Orville Schell on China, and the Melting of America
I just stumbled across this article by Orville Schell, on what is wrong with America. Schell is the the Director of the Asia Society’s Center on US-China Relations, as well as the former dean of my alma mater’s journalism school. The whole article is definitely worth a read. These lines about China particularly caught my attention. Emphasis mine.
China, a country I’ve visited more than 100 times since 1975, elicits an especially complicated set of feelings in me. After all, it’s got a Leninist government which was not supposed to succeed; and yet, despite all predictions, it managed to conjure up an economic miracle that, whatever you may think about political transparency, the rule of law, human rights, or democracy, delivers big time. When you’re there, you can feel an unmistakable sense of energy and optimism in the air (along with the often stinging pollution), which, believe me, is bittersweet for an American pondering the missing-in-action regenerative powers of his own country.
Read the full article here.
Nearly identical to the kind of remarks that my US friends make whenever I expound on anything positive that comes from China. Americans need to get out and live more places so that they can appreciate the “OK-ness” of differences, regardless of whether or not they are an affront to your personal values system. Just because you recognise that something is working and is right for the people living within a given syste doesn’t mean that it would work for you or that you even endorse it.
i like fareed zakaria’s analogy the best. he calls it “the rise of the rest”… it’s not that america is ‘melting’ or falling behind in everything; instead it’s that other countries are advancing and catching up. it’s not really anything to be afraid of (unless you’re a hyper xenophobe)
@Mike: Agreed. I think that learning to appreciate many different social structures, cultures, and value systems is so important. My personal values system has definitely evolved over time, as I’ve lived in places completely different from my rather liberal and suburban hometown in northern California.
@Luyi: Thanks so much for your comment, and for directing me to Fareed Zakaria’s description. I just found this link that describes his latest book. http://www.fareedzakaria.com/books/index.html
I’m American and I sure hope I haven’t come across as a hyper xenophobe. I think the “rise of the rest” can definitely be a good thing. I am particularly interested in green energy and I like Tyler Cowen’s comment in which he said whichever country figures this out first will ultimately be able to benefit the whole world. I quoted his piece here: http://www.leslieforman.com/2010/01/competition-coexist-china-cleantec/
Thanks for making me think 
On Facebook, my friend Beth left the following comment:
“very interesting, though i don’t feel the situation is quite so hopeless. just because the US doesn’t lead the world in absolutely everything doesn’t mean it’s a sinking ship. and yes, china’s economic miracle has materialized despite it’s closed government system, but i guess it just depends what kind of world we want to live in. i’d rather live in a democratic state that respects human rights but lacks high speed rail. (i know this comment is rather simplistic, but i’m trying not to write a novel)
”
It’s always so interesting to chat about China with friends from afar.