John Wight and Carlos Martinez share my views about China. I can't talk for its chequered past, but modern China looks promising. The Chinese are very collective and place the family as the most important institution, but unlike the West, the family extends to the whole of society. With its Buddhism, Taoism, confucianism, its society is very different from ours. China will soon surpass the West economically, says John Wight and Carlos Martinez. Its state planned socialist system with markets is a powerhouse.
The West is terribly xenophobic, say John Wight and Carlos Martinez, which includes many liberals and lefties. These people have trouble believing that the Chinese might actually be quite happy with their system. When the Chinese look at the chaos in the West and its broken neoliberal system, they want nothing to do with it. Chinese cities are clean, beautiful, have excellent infrastructure, and very little crime.
John Wight - The inexorable rise and rise of China with Carlos Martinez
I've never seen anything like this.
In the West, there is no such thing as society, only individuals, based on 18th century "Enlightenment" liberalism. The West emphasized individualism and personal freedom.
ReplyDeleteIn China, the unit of society is the family. (Confucianism). The Chinese emphasize structured relationships and fitting in as appropriate.
Different worldviews with different ideologies and value systems. These are incompatible.
The historica dialectic in this century is shaping up as an intensification of the conflct between liberalism and traditionalism.
Many people in the West have this sense of superiority. Our modern culture, science, institutions, has led people to believe we are the best in the world. Even Russia and Eastern Europe are considered a bit backward compared to us and our culture.
DeleteBut China is leading ahead with its own culture, sophistication, superb science, and collective values. Its fashions are beautiful and its people are very cultured. They may even start to lead with their own type of modern music one day - although much of it based on Western styles.
People in the West are not used to it: They have always seen the rest of the world as primitive, but China may turn out to have more culture than us. The primitive individualism of many western people with their aggression (for instance, gun culture, no one can tell me to wear a mask, there is no such thing as society, you're on your own mate) is simply that - i.e, primitive.
The grass is greener on the other side of the fence. But all these self-loathing westerners can do is poke their heads in it. The rest of their bodies remain firmly planted in their country of origin because... culture.
ReplyDeleteEither pack up and move to China, or fix the problems that exist where you live.
“ But China is leading ahead with its own culture, sophistication, superb science, and collective values.”
ReplyDeleteLOL all they have ever done is hack the West...
The Chinese have just been sleeping for a few hundred years.
ReplyDeleteThe dragon has reawakened.
Everyone is hacking everyone if they are smart Matt. No one can come up with the best solution for everything, we all look around and look for answers to our questions. None of us are as original as we think we are
ReplyDeleteRegarding China and Silicon Valley technology, I remember reading something about how China was very open to those companies. They said, “you want our cheap labor, we get to try and reverse engineer your stuff”. No theft involved It was worth it to the US companies. They have made a killing.
Peter
ReplyDeleteThey are trying to fix the problems. Problem is stupid, xenophobic “white” people with guns and an I, me , mine attitude along with the politicians, institutions and corporations that spawned them/support them do a pretty good job of dismantling meaningful change. Obstinance and naked aggression can be effective for a while. We’ll get through this age of Qanon and outright celebration of ignorance. These idiots will lose eventually but it remains to be seen what will be left over
Greg
ReplyDeleteVirtue signaling doesn't fix anything.
Labeling something virtue signaling is a form of virtue signaling
ReplyDeleteI'm calling out bullshit. Waxing eloquent about China says more about someone's personal issues, than it does about the society they actually live in.
ReplyDelete