm sure China appreciates the author's vote of confidence but only time will tell.

now china has money the more fundamental problems are becoming more apparent

yes america is really badly run and especially when cheney etc were in power it was ludicrous, but china is also really badly run

because people are still surprised at how quickly china is modernising they don't see the massive problems....

I'm sure an army of those Mutant Cow Girls from McD's will put a quick and decisive end to any hope China has of avoiding westernization.

I actually had to block that image 'cause it was too disturbing. lol

I actually think there's a fairly significant polemical error in original article.  He says:

Hence, by 2050 or earlier, when they once again become the two largest economies, we will return to the historic norm of the past 2000 years. And, in history, it is easier to return to historical norms than to deviate from them.

And for this to work as a proof of anything, we have to ignore some substantially altered international interrelations and new world environments.  Air travel, television, phone calls, the existence of international media... the end of western domination of world history is definitely on the cards, but it doesn't constitute much of a "return" to something older.  The western egg won't get back into the pre-industrial chicken without some considerable squawking.

However, the *new* world condition of a global voice for China (and India)... that will be interesting.


Moribund cultures seeking more moribundity and now with the economic might to enforce it?  If we are indeed returning to a prior historical condition, perhaps they will give up their industrial might.

i think in some aspects, we are heading for a post-national rather than post western future

maybe the future isn't china/india etc but google/apple etc both american companies but their interests conflict with the american government on a number of things

i always think with google people don't realise that they know 'EVERYTHING'

i think national intelligence agencies are light years behind google in spying on people

Quote

It was the Great Depression of the 1930s that contributed significantly to the outbreak of World War II.

I'm not the sharpest knife in the drawer, but how did America's dust bowls contribute to Hitler invading Poland?

Errr...they didn´t but the Depression was global. It caused a worldwide Depression, one which greatly helped Adolf the Douchebag get people to rally around him, spewing his vitriolic anti-semitic Aryan gobbledygook into the willing ears of the German population.

Who is KISHORE MAHBUBANI? What is the purpose of this article? Is he/she trying to persuade or inform us? To me, it is unclear as to what the author's true agenda is. It sounds biased and little bit off to me. Anyone else pick up on that?

Good question.  So I Jiggled.  I presume he's this guy.

Or, for the Wikipedia-challenged viewers:

Kishore Mahbubani (born October 24, 1948, Singapore) is dean of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore. From 1971 to 2004 he served in the Singaporean Foreign Service, ending up as Singapore's Permanent Representative to the United Nations. In that role he served as president of the United Nations Security Council  in January 2001 and May 2002.

According to his website, his earlier postings included "Cambodia (where he served during the war in 1973-74), Malaysia and Washington, DC," and he was Permanent Secretary at the Foreign Ministry from 1993 to 1998. He is currently in the Board of Governors of the Institute of Policy Studies. Mahbubani has also served on the boards of leading institutes and think tanks in Singapore, such as the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, the Institute of Policy Studies, the Lee Kuan Yew Exchange Fellowship and the Institute of Defence and Strategic Studies.

The President's Scholarship was awarded to Mahbubani in 1967, for him to delve into philosophy as an undergraduate in University of Singapore (now known as the National University of Singapore or NUS). Later in 1976, he also obtained a Master's degree in philosophy and was awarded an honorary doctorate in 1995, both from Dalhousie University. In addition, he was a fellow at the Center for International Affairs at Harvard University in 1991-92.

Mahbubani is best known outside Singapore for his writings in journals such as Foreign Affairs and in the books Can Asians Think? and Beyond the Age of Innocence: Rebuilding Trust between America and the World. His articles have appeared in several leading journals and newspapers outside of Singapore, such as The New York Times and Wall Street Journal.

He is the son of Hindu-Sindhi Indian parents. Mahbubani's parents were among the last to leave what is currently Pakistan for India on the eve of partition. His parents moved to Singapore from India where Mahbubani was born.

In 2006 he was appointed Chair of the United World College of South East Asia board of governors. Mahbubani spoke at the graduation ceremony for the class of 2007, focusing on the competitive advantage they now have as graduates of a United World College in Asia.

In 2008, he was interviewed on BBC Television's HardTalk. He asserted that Asia was ascending at a time the West, in particular the United States, was declining.

I giigled him too. He doesn't have much of an agenda, does he?

I hate extremists and those who only present half a story. I can live with biases and peferences.

He doesn't have much of an agenda, does he?

Why, DD, what ever do you mean?

 

i found that article to be overly simplistic, but i just put it down to bad journalism rather than a concious agenda

i do think the main point that china does not simply wish to become america is something that needs to be emphasised in the west because he is right, a lot of people just don't seem to be able to grasp that

however, i found a lot of his arguments incredibly naive and the sort of thing i'd expect in a conversation with chinese undergraduates maybe but not top academics