Confucius had two famous dicta. "you jiao wu lei" and "xue er you zu shi". The first means "education without regard to social classes"; the second means "administrators should come from ones who study well". These undeniably contain elements of "democratic meritocracy" mentioned by Professor Bell, especially considering they were said 2500 years ago. Classical Chinese literature was full of stories of poor students became able administrators by studying hard. Whether China can achieve democracy through a meritocratic route only time can tell. No one has done that, but that doesn't mean it can't be done.
2
Prof. Bell is part of a group of American academics in recent years who, disillusioned with Western style liberal democracy, advocate a different political model based on a Confucian social philosophy. Their work is interesting at an intellectual level. The problem in this case of new Confucianists is what they espouse is nowhere to be found in Chinese governance which is authoritarian, ideologically driven, and meritocratic only in name. And yet, at the same time, Dr. Bell's work is useful to the current Chinese regime for Anti-Western propaganda purposes. Whether he is censored or not he is, like most Western academics, treated well as a foreigner in the field. It is no mystery why he feels life is comfortable and does not want to leave.
The real question that political scientists like Dr. Bell should be asking is what the average person on the street thinks about this illiberal system which censors any thought or speech that are different from the party, which abides by state cronyism, disregards basic health needs of the population, and severely limits possibilities of economic betterment. In short, the simple question is how far women and children, who have no political or economic background, can move ahead in the current society. My observation is that it is not much.
The real question that political scientists like Dr. Bell should be asking is what the average person on the street thinks about this illiberal system which censors any thought or speech that are different from the party, which abides by state cronyism, disregards basic health needs of the population, and severely limits possibilities of economic betterment. In short, the simple question is how far women and children, who have no political or economic background, can move ahead in the current society. My observation is that it is not much.
4
Thought for this season: How can we talk about our superior society when black men are shot down in our streets like wild dogs?
As America shares its role as a world power, can we just "cling to the Bible and guns" as our guide? Can the Bible feed, house and provide work for the 1.3 billion people in China? Can our guns police the world for democracy and Christian values when we can't even win little wars in places like Vietnam and Iraq?
Thank you, Prof. Bell, for bringing up a subject that can not be discussed openly in our country... for fear of being called, once again, a communist and un-American.
As America shares its role as a world power, can we just "cling to the Bible and guns" as our guide? Can the Bible feed, house and provide work for the 1.3 billion people in China? Can our guns police the world for democracy and Christian values when we can't even win little wars in places like Vietnam and Iraq?
Thank you, Prof. Bell, for bringing up a subject that can not be discussed openly in our country... for fear of being called, once again, a communist and un-American.
1
It seems that many readers are upset with the term ‘democratic meritocracy’.
History demonstrates the path of ruling groups from Meritocracy to Aristocracy… all, all of them lead to corruption including socialism and democracy.
Most aristocratic regimes started out as a kind of meritocracy if only on the battlefield. The problems come when these meritorious individuals age and begin to cement the family social position and holdings to ensure their offspring are "meritorious and wealthy" as well.
•Aristocracies example are European heads of state.
•Capitalism example are dynamic companies are run into the ground by the 3rd generation.
•Political Aristocracies examples are the Kennedys, Bushes & Clintons.
Here in America, we keep electing the same "Natural Aristocracy" term after term without them ever being meritorious.
History demonstrates the path of ruling groups from Meritocracy to Aristocracy… all, all of them lead to corruption including socialism and democracy.
Most aristocratic regimes started out as a kind of meritocracy if only on the battlefield. The problems come when these meritorious individuals age and begin to cement the family social position and holdings to ensure their offspring are "meritorious and wealthy" as well.
•Aristocracies example are European heads of state.
•Capitalism example are dynamic companies are run into the ground by the 3rd generation.
•Political Aristocracies examples are the Kennedys, Bushes & Clintons.
Here in America, we keep electing the same "Natural Aristocracy" term after term without them ever being meritorious.
3
Prof. Bell's experience parallels my own during a decade in China teaching at Shantou University in Guangdong Province with my journalist colleagues Peter Arnett and Dave Marash. We were warned about the dangers of dealing with sensitive subjects, principally the three Ts - Taiwan, Tiananmen, and Tibet. Perverse journalists that we are, of course we taught those subjects as the basis for student discussion as has Prof. Bell in his fields. Even more important was the opportunity to teach subjects that are now only beginning to be taught in Chinese High Schools and Universities: social and sexual development, and gender equality, the foundations of modern social and economic development. But most important of all was critical thinking, the tools of civil society that permit the young to grow and advance their society, no matter what form it may take. We were not interfered with. If anything, we were encouraged sotto voce, often by party members who recognized the value in teaching values, wherever they came from. What shot us down finally was the cover of age. We had been in violation of mandatory retirement rules as we advanced into our late 70s, but again sotto voce, we were permitted to keep teaching. When the new Jinping administration came along, within its first year, we were suddenly too old to continue.
2
This defense of the “Chinese democratic meritocracy” (or is it “meritocratic democracy”?) by Daniel A. Bell (not to be confused with the late Daniel Bell) makes one wonder: Why an American professor of political science would consider the Chinese one party system a real alternative to Western liberal democracy in which he is thoroughly steeped? It suggests that the two systems, despite their differences, may actually have much in common.
A close examination confirms this intuition. Both systems are essentially elitist. Our popular elections, our rights and freedoms are not designed to tap into our creative potential in governing the country. Their purpose is not to empower common citizens. They are designed merely to protect common citizens from abuses of power by the elites.
Elite rule, not matter in what form, emphasizes the power of hierarchies. Indeed, hierarchies try to bring fresh blood into their midst. But they resort to these infusions only to preserve what essentially is power of the few over the many.
A close examination confirms this intuition. Both systems are essentially elitist. Our popular elections, our rights and freedoms are not designed to tap into our creative potential in governing the country. Their purpose is not to empower common citizens. They are designed merely to protect common citizens from abuses of power by the elites.
