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Why China will never rule the world

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  1. #1

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    Aug 2006
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    Why China will never rule the world

    Book of the same name by Troy Parfitt. Review in today's SMP has it under satire and is pretty positive (4.5 stars). This review on Pekingduck is mixed, but takes what he says literally. Here's a video of Parfitt talking about the book:



    Anyone read it?

    dear giant likes this.

  2. #2

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    Everything that the author says in the video is true and accurate. If the video accurately reflects the content of the book then:

    (1.) I hope that lots of people in the West will buy and read it and deprogram themselves.

    (2.) If it gets any traction at all, the sorts of people who know the truth but use the specter of China-as-megasuperpower to whip others into an anxious frenzy that they then cash in on -- via everything from from Mandarin language instruction to weapons programs designed to be used in be used against China in some sort of Ragnarok-like WW3 -- are going to leave no stone unturned when it comes to discrediting the guy.

    The Peking Duck post is not completely negative but wastes no time in letting us know that the books author is *gasp* an English teacher (!!!) as though that would completely discredit whatever he's written.


  3. #3

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    He sounds pretty full of himself and takes extreme examples to try to score some easy points. Considering that no nation has ever "ruled the world", it's not that hard to make a case against it. To claim to "understand the psyche" of a nation as diverse as China is pompous beyond imagination particularly from someone that hasn't even lived in China and it's unclear whether he even speaks the language. As to his qualifications, they are certainly less than impressive with a degree split between political science and american history from a small canadian university followed by years of teaching ESL in a few asian countries. He seems to enjoy reading lots of novels, not so sure about any academic readings.

    Very little in what he said in the video can be deemed as completely inaccurate however there are gross generalization and absolutely no reference to change. He focuses on certain negative aspects of confucianism without any reference to the possible benefits. In any case truth is often a matter of perspective and is rarely absolute.

    Stating something like China has very little influence on the world is absolutely ridiculous. Regardless of how they do things and whether we have things to learn or not, it is a huge market, currently the second largest economy in the world with a significant military capacity and is the largest holder of US debt in the world. China can't be ignored and already has a very significant influence in the world. Unlike a few decades ago, leaders off all significant nations all make sure to include China in their travel itinerary and frequently receive chinese envoys.

    Will China become THE dominant nation? Certainly not anytime soon... They will never rule the world, that's for sure... Do we have anything to learn from them? There's always something to learn even if it's something not to do... We might never dance to the beat of chinese pop but one thing for sure is that it has risen significantly in the last decade.

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  4. #4

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    My bet is on China in this one..