To put the World in order, we must first put the nation in order; to put the nation in order, we must first put the Family in order; to put the Family in order, we must first cultivate our personal lives by setting our hearts right. — ConfuciusThe Vineyard of the Saker
Sunday, January 17, 2021
China Newsbrief and Sitrep — Godfree Roberts
Godfree Robert's new book. China is taking off.
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7 comments:
The link takes me to blogger edit.
Thanks. Fixed in the post. Here is the link.
http://thesaker.is/china-newsbrief-and-sitrep-8/
What nonsense. First the Chinese government punishes those who follow Daoism, for being too independent-minded, then it employs bullshit Confucianism tropes to say that everyone has to think individually the "right way" -- determined by the State, of course, through its deeply social credit system. No human rights, no freedom of speech. What if what is right for oneself is utterly contradictory to the wishes of the family, the village, the neighbourhood, the commune, the city, or the state? This is just a declaration of Fascism, in a clearer way that any fascism yet produced in the West. It is more fascist the Mussolini or than the Nazis. And the anti-Chinese propaganda, of which there is much, is actually more accurate despite its sometime idiocy than Chinese Government data or dictates.
No human rights, no freedom of speech.
This presents an interesting challenge to liberalism. I was lurking on a discussion group where Hindus were discussing the Western ideas of liberalism involving personal freedom and human rights.
They were saying that this was not only all wrong according to their tradition (scriptures) but also sinful. The traditional view sees exercise of personal freedom of choice regarding thought, speech and action as sinful in that it is one's duty to faithfully follow the codes set for by scripture as obligatory. Thus there is obligation, not freedom. Same with rights. There are no rights mentioned in scripture, only duties according to dharma. Orthodox Islam, Orthodox Judaism, arch-conservative Christianity, and Confucianism have similar views. The objective of such traditionalisms is overcoming self-will in so far as it goes against God's will as found in scripture or the natural order (Tao).
This is why I harp on the historical dialectic between liberalism and traditionalism. Many traditionalists view liberalism as the work of the devil that leads to personal and national degeneracy, and they view the West as morally degenerate. There is zero space for compromise here. The result in an era of de-colonization is civilizational conflict as former subservient peoples get tired of submitting.
So instead of railing about personal freedom and human rights, think about whether you are ready to go to war over this in a nuclear age to impose Western liberalism on the ROW. That is Wilsonian liberal internationalism and liberal interventionism as veneer over economic liberalism, imperialism and colonialism (which has morphed into neoliberalism, neo-imperialism and neocolonialism).
The idea used to be to "show them a better way" though soft power, that is living one's ideals. But that went south and now the West has run out of soft power owing to pursuit of self-interest over living ideals and now has only hard power left.
This is the dynamic of the historical dialectic now internationally. A similar dynamic is going on in different countries, too, and the US is in the grip of it with troops on the streets of the capitol cities.
If India wishes to present itself as a democracy, it needs to be more tolerant. On the other hand, if theocracy is the route a majority of their citizens prefer, then who are we to criticize them.
Peter Pan: and for the millions who do not want to be part of the theocracy, or maybe who wish to be part of a different theocracy?
Remember the lessons of the 30 years war, which gave us Hobbes and Locke etc.
The problem is that that promise has too often be recognized only in theory.
They may have to pack up and move... or carve out a piece for themselves.
Usual bloody history.
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