Elite rule, not matter in what form, emphasizes the power of hierarchies. Indeed, hierarchies try to bring fresh blood into their midst. But they resort to these infusions only to preserve what essentially is power of the few over the many.
Banning the ideas of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels defines Communism post-Lenin.
1
Chinese governance needs to break out of thinking solely based on what they believe they know, what they assume, to what they have increasingly experienced and knowledge gained that will equate to making wise choices.
Their leaders are so entrenched in their diligences that that they still have not learned how to reason laterally or horizontally. China’s changes usually goes a mile deep but only an inch wide.
Successful governance of China depends not on Western Walues, but on making the right progressive changes based on knowledge and experiences of the past. If China gives its people the time and opportunities to explore the past, attentiveness, cultural designs, ways of being and doing, and other “adjacent possibilities” they will make the next logical progression in their culture.
The formula: Experience + Knowledge = Wisdom.
Their leaders are so entrenched in their diligences that that they still have not learned how to reason laterally or horizontally. China’s changes usually goes a mile deep but only an inch wide.
Successful governance of China depends not on Western Walues, but on making the right progressive changes based on knowledge and experiences of the past. If China gives its people the time and opportunities to explore the past, attentiveness, cultural designs, ways of being and doing, and other “adjacent possibilities” they will make the next logical progression in their culture.
The formula: Experience + Knowledge = Wisdom.
1
'"Chinese-style democratic meritocracy is the only viable alternative to liberal democracy, "' and '" Huh? Where was this false dichotomy pulled from?"', wrote Query. This is the very thought that occurred to me having read the article. For me "Chinese-style democratic meritocracy" is more an oligarchy, power resting in the hand of a few. Admittedly, the 3000 in the amount of the representatives of the National People's Congress would usually imply more than a few. However in relation to the entire population few is relative. The National People's Congress seems more like a board of directors, exclusive in its very nature, for a huge company. How we can have given away our technical know-how to this sort of power, and bastardization of the concept of democracy is beyond me. The idea of letting business lead the fight for democracy by thinking capitalism will lead to democracy should now be as a consequence defunct. We have created a monster. My intention is not to offend any Chinese by using that word as a description of the system. I can separate the nature of a people from the nature of its governing organization.
2
What is needed in China is a genuine and democratic socialist revolution. The current one-party capitalist dictatorship is full of cronyism, corruption and nepotism. I am yet to be persuaded that President Xi Jinping's so-called anti-corruption campaign is going to have a positive outcome. As a democratic socialist and free-thinker, I would fear being arrested if I were to go to China and speak my mind. This is the antithesis of genuine socialism.
Robert
Cronyism, corruption and nepotism is not just in China. By not letting China evolve as it should naturally it has adopted all the vales of the West. They have even resorted to invasion of other countries.
Cronyism, corruption and nepotism is not just in China. By not letting China evolve as it should naturally it has adopted all the vales of the West. They have even resorted to invasion of other countries.
1
There is very little, particularly in terms of value, that the Judo/Christian world can bestow on China. the West's,'s more recent not so marketable products are
- the highly exploitative and obscenely profitable Open Market of the rest of the world
And
-the sham Western style Democracy that is exercised under the crucial,influence of corrupt money, both buy and sell.
both are ""legitimate"descendants of Western colonialism of the old European powers and of the recently upgraded USA .
Both are the upgraded tools of colonialism and imperialism that no sane non Western community will ever adopt despite criminally aggressive attempts at imposing it, as obvious from the Iraq case
The west'earlier attempts at selling ideology included the unlamented doctrine of fascism/nazism and the increasingly denuded proto colonialism/imperialism of Zionism failed to attract any serious,patriotic, buyers,
By any reasonable, sane standard it is the West that should import, learn and digest Asian and Oriiental values
- the highly exploitative and obscenely profitable Open Market of the rest of the world
And
-the sham Western style Democracy that is exercised under the crucial,influence of corrupt money, both buy and sell.
both are ""legitimate"descendants of Western colonialism of the old European powers and of the recently upgraded USA .
Both are the upgraded tools of colonialism and imperialism that no sane non Western community will ever adopt despite criminally aggressive attempts at imposing it, as obvious from the Iraq case
The west'earlier attempts at selling ideology included the unlamented doctrine of fascism/nazism and the increasingly denuded proto colonialism/imperialism of Zionism failed to attract any serious,patriotic, buyers,
By any reasonable, sane standard it is the West that should import, learn and digest Asian and Oriiental values
2
How well can you teach political theory if you cannot discuss political practice? Are questions about China's political system ever discussed openly?
3
It is not at all surprising that the Chinese government has banned the teaching of western values in the universities. By encouraging teaching of western values and thoughts, you are sowing seeds of possible dissent against the communist regime.
It must be remembered that the great Mahatma Gandhi's idea of non violence and individual liberty came from reading Bible, John Ruskin's 'Unto the Last' and the works of John Stuart Mill and Socrates. On the other hand, by forcing the students to read Karl Mark, Engels, and other critics of capitalism, you will end up brainwashing students into believing that who will think that their ideology will only lead to equality in the society. The Chinese students, unlike others, do not have access to various sites in the internet, and they l have no opportunity to read contrarian views and decide for themselves which is the best ideology suited to them.
By banning the works of western authors, you are only denying them their basic right to acquire knowledge and form their own conclusion.
It must be remembered that the great Mahatma Gandhi's idea of non violence and individual liberty came from reading Bible, John Ruskin's 'Unto the Last' and the works of John Stuart Mill and Socrates. On the other hand, by forcing the students to read Karl Mark, Engels, and other critics of capitalism, you will end up brainwashing students into believing that who will think that their ideology will only lead to equality in the society. The Chinese students, unlike others, do not have access to various sites in the internet, and they l have no opportunity to read contrarian views and decide for themselves which is the best ideology suited to them.
