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ASIAMS.NET |
ASIAN AMERICAN ISSUES
COMING SHIFTS IN PACIFIC POWER BALANCE
f the outcome of the Cold War has shown one thing, it's that economic power begets military power -- and not vice versa.
Today American power is unrivaled, the product of three centuries of unbroken industrial and territorial expansion. A half century ago its sole Pacific rival was Japan, a nation that had begun building an industrial base a mere seven decades earlier. Today Japan is wealthy but stagnant and adrift, its spiritual and political back never having mended after having been shattered by World War II and subsequent occupation.
While not entirely writing off Japan's potential to pose new challenges, the U.S. has begun eyeing China as the next strategic rival.
Barely three decades after China began ditching its centralized command economy for the glories of capitalist wealth, most of its 1.25 billion citizens remain mired in an agrarian subsistence economy. But the 125 million Chinese participating in the industrial economy of the coastal regions have fueled China's drive for superpower status. By 2015 it will match the U.S. in GDP -- then double it by 2025. Militarily China has been a formidable land power since the Corean War. Now the Red Army is acquiring state-of-the-art warplanes, missiles and submarines. It has announced plans to send a man into space by 2005. China's overriding aim is to keep the Pacific from becoming an American pond.
Any shift in the Pacific power balance must also take into account the two Coreas, Taiwan and Russia. At any given time each of these nations are triangulating a course of maximum advantage with reference to the U.S., China and Japan. The precise posture these nations ultimately adopt may well tip the balance.
How will the Pacific power balance shift in the coming decades? What developments will pose the greatest threats to American power?
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WHAT YOU SAY
[This page is closed to new input. --Ed.]
(Updated
Tuesday, Apr 1, 2008, 06:10:11 PM)
To T. H. Lien,
It does not matters whether the U.S. spends more of its GNP on science, the overwhelming majority of Americans rejects the theory of evolution and irrationally choose to believe in creationism. This is a nation that puts the words, “In God We Trust” on its coins and currencies. Americans overwhelmingly, nine in ten Americans, subscribe to the Abrahamic faiths, the tenements of such religions regard outsiders as being evil. To put it mildly, the Abrahamic faiths are “politically incorrect” and have no place in this world because they do not lead to tolerance, they segregate Americans, and they cause people to lose their rationality. American Christians believe in angels, expect the Tribulation to happen, and they are ready to do battle with the Anti-Christ and the evil non-belieivers.
Huntington in his book “Clash of Civilizations” sees the world divided into civilizations along ethnic/religious lines. He sees a conflict between the U.S. and China. Huntington portrays the conflict as a clash of different philosophical/religious values underlying the two civilizations.
Last month, when George W Bush met with Chinese President Jiang Zemin in China, Jiang confirmed during their joint press conference when he stated that he "has no religious faith" whereas Bush stated that he is a born-again Christian. Generally speaking, the U.S. tries to promote religion, whereas China is trying to suppress religion. To the Chinese government, religion is like opium that must be kept out for its harmful effect on humanity. One needs to wonder whether the U.S. is on the wrong side of history by trying to push religion in a time when world history is moving into the scientific age.
Is the U.S. on the wrong side of history? Amen!
Tuesday, March 19, 2002 at 20:44:27 (PST)
AC Dropout,
Buddhism is probably the predominant religion of the East (I don’t have the number to back this up). However, I do not think Buddhism formed the basis of ideologies and general culture in East like Judeo-Christianity did for the west. It is perhaps, as I understand it, because Buddhism generally “enlightens” inward (of self) instead of providing basis for social ideologies and external God.
Confucian philosophy may not be a RELIGION of East as a counterpart of Judeo-Christian RELIGION to the west. I have not heard anyone saying Confusion philosophy is a religion (even by “dumb whites” as you put it). However, I have heard many claiming that the Confucian philosophy formed much of the Eastern ideologies and culture as Judeo-Christianity formed much of the same in West.
Another subject….
With labor requirements of US and China being different, you argued that immigration was not a good way to measure the “goodness/badness” of living in the United States or China. I tend to disagree.
You forgot to mention that a large portion of immigrants in the US do have high paying jobs, promising careers, and high levels of education. In fact, over the years I have seen surveys and articles that report that the average immigrants posses higher education than that of the average Americans. Many immigrants are former foreign students and expatriates with excellent economic capabilities in their homeland. I have to argue that these people place higher value in the utility of living in the US, other than just economic endeavors. The utility internals and definitions are not easily (if at all) quantifiable and differ from people to people. However, leave it to the economists on quantify utility of anything - they do (not that they are always right).
Movement of people, or people wanting to move, into or out of a geographic area is one of gauges in determining the overall “goodness/badness” of utility of living in a geographic area. Many people cannot identify or justify specifics, but people are rational overall and show up in this gauge. Is it so bad that one feels one country is better than the other without being able to report qualitatively with quantifiable specifics? I would go out of the way to say that the overall utility of living in the United States for many people is much better than that of China, and legal and illegal immigration rates DO show that. In layman’s terms, US rocks! China sucks in comparison.
AA with too much time
Tuesday, March 19, 2002 at 08:38:00 (PST)
Religion Sucks, Amen!,
I didn't say a majority of Chinese were Buddist. I'm well aware of the government of China subscribing to no religon officially.
I was pointing out that western scholars like to think Confusionism is a religon in asia as a counterpoint to Judeo-Christianity of the West. However, if they walked around parts of asia instead of reading offical documents, they would see that Buddist religion is a more accurate counterpoint, because it permeates asian society simialar to Judeo-Christainity religon permeates the West
AC dropout
Sunday, March 17, 2002 at 21:41:59 (PST)
Religion sucks:
"China is possibly the only nation in which science and atheism are officially encouraged."
I'll just point out that US devotes a higher proportion of GDP to non-applied research than China. So technically China encourages engineering, not pure science.
The rest of your post is a blatant attempt to provoke someone. Real mature. You must be gaining converts (unconverts? reverts?) every day with that attitude. By the way Arabs, Pakistanis, Malays, and Egyptians aren't White. Neither are Ethiopian Jews.
T.H. Lien
Sunday, March 17, 2002 at 21:16:25 (PST)
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