(January 2007) China Takes on the World

TIme Magazine ^ | January 11, 2007 | MICHAEL ELLIOTT

[steelboy]

Blink for a moment and you can imagine that--as many Chinese would tell the tale--after nearly 200 years of foreign .........., China is preparing for a date with destiny. "The Chinese wouldn't put it this way themselves," says Lieberthal. "But in their hearts I think they believe that the 21st century is China's century."

[Quix]

There is that.

That’s what scared them so much about and brought about Tienanmen.

[ribosomal soup]

However, she does say that Chinese males are the worst male chauvinist pigs on the planet, and that they excel at that.

I'm pretty sure Latin American, Korean and Japanese men have the Chinese beat on being male chauvinist pigs.

[Quix]

Certainly conceivable.

[Barney Gumble]

Some of y’all think that the US will easily dominate the next century. Don’t be so sure. China bares little resemblance to it’s Communist name. It is much more like a dictatorship with a market economy. China has 1.4 billion people, many whom are blossiming enterpeneurs and many whom are extremely hard working.

Contrast that to the ever ratching effect of cultural Marxism in the US. The benefits of hard work and enterprise are stymied by Marxists who classify them as greedy. Instead of holding standards at schools, they have been lowering standards. Kids who aren’t allowed to fail are being setup for huge failures in a global economy.

[AnotherUnixGeek]

Their culture is at least 7,000 years old though some aren’t aware of that. Most think it’s at least 5,000 years old.

Now they see China as waking up and taking her due place in the world. They expect to rule the world—some for a thousand years.

Again, such people do not understand how long a thousand years are. China's current rise in stature is due to it's economic prosperity, not it's culture(s). And China's economic prosperity and the military build-up it permits are no sure thing to continue even through this century, let alone the nine that will follow. Indeed, it's unlikely - exports to the US and Europe have fueled China's economic growth at an unsustainable pace through this decade. Further, China is hemmed in on all sides by other rising economic and military powers with no interest in allowing a Chinese hegemon to develop.

They expect to take over Australia—so much land—so little population—China needs it—China will be able to take it and will—is their perspective.

China's birthrate is slowing - their population is expected to plateau and begin declining sometime around the middle of this century (the same holds true for India, as both nations become more wealthy). China shows neither the will nor the capacity to take over Taiwan as yet - Australia is a fantasy.

[AnotherUnixGeek]

Some of y’all think that the US will easily dominate the next century.

Not easily, and perhaps not at all. But I think the prospect of US military, economic, and cultural dominance in the 21st century is far more likely than that of China's.

Don’t be so sure. China bares little resemblance to it’s Communist name. It is much more like a dictatorship with a market economy.

And there's a basic problem with that setup. All governments act at times in ways that harm the economy - dictatorships have more reasons to do this, because maintaining power must take priority over economic growth, and dictatorships can't be stopped from doing it by an angry electorate.

China has 1.4 billion people, many whom are blossiming enterpeneurs and many whom are extremely hard working.

The same could be said (with a slightly reduced population, a legal system based on British common law, and a functioning democracy) of India. My money is still on the US.

[Barney Gumble]

And there's a basic problem with that setup. All governments act at times in ways that harm the economy - dictatorships have more reasons to do this, because maintaining power must take priority over economic growth, and dictatorships can't be stopped from doing it by an angry electorate.

A similar thing could be said about democracies though. How many times have the Democrats seemed to stymie economic growth here, because a good economy means a re-elected party? How many "the economy is awful" stories did we hear before the 2004 elections (which seemed to have stopped immediately after the election)?

[Quix]

I hope you’re right.

Many there are quite serious about such plans.

But, I think the most important issue is that God has other plans that will prevent at least much of such for very long.

[Duke Nukum]

Easily? Maybe not. There will be ups and downs but the American ideal is very potent.

Americans produce Americans with a flexibility of thought that continues to produce novelty not produced even in other supposidly free countries.

In it’s darkest hours the United States has always come forth with the greatest innovations in spite of the pessimists at home and in spite of her enemies in the world.

[ribosomal soup]

I forgot Arabs and some Indians too. There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that Arab men are more male chauvinistic than the Chinese. To say that “Chinese males are the worst male chauvinist pigs on the planet” just means that the Chinese wife of roadcat had a mean or controlling father. Hardly a statement of objectivity. My Korean wife says the same thing about Korean men, because her father was an arse too. And guess what? I’m Chinese.

[ribosomal soup]

China's current rise in stature is due to it's economic prosperity, not it's culture(s).

China's current rise comes from the contributions of its very economically powerful overseas Chinese (including Hong Kong and Taiwan). The majority of China's foreign direct investment (FDI) comes from ETHNIC Chinese investors. There is a strong cultural interest for the overseas Chinese to see a strong China, not just an economic incentive. Thus, Chinese culture is playing a role in its rise, maybe not the kind of role you were envisioning, but nevertheless you don't see those overseas Chinese investors eagerly investing in Japan. Ultimately as China develops, it will play an increasingly larger role in cultural diffusion towards East Asia. But I wouldn't expect to see that until maybe 2050.

[roadcat]

To say that “Chinese males are the worst male chauvinist pigs on the planet” just means that the Chinese wife of roadcat had a mean or controlling father.

Yes, her father was mean and controlling, although he mellowed out somewhat after our kids were born. My Chinese wife watched her 2 brothers get the bulk of affection (and money), while she and her 3 sisters got little. The boys got everything they wanted, and more. (She and all her siblings were born and raised here in the USA.) She and her sisters all left their home after high school and went out on their own with nothing. The boys got college. The upshot? The girls are more successful in life than the boys. My wife makes 3 times what each of her brothers make, without a college education. (The USA is much better to women than China.)

In China, on her mother's side, the day after her grandfather's wife bore my wife's mother, the grandfather went out and adopted a boy. That adopted boy received the bulk of the estate. Which was stripped away by the communists when they took power, and when my wife's mom fled to the USA with her dad. Sometimes life evens things out.

[Quix]

Good points. I’m inclined to agree. Though some cultures seem to sanction bad fathering more than others.