By banning the works of western authors, you are only denying them their basic right to acquire knowledge and form their own conclusion.
2
yes - I have met a young guy from China in Australia who was spouting rhetoric like a tape-recording about how China was better and Westerners were stupid - yet he wanted to stay in Australia - I was like 'what are you thinking ?' - I think it took him 6 months or so before the brainwashing started to wear off ...
1
Like the Board of Education in Texas
1
In his autobiography, Mahatma Gandhi wrote that during his student days he read the Gospels seriously and considered converting to Christianity. He believed that in the teachings of Jesus he could find the solution to the caste system that was dividing the people of India.
However, these teachings of Love of all man no matter what their status, has been loss in Western Values.
However, these teachings of Love of all man no matter what their status, has been loss in Western Values.
1
China is a "democratic meritocracy"??? Did he really mean to say that?
3
I am reminded of what my wise, self-educated father told me many years ago. He was speaking of the Soviet Union at the time. He said that the autocratic system there was planting the seeds of its own destruction by educating the masses. It make no difference, he had concluded, what subjects are the majors. Education encourages people to think, and once they start to think, they eventually will begin to think for themselves, rather than accept whatever they are told to believe. He also said (and I never can forget) that if we do not bring the underdeveloped world up to our standard of living, they eventually will drag us down to their's. It would seem that his predictions were correct.
Not bad for an immigrant whose own formal education had ended at 8th grade.
Not bad for an immigrant whose own formal education had ended at 8th grade.
3
You mistakenly believe that education is learning how to think.
2
Sorry, but in WHAT possible sense is China a "democratic meritocracy"?? Government officials may be accountable to colleagues within their particular faction, or to Party power-brokers at higher levels, but not to anything like the Chinese 'demos' as such. The courts have no substantive independence. Basically nothing about the country's form of political order is democratic. And as for it being a meritocracy: people with wealth & guanxi (connections) can as a rule secure their desired permits and jobs--not to mention their favored verdicts in court--while everyone else has to get in line and lump it. Cheating and plagiarism are rife in Chinese universities, even at the highest levels. I taught at Tsinghua & Beida for 4 years and was shocked at the extent to which connections trump merit in basically every sphere of public life.
4
You can talk about democracy and freedom until your blue in the face, but once you've lived in it and dealt with the state agencies that don't operate the way the NYT spins it, you see how they wind up with so many people in jail or how they got into Vietnam and Iraq. They don't even want to talk about something as mundane as 50 Billion dollars a year moving through the divorce courts or the hypocrisy of the family court fantasy of protecting the children which is a case of the swine feeding at the trough. Here they have a different style of masking oppression that few university intellectuals want to talk about.
2
Eastern values vs. Western values. In the end we are all the same. We are all just dealing with power structures that want to keep power. The West has it's own way of muffling discourse. There is a faction here that muffles any glorification of socialism, any thoughts of pure communism. We have are own way of "teaching" capitalism. The sad thing, I think deep down in our heart of hearts, whether in China or America, we all just really want honest, fair community, and, in doing so, we gravitate toward economic sameness in our social groupings: The rich hang with the rich, The poor with the poor. The common denominator in both countries: The power protects itself by any means necessary.
Tweak textbooks, scold professors to a point. In the end, revolution, truth, always finds the light.
Tweak textbooks, scold professors to a point. In the end, revolution, truth, always finds the light.
"Selfishness beats altruism within groups. Altruistic groups beat selfish groups. Everything else is commentary" - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Sloan_Wilson
from that statement I would infer that the worst case is to be an altruistic person in a selfish society - let's say Falung Gong in China - I'm told likely to suffer live organ removal - total worth maybe $100k to the Chinese powers-that-be
best case is to be a selfish individual in an altruistic society - as in God shows what he thinks of US Porsche drivers by who he gives them to ?
from that statement I would infer that the worst case is to be an altruistic person in a selfish society - let's say Falung Gong in China - I'm told likely to suffer live organ removal - total worth maybe $100k to the Chinese powers-that-be
best case is to be a selfish individual in an altruistic society - as in God shows what he thinks of US Porsche drivers by who he gives them to ?
Tell that to Ilham Tohti, the university professor who was just sentenced to life in prison in September. And to his seven students who were also arrested.
As reported in NYT article ‘China Sentences Uighur Scholar to Life’
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/24/world/asia/china-court-sentences-uighu...
As reported in NYT article ‘China Sentences Uighur Scholar to Life’
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/24/world/asia/china-court-sentences-uighu...
5
I have read everything by Professor Bell that I have been able to find, partly because he reenforces my feeling that China is, despite some bumps in the road, such as a shaky human rights record, headed in the right direction. We interested China Watchers are fortunate to have his insider views.
1
When will American readers be able to read a piece in an American newspaper with the title "Teaching 'Chinese Values' in America?"
I suspect that such a piece will signal a far greater openness on the part of the West to Chinese cultural history and thereby do more to promote "western values" such as plurality, equality, and universality than articles and opinion pieces that lament the difficulties of raising western ideas within Chinese universities. In other words, if we truly value diversity of ideas and peoples, then we must engage with other cultures on their terms and with their language(s), especially within our own culture.
Regrettably, despite Professor Bell's extensive experience and knowledge of Chinese culture, western readers of this piece will only come away with the usual soundbites vis-a-vis contemporary China: corruption, censorship, and the supremacy of western ideas such as free speech (which, incidentally, is restricted in most western countries).
Indeed, a piece ostensibly about China actually reflects our own unwillingness or inability to engage with other cultures in an unmediated manner without the crutches of our own language (Enlightenment-derived notions of freedom), cultural traditions (largely Christian and European), and, dare I say, politically and culturally chauvinistic outlook.
