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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, 06:10:09 PM)
Correct me if I am wrong, but didn’t Confucianism influence classical/ancient philosophies in China? Furthermore, you give too much credit to "study" in influencing social cultures and ideologies. Culture is something that is taken for granted. Nodding your head down and forward is “yes”, and twisting your head right and left is “no”. It does not require studying of any books. Alternatively, there are cultures that nod their head back and upward for “no”.
Social ideology is the similarity. In the West, people who have never read the bible, people who are not religious, generally believe that it is wrong to steal or commit adultery (even without legal considerations). Similarly, people of Asia believe in taking responsibility in taking care of their parents (generally, more so than Western counterpart), even if those people have not read any Confucian philosophies. Culture and social ideology is much more complex than people studying certain philosophy or religion.
Besides it being a cop-out argument, how can you believe that I do not understand plight of immigration any less than you? People leave their countries for different reasons. You had yours, my family had ours, my wife, had hers. I was making the point that everyone has his or her reasons for immigrating to the US, and the economic incentive by itself is not all encompassing.
“When I posted my original comment I did not believe immigration pattern had anything to do with good/bad of USA. There is no social correlation between desires of immigrants and realization of desire is the point of contention I had.”
Yeah? When another person argued that US was “better” and used immigration as one of the indicators to support his point of view, you DID dismiss it as mare difference in low rate labor necessity of China and US.
AA with too much time
Monday, March 25, 2002 at 06:52:04 (PST)
Just thought I'd mention that I have only ever known three people who openly subscribed to Creationism, and they were a lot more likely to get mocked than to be mocking someone. My school system barely bothered to mention creationism in science classes, and even my mother's church did not subscribe to creationism. Anyone who thinks that the majority of Americans believe in creationism has been hit with too much Moral "Majority" propaganda.
Ahankara
Sunday, March 24, 2002 at 12:30:42 (PST)
One- Instead of reading the next asian studies book published by some white guy in a US university. I would suggest some readings in classical chinese, there is period know as the "Age of Hundred philosophical schools" to start in Chinese culture. Pick any school of thought would be crediable as contributing to Eastern ideologies. Then if you want to look at even a broader influence in Asia you could look to Buddist text of the various sects. Because every Chinese kid is introduce to Confusian in Kindergarten analogous to the USA "don't tattel tale" rules taught in kindergarden. Very rarely do people pursue Confucius or Mencius literature past grade school. Unlike the Bible of the West.
Two, Three - Your experience merely lends to the argument you are not familiar with the plight of the immigrant. Your parents may understand the plight of immigration. But you were most likely shielded from the blunt of the experience, and just assimilated into mainstream culture.
When I posted my original comment I did not believe immigration pattern had anything to do with good/bad of USA. There is no social correlation between desires of immigrants and realization of desire is the point of contention I had.
AC Dropout
Friday, March 22, 2002 at 09:02:06 (PST)
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