I suspect that such a piece will signal a far greater openness on the part of the West to Chinese cultural history and thereby do more to promote "western values" such as plurality, equality, and universality than articles and opinion pieces that lament the difficulties of raising western ideas within Chinese universities. In other words, if we truly value diversity of ideas and peoples, then we must engage with other cultures on their terms and with their language(s), especially within our own culture.
Regrettably, despite Professor Bell's extensive experience and knowledge of Chinese culture, western readers of this piece will only come away with the usual soundbites vis-a-vis contemporary China: corruption, censorship, and the supremacy of western ideas such as free speech (which, incidentally, is restricted in most western countries).
Indeed, a piece ostensibly about China actually reflects our own unwillingness or inability to engage with other cultures in an unmediated manner without the crutches of our own language (Enlightenment-derived notions of freedom), cultural traditions (largely Christian and European), and, dare I say, politically and culturally chauvinistic outlook.
7
Ever been to a liberal arts college, such as Carleton or Oberlin or Haverford, where they do teach Chinese values?
1
Dear Brian,
the so-called Chinese values have been well-known in the West since at least the 15th century in Italy and France. Da Vinci, Voltaire, Montesquieu, Condillac and what was called the "physiocrat" movement of the 17th century was such in awe of Confucianism that Nietzsche often made fun of Immanuel Kant and Voltaire calling them "Chinamen". The economic ideology of "laissez-faire" government were developed in France at that time while learning extensively from China.
Maybe you should learn about our common Western culture FIRST before passing such moralizing and pretentious judgments.
PS: Maybe you can enlighten us on how the Chinese concept of freedom differs from ours. I've been living in China for 20 years and I still find it's the same.
the so-called Chinese values have been well-known in the West since at least the 15th century in Italy and France. Da Vinci, Voltaire, Montesquieu, Condillac and what was called the "physiocrat" movement of the 17th century was such in awe of Confucianism that Nietzsche often made fun of Immanuel Kant and Voltaire calling them "Chinamen". The economic ideology of "laissez-faire" government were developed in France at that time while learning extensively from China.
Maybe you should learn about our common Western culture FIRST before passing such moralizing and pretentious judgments.
PS: Maybe you can enlighten us on how the Chinese concept of freedom differs from ours. I've been living in China for 20 years and I still find it's the same.
2
Consider that in the West, if your want to hold public meeting to discuss something you just go ahead and organize it. If you are somewhat more formal, you arrange a meeting space for it.
By comparison in China, if you want to discuss something in a public forum, you need to get explicit approval from the Chinese Communist Party. What's more, every company, law firm, and university department must include a representative of the Chinese Communist Party.
By comparison in China, if you want to discuss something in a public forum, you need to get explicit approval from the Chinese Communist Party. What's more, every company, law firm, and university department must include a representative of the Chinese Communist Party.
1
I detect a good dose of academic Stockholm syndrome on display here, likely necessitated by political realities and native loyalties. Earlier I heard about the alternative "Chinese political model," but the new label is "democratic meritocracy." Can Western scholars based in China really give a candid, true and objective analysis of how these labels used to justify the power structure by the Chinese communist regime stack up against the Western political-economic model, knowing that they could be put on the next flight out of the country? Or are we left to snippets of doubts and criticisms within the larger obligatory framing that China's system works well for the Chinese people and gives enough freedom to academics?
1
It's not necessary for China to learn Western values because Hollywood is happily funding Chinese propaganda just to make a few bucks:
http://mankabros.com/blogs/onmedea/2012/05/03/is-hollywood-funding-chine...
http://mankabros.com/blogs/onmedea/2012/05/03/is-hollywood-funding-chine...
Professor Bell, I am a professor in California, and I cannot understand why any academic from a democracy would live and work in China. I really don't see what you hope to accomplish, and I can't imagine the sacrifices you've made by living there. The whole idea boggles my mind.
1
As a university teacher in Western China I can add that I rarely need to worry about my university cracking down on my liberal opinions for the students do it for them. In the years that I've been teaching, I've recently witnessed quite a shift from an America-obsession perspective of students to one that is extremely nationalistic and proud of Chinese ideology and traditions. Ultimately, which trend will prevail only time can tell.
perhaps comparable to the West - when people become newly rich, they can feel proud of their achievements
as Samuel Johnson said 'patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel' - I'm guessing new billionaires in China will wave the flag to try to hide the great crimes they've committed in obtaining those riches.
as Samuel Johnson said 'patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel' - I'm guessing new billionaires in China will wave the flag to try to hide the great crimes they've committed in obtaining those riches.
We are under some false perceptions that every nation with it's own values and culture should imbibe 'Western values' which is the epitome for all values. Frankly, they don't have to because they don't need to. If Westerners feel uncomfortable with their values they have two options - either imbibe the values of the country you are in or just leave! But we should stop carping about their values and willing them to change. This supercilious attitude that we have is like the imposition of religions foreign on age-old civilizations albeit with a soft touch. But the concept is the same. This is the very reason there is so much strife currently.
2
The write says, "...the (Chinese) government has recently called for the strengthening of Marxist ideology in universities and a ban on 'teaching materials that disseminate Western values in our classrooms.'" He continues, "...It would mean banning not just the ideas of John Stuart Mill and John Rawls, but also those of such thinkers as Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels." It is strange that the writer who is a professor of the Schwarzman Scholars program at Tsinghua University in Beijing does not know what China means by "Western values" are the decadent values of capitalist society. Surprisingly he dose not even see that he is contradicting himself when he says the government has called for strengthening Marxist ideology in universities and in the next sentence he says banning Western values means banning the ideas of Marx and Engels!
V.M.Mohanraj, India
V.M.Mohanraj, India
3
Is Western democracy really the key or were we just lucky in discovering the industrial revolution? The White House is trying to shove TPP down our throats with minimal debate. Is that Western democracy in action? The middle class has stagnated for 30 years, meanwhile our Western democracy pits one identity group against another identity group. On critical issues from foreign policy to immigration to our ever strengthening 1% plutocracy, we've made very little progress or even come close to a roadmap or consensus as a country.
The Democrats views illegal immigrants as future Democratic voters, while the Republicans want illegal immigrants for cheap labor. Meanwhile the wishes of the majority of Americans (selective legal and targeted immigration) get ignored but is left footing the bill on social costs.
I guess my point is there will be a lot of people here who will knee-jerk into criticizing China's political system, most of which are well deserved. But let China figure itself out, heaven knows we don't really even know what we are doing.
The Democrats views illegal immigrants as future Democratic voters, while the Republicans want illegal immigrants for cheap labor. Meanwhile the wishes of the majority of Americans (selective legal and targeted immigration) get ignored but is left footing the bill on social costs.
I guess my point is there will be a lot of people here who will knee-jerk into criticizing China's political system, most of which are well deserved. But let China figure itself out, heaven knows we don't really even know what we are doing.
1
This reads like a editorial from the China Daily rag. Absolute party-approved trash.
1
The only reason that Chinese authority gives you a shelter for such political pressure comes from your nationality. Just look back on Ilham Tohti, you might have a fresh look about your luck.
"Chinese-style democratic meritocracy is the only viable alternative to liberal democracy, and I have front row seats to China’s experiment."
And the writer is a political theorist? Perhaps theory did not predict that this "experiment" and the path to it would result in tens of millions of lives lost. In families being placed under house arrest and entire generations of relatives tarnished with criminal records; in Chinese invasion and occupation of sovereign nations and the slow eradication of entire cultures that do not interest the Party ideologues. Mr Bell - one does not experiment in this way with entire populations of people. The world went to war in the last century to ensure that would not happen again.
It does not matter whether Western or other values are taught or not at Chinese universities. From what we are seeing, China needs a heavy infusion of human values and respect for other nations and cultures. Only then will it learn to respect and value its own people.
And the writer is a political theorist? Perhaps theory did not predict that this "experiment" and the path to it would result in tens of millions of lives lost. In families being placed under house arrest and entire generations of relatives tarnished with criminal records; in Chinese invasion and occupation of sovereign nations and the slow eradication of entire cultures that do not interest the Party ideologues. Mr Bell - one does not experiment in this way with entire populations of people. The world went to war in the last century to ensure that would not happen again.
It does not matter whether Western or other values are taught or not at Chinese universities. From what we are seeing, China needs a heavy infusion of human values and respect for other nations and cultures. Only then will it learn to respect and value its own people.
The commentary appears to be a rather self-serving piece on why someone who should be pursuing academic freedom has found an excuse to feel scholarly. Academic and political freedom cannot be discussed on the fringe, as if the fact that it may not be 'boring' somehow excuses the denial of the freedoms that the Chinese citizens should have, and which the professor absolutely cannot talk about in his class.
The censorship is only getting worse, and the people who've had a taste of what freedom is like will not be quiet for long. Rather than relying on wishful thinking that things will loosen up, he may consider that his arguments are exactly the reason that the Communist Leaders feel this problem will go away--that there are always a handful of foreign sympathizers to the ruthless policies of a government that continue to deny its citizens (and my of the minorities) any freedom of expression.
The censorship is only getting worse, and the people who've had a taste of what freedom is like will not be quiet for long. Rather than relying on wishful thinking that things will loosen up, he may consider that his arguments are exactly the reason that the Communist Leaders feel this problem will go away--that there are always a handful of foreign sympathizers to the ruthless policies of a government that continue to deny its citizens (and my of the minorities) any freedom of expression.
5
Western Values, Eastern Values, it's all the same flipping borscht.
It's a noxious , predatory planet that is capable of waking up but which
finds it more convenient to chomp potato chips than to wake up.
It's a noxious , predatory planet that is capable of waking up but which
finds it more convenient to chomp potato chips than to wake up.
The USA`s big mistake was to assume that our opening for China would cause China to adopt western values. Once again,Americans proved themselves clueless in foreign policy. China doesn't want american style culture. China desires hegemony, which it sees as its Manifest Destiny.
We would do well, in this country, to talk about the value of harmony as opposed to unbridled free speech. Our founders intended us to have complete freedom to speak our minds politically but that has been turned into freedom to insult one another, to espouse ridiculous points of view, and to embrace hate. Surely there's a middle ground.
The modern Chinese political model is essentially the Singapore model expanded for a country of over a billion. In 1978, two years after Mao Zedong's death, China's leader Deng Xiaoping took a trip to Singapore and was shocked at what he saw: an orderly, high-functioning majority Chinese society that was also not a Western democracy. He would spend the rest of trip picking Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew's brain. Immediately after coming back to China, Deng Xiaoping created the "Special Economic Zones," starting with a mud village called Shenzhen and culminating with the opening of Shanghai in 1993. The rest is history. Deng's idea was to create as many Singapore city-states as he could within China and it worked better than he could have ever imagined. The problem with this model is that over time without the reset button of elections, corruption takes over. Corruption in a 5 million people city like Singapore is a lot easier to expose and get a grip upon than in a country as diverse and unequal as China.
2
We all can, and should judge the value and position of this professor from the fact that he, like some of his peers, is allowed (qualified) to teach in a top Chinese university. That fact says all about where he stands on China matters and values.
Science, political and otherwise, having to accommodate to a rigid ideology, is an awful insult to our thought processes, and to truth and reality as we know it. China ought to know better; muzzling somebody's imagination will never vindicate its system.
Dear Dr Bell, the fake naivete of this piece would make any propagandist proud!
The students that go trough Tsinghua and Beijing U are aware that they are part of the elite. They are not just part of the infamous 1% but literally the 0.0001%, as they represent a mere ten thousand out of 1.5 billion people. They are the new cadres of the Communist aristocracy. They are more than clever enough not to spit in the soup!
You dare call this system a "democratic" meritocracy...? So the American, British and French students going through Ivy Leagues, Oxbridge or Grandes Ecoles are just lazy, entitled, decadent hippies that do not merit as much as their Chinese counterparts?
Continue taking the Chinese money, mon cher "docteur"!
The students that go trough Tsinghua and Beijing U are aware that they are part of the elite. They are not just part of the infamous 1% but literally the 0.0001%, as they represent a mere ten thousand out of 1.5 billion people. They are the new cadres of the Communist aristocracy. They are more than clever enough not to spit in the soup!
You dare call this system a "democratic" meritocracy...? So the American, British and French students going through Ivy Leagues, Oxbridge or Grandes Ecoles are just lazy, entitled, decadent hippies that do not merit as much as their Chinese counterparts?
Continue taking the Chinese money, mon cher "docteur"!
1
From 2010-2014 I taught English at a mid-level university in Guangdong Province. My students were so pathetically apolitical and apathetic that it drove me insane. It went all ways, however. They complained bitterly about having to endure hours-long lectures about "Mao Zedong Thought." Western politics bored them just as much. They cared not one iota about Tibet and Xinjiang and bought right into the Party line about both places being filled with ingrates who should be happy to be part of a prosperous and wonderful China. There were a few who felt genuinely stifled but VERY few. They were by and large very nice kids but they were, to respectfully disagree with the author, boring. Most wanted nothing more than to get out of school, get married and have kids. I used to wonder very frequently why the female students even bothered to go to university at all. What I have concluded is that the purpose of university in China is almost the exact opposite of what it is in the USA, and probably the West in general. Instead of trying to cultivate individuality and helping a student find himself (or herself) the main task of a Chinese university is to force all its students to think and act the same.
8
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China made a choice over thirty-five years ago. She turned away from ideology and towards competition and the open society. Enormous success followed. Now however, she must stay the course and become ever more cutting edge. It is that or regress. Performing in the front rank means becoming a pioneer of the new. The most important equipment for that is freedom. There is no stepping into the wilderness of untried things with bound feet.
Understandably Beijing has became wary and hesitant. The costs of her success, of breaking away from her old failures and misery have become clear.
Look at Chinas' gleaming new skyscraper cities. They are indistinguishable from ours, except being newer they are shinier and nicer. A great success? Not quite. Beijing has in effect been repeating what Chicago started to erect 130 years ago.
China found her path by walking in the West's shoes. Everything she is proudest of today, what works best, her science and technology, her economy, her educational system, her military, it is all western. Daniel Bell's Tsinghua University was built with reparations exacted from China for bitterly resisting colonialism. China has today surrendered voluntarily. It was a right move, it made sense, still it smarts.
It causes unease. It rouses truculence and nationalist pique and pronouncements against western values; all of which the new Chinese honcho, Xi Jinping, incarnates.
China made a choice over thirty-five years ago. She turned away from ideology and towards competition and the open society. Enormous success followed. Now however, she must stay the course and become ever more cutting edge. It is that or regress. Performing in the front rank means becoming a pioneer of the new. The most important equipment for that is freedom. There is no stepping into the wilderness of untried things with bound feet.
Understandably Beijing has became wary and hesitant. The costs of her success, of breaking away from her old failures and misery have become clear.
Look at Chinas' gleaming new skyscraper cities. They are indistinguishable from ours, except being newer they are shinier and nicer. A great success? Not quite. Beijing has in effect been repeating what Chicago started to erect 130 years ago.
China found her path by walking in the West's shoes. Everything she is proudest of today, what works best, her science and technology, her economy, her educational system, her military, it is all western. Daniel Bell's Tsinghua University was built with reparations exacted from China for bitterly resisting colonialism. China has today surrendered voluntarily. It was a right move, it made sense, still it smarts.
It causes unease. It rouses truculence and nationalist pique and pronouncements against western values; all of which the new Chinese honcho, Xi Jinping, incarnates.
1
I believe what Prof. Bell said is true but there is something notable in Chinese political system. The censorship is flexible. How it works depends on who the censors are. There are many administrative departments on different levels, visible or invisible, state or local, authorized to regulate the media, especially the Internet.
As for teachers in universities, there are several sensitive topics you cannot discuss, or just mention in the classroom. Generally, the topics include the highest leaders of CCP, the mass killings in Culture Revolution, and violence on Tiananmen Square in 1989, etc. These are specific topics. Instead, if you just introduce some political ideas from the West to China, that will be fine. Because specific topics and guilty history of CCP, rather than grand issues of political theory, would trigger the distrust and anger toward CCP's regime.
As for teachers in universities, there are several sensitive topics you cannot discuss, or just mention in the classroom. Generally, the topics include the highest leaders of CCP, the mass killings in Culture Revolution, and violence on Tiananmen Square in 1989, etc. These are specific topics. Instead, if you just introduce some political ideas from the West to China, that will be fine. Because specific topics and guilty history of CCP, rather than grand issues of political theory, would trigger the distrust and anger toward CCP's regime.
"Chinese-style democratic meritocracy is the only viable alternative to liberal democracy, "
Huh? Where was this false dichotomy pulled from?
Huh? Where was this false dichotomy pulled from?
30
Name me one other political system in the world today that is not a liberal democracy with an economy that can rival the US and give the US tremendous economic competition (a run for its money if you will).
The Chinese masses are very happy with Xi`s nationalistic agenda.
Prof Bell. As you state" "the good news..." in your classroom..... the "bad news" is that, as a "foreigner", the government "tolerates you" and "watches your classroom" (taking copious notes...and not to learn better how to teach like you, but how to teach "around you"!) Like you, I currently live in China....continuously....for 10 years. About the only thing I agree with you about is your notion that you had much more confidence in the Chinese govt, and the direction of this country, 10 years ago...as I did! As an expat with a Shanghai wife and a 6yo daughter in a semi-international school here, I whole-heartedly disagree with your assessment of the edu system here, and I watch...in bemusement, perplexity, and, at times, horror....at my daughter's experiences, daily, to prove my point. And, for our daughter's edu and future, we too will leave China, for the States, soon! As a Mainland Chinese father told me YESTERDAY, over coffee, "the (edu) system here takes the spirit from the child". SO correct!! Do you have children here? 99% of "foreigners" refuse to allow their children to be educated here for more than a short time. I understand well, why! My Chinese friend, in his country, understands, too! Hmmm? And, really, as a "foreigner", you are .000000001% of the teacher professionals here. They isolate you, they tolerate you, they watch you. I wonder how the other 99.9999% of Chinese educators feel about their personal freedoms, and their freedoms in their classrooms???
20
I've been teaching in China for 15 years and I've learned that criticizing government censorship or any other unjust policy is criticizing China. I learned the hard way to stay away from sensitive topics, but I do make it clear to my students that the greatest injustice is to keep people away from information whether it is fact or opinion, and I don't need to explain to them who I'm talking about. The Chinese are becoming more educated, and someday they will demand "western values" because of the freedom they offer. That day, alas, looks to be a long way off.
6
If the Chinese are extremely suspicious of Western-style civil and political liberties and disseminate Western values they indeed have very good reason for apprehension.
Rajiv Malhotra argues in "Being Different, An Indian Challenge to Western Universalism" from an Indian perspective ideally fits Chinese apprehensions too of the West "ethnocentric blueprint of what the world should look like, the Western collective ego has embarked on scores of missions – religious and secular (colonization), to bring about this Westernization."
"The West is both the driver of history and the ultimate, desirable destination of the entire world... purportedly provides the ideal template to which all other civilizations and cultures must contort, be pruned, trimmed or reconfigured to fit, or else be eliminated or sidelined by some means.Of course, universalism cannot be Western.... only a particular culture’s perception and lived experience of the world. The phrase “Western Universalism” is an oxymoron and I use it to highlight the hubris of this mindset. Rather than view it’s own culture as one that is the product of the unique history, geography, climate, myths, sacred literature, religion, empires and conflicts of ethnic groups and tribes of the North-Western hemisphere of the globe (a group that comprises less than 20% of humanity, and is shrinking), it assumes that it’s knowledge systems, epistemology, history, myths and religions should be the norm for all of the world’s peoples!"
Rajiv Malhotra argues in "Being Different, An Indian Challenge to Western Universalism" from an Indian perspective ideally fits Chinese apprehensions too of the West "ethnocentric blueprint of what the world should look like, the Western collective ego has embarked on scores of missions – religious and secular (colonization), to bring about this Westernization."
"The West is both the driver of history and the ultimate, desirable destination of the entire world... purportedly provides the ideal template to which all other civilizations and cultures must contort, be pruned, trimmed or reconfigured to fit, or else be eliminated or sidelined by some means.Of course, universalism cannot be Western.... only a particular culture’s perception and lived experience of the world. The phrase “Western Universalism” is an oxymoron and I use it to highlight the hubris of this mindset. Rather than view it’s own culture as one that is the product of the unique history, geography, climate, myths, sacred literature, religion, empires and conflicts of ethnic groups and tribes of the North-Western hemisphere of the globe (a group that comprises less than 20% of humanity, and is shrinking), it assumes that it’s knowledge systems, epistemology, history, myths and religions should be the norm for all of the world’s peoples!"
15
I don't think that Bell was arguing that Chinese students should be educated according to a Western model. I think that he was arguing that Chinese students should be exposed to a wide range of topics, including what the Western model (to the extent that such a unitary thing even exists) is. Those things are not the same. Supporting catholic education and opposing censorship is NOT a unique trait of Western civilization.
You may--or may not--be correct in your claims about Western attitudes, but what does that have to do with a government preventing its people from learning about Western ideas and reading Western authors? Have Chinese officials so little faith in their own cultural beliefs and traditions that they fear simply reading about Western ideas will immediately cause their citizens to abandon their own culture?
Mr Krishnan, with respect, your own country is more rapidly adopting the "western ideas" - more accurately described as the system that evolved from many sources over millennia, not just the north-western "hemisphere" - than most, and is the world's largest liberal democracy. I believe Prof Bell is advocating for an alternative to that that is evolving in China - see here http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/01/opinion/01iht-edbergruen.html . I also believe this might serve many liberal democracies, so many of them now corrupted by the power of money, not least India.
A perfect example of the NY Times Orwellian rules of writing and how the paper, once again, intimidated and coerced Prof Bell into writing a China report that is virtually, I mean linguistically and culturally, "Chinese-free".
http://www.east-west-dichotomy.com/daniel-a-bell-chinese-free-chinese-ny...
http://www.east-west-dichotomy.com/daniel-a-bell-chinese-free-chinese-ny...
3
I followed the link you provided and read your column. I still have no idea what your point is. That has to be one of the most muddled, incoherent pieces of writing I've ever encountered. You simply keep stating the same thing over and over and over again with nary an example or explanation of what it is you're talking about. It seems that you might have something interesting to share, but who will ever know.
1
It is impossible to teach something we Americans can't even agree on. Capitalism or socialism? Free enterprise or government control of business? Happiness from freedom or government protection from our own decisions? Celebrate achievement or equality? Then there's abortion and homosexual marriage, are they American values? Is the Constitution old-fashioned and useless or still a foundational value of the U. S.? Do high-performing white, male corporate executives need to be shoved out for females and persons of color? LiberalProgressiveDemocrats are on one side of this conflict, conservativeRepublicans another. It can't be taught.
Http://www.periodictablet.com
Http://www.periodictablet.com
6
Many Chinese may not see Western politics as the apex of human progress, the “end” of history, to which they ought to struggle and must necessarily achieve by immutable laws of history. And you can give them the tools, but you can’t control what they do with them.
2
I am a little surprised by the story. The academic environment of the renowned alma mater of Xi Jinping or Hu Jintao looks different from the censorship crazed society of China. Particularly the fact that prof. Bell can use material written by Francis Fukuyama is very interesting. I wonder if this is the other communist China, tradition of the sophisticated politician like Chou En Lai that survived in various turmoil caused by Mao.
3
In January China's Education Minister Yuan Guiren has vowed to ban university textbooks which promote “western values”. Since then universities have received a notice from his ministry instructing them to intensify checks on textbooks in social sciences from abroad. Affected are thought provoking subjects like journalism and communications, economics and sociology.
It's a paradox! China wants to promote world-class education and cutting-edge innovation! Is the country so assertive that it could do without Western know-how and expertise?
It's a paradox! China wants to promote world-class education and cutting-edge innovation! Is the country so assertive that it could do without Western know-how and expertise?
4
Considering the monochromatic leftist political loyalties of the professoriate, group think and reflexive PC culture there, it is questionable if political discourse and thought on American campuses is as free as described by Dr Bell as pertaining in China. And I hold fewer hopes that will change here than Dr Bell seems to hold for Tsinghua University.
13
An impressive and dedicated professor: the Chinese students he teaches are very lucky to have him there. I am sure he will be remembered as having made a difference in their lives.
China has reached world respect in the achievements of their education system; there is alway some room for improvement, even if it is insignificant.
It's the pursuit of excellence, not the achievement of it that corresponds with our Christian religion in the parableof the talents. It's our duty to improve, and it's the duty to improve that gives hope in the world.
China has reached world respect in the achievements of their education system; there is alway some room for improvement, even if it is insignificant.
It's the pursuit of excellence, not the achievement of it that corresponds with our Christian religion in the parableof the talents. It's our duty to improve, and it's the duty to improve that gives hope in the world.
2
Yes, Chinese students are often eager to learn about Western values and explore topics that might go against governmental regulations. And, yes, most Chinese academics recognize the absurdity of trying to ban the teaching of Western values in their universities.
But these restrictions and bans (and the Great Firewall) still lead to important intellectual damage that escapes most Chinese students' conscious awareness. After all, Dr. Bell, do you really think that your students have well-informed understandings of Sino-Tibetan politics and history? Do any of them seek out informed understandings of Tibetan history or Uighur culture?
You know that the answer is that very few Chinese university students, and very few university faculty members, seek to go beyond the governmental propaganda on sensitive domestic topics like Tibet and Xinjiang. They accept the party line on these topics and are baffled by Western thinkers' views to the contrary.
And the reason why--which the Chinese governmental censors recognize--is that even though most Chinese students recognize the absurdity of banning certain "Western" topics and values, this process of banning certain topics and restricting certain information leads to a subconscious acceptance of the very beliefs that the government is trying to promote--without people realizing it, because they see themselves as flaunting those restrictions. The propaganda machine succeeds, and students and faculty don't even recognize its effect.
But these restrictions and bans (and the Great Firewall) still lead to important intellectual damage that escapes most Chinese students' conscious awareness. After all, Dr. Bell, do you really think that your students have well-informed understandings of Sino-Tibetan politics and history? Do any of them seek out informed understandings of Tibetan history or Uighur culture?
You know that the answer is that very few Chinese university students, and very few university faculty members, seek to go beyond the governmental propaganda on sensitive domestic topics like Tibet and Xinjiang. They accept the party line on these topics and are baffled by Western thinkers' views to the contrary.
And the reason why--which the Chinese governmental censors recognize--is that even though most Chinese students recognize the absurdity of banning certain "Western" topics and values, this process of banning certain topics and restricting certain information leads to a subconscious acceptance of the very beliefs that the government is trying to promote--without people realizing it, because they see themselves as flaunting those restrictions. The propaganda machine succeeds, and students and faculty don't even recognize its effect.
22
Your students, Professor Bell, are all secretly reading Dr. Pattberg's essays on the liberalization of Chinese terminologies.
2
Thanks Dan. A refreshing dose of reality to counter pervasive American misperceptions.
2
I would hope the author also introduces his students to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Of course, many who contributed to writing it were Western (e.g., Eleanor Roosevelt), but the Chinese representative, Peng-chun Chang, made major contributions, as well, and helped maintain a balance between Western and Eastern values in the UDHR.
11
I've sometimes quoted the economic rights section of the Universal Declaration in posts to American publications and the reaction from right-wing readers is incredulous.
As for western corruptions, why not renounce electricity, running water, treated municipal water, WC's, sanitary sewers, jet and piston engines,tampons, radio, many of today's widely used chemicals. modern weapons, construction techniques, and nearly all other modern engineering or technology?
China can claim compasses, paper, printing, & fire crackers.
Any way to knock the government off its claim of 5000-year history? It's called the "Authenticity Program" or something like that. It pushes boundaries, rather like claiming the Spratlys and all of the S China Sea.
Elsewhere, history means 'recorded' & widely agreed. China's writing system was first reformed and standardized under Emperor Qin (200BC).
Chinese, eg, Confucius, read and wrote before that, but any Chinese writing system's first glimmers were divination symbols scratched on bones or turtle shells. Their exact meanings are guesses. Eventually, a symbolic system got good enough to convey moral guidance and facts.
Vague divination symbols grew widespread by 1000 BC. Sometime between then and Confucius (550-480BC,), they or like signs were made into a real writing system. Recorded history became possible, but we read that Qin (200 BC) had most historic records destroyed!
A distant, misty past is no history. Without insult, is it possible to twit the Party into dropping ridiculous claims of a 5000-year history?