Sino-industrial thoughts
by Bob on October 20, 2007
I have been thinking a lot about the Far East, and especially China. So much here in America is manufactured in China, one has to take notice. And I have a lot of friends and former students who returned to China after being abroad. The economy is booming there in China, so it's good for hi-tech jobs and to return to be with family.
China, with such a long and rich past and culture, is now seriously emerging as one of the strongest technological and manufacturing powers in the world.
I was poked in this direction, besides my historical interest in Chinese culture and literature and people, by a series being done on BBC World Service radio, which I have listened to since I was little. BBC are running a special series on China and its growth and growing pains in the 21st century. It seems to present a balanced view, but I am not an expert on it. The series is called "Ruling China" and it covers the political party, economy, geopolitics, technology, health and culture. It seems a bit critical and possibly even a little bit of an expose. The Chinese officials had a close eye on it when it was being taped there in China. After all, image for any country is very important these days.
I heard in this series how people were being evicted from their homes to make way for high-rise and expensive apartment buildings for the more affluent. But that's the cost of socio-technological progress, and I have seen it in the West, and even in my hometown of NYC. But it's a delicate issue since China and the Orient are so much more family-oriented than what we used to be like in the West. Family is a good thing. But geo-political progress sort of works against traditional values in all countries, not just China.
Other issues were covered, like the cost of health care there now. Well, health care is a crazy industry here in America, too.
I decided to re-read an article in National Geographic Magazine, from September 2006, on China, with beautiful photos, called "China Rising". It consisted of several articles on China and its huge growth economically. It also addressed the revitalisation of the Northeast of China for industrial purposes.
Also, I thought of a book I had read a few months ago, called "Beijing Jeep: A Case Study of Western Business in China" by Jim Mann written in 1997. It was about an earlier collaboration and joint venture for Jeeps with China and American Motors Corporation (AMC) who owned Jeep then before they were bought by Chrysler. It happened in the 1980s when AMC was producing its Cherokee jeeps in China. It's an interesting early lesson in a clash of cultures and traditions. A joint venture between AMC and the Beijing Automotive Works. The American cowboy pitted against or working with the careful and scrupulous Chinese people. The book was a good read. But its message has been eclipsed by more modern turns of events.
One can easily see the changes in China, nay, the whole Orient, if not the world, in terms of dress and cuisine. McDonalds is in Beijing. Girls are getting their pretty long black hair dyed brown-ish orange. They are wearing mini-skirts and show their midriff sometimes with metal body piercings. Maybe even micro-skirts, too in the flashier nightclubs in the biggest cities. Indie rock music is gaining ground there too which is a typical progression for rock music.
But it's happened to Japan, Taiwan, Korea, and so many other countries. This shift into visual attractiveness forced by advertisements in fashion magazines which are essentially Western. Even if we go a little west, we will see it in India.
What this all tells us is a bit of a morality play, independent of China's modern success as the "workshop for the world". It says that when any country disturbs its underlying core values for technological progress, it's a slippery slope to watch out for. The balance of power and distribution of wealth in a society is a classical problem. I mean, look at what happened in Russia after it went essentially capitalistic. Some Russians became very wealthy. Most not. Most Russians now yearn through the nostalgia of President Putin for the old days. Mr. Putin has a very hard job to do there.
There is a correlative process in our whole world. One of homogenisation. Making things the same all over the world. It sounds egalitarian, but it is the great leveler of distinct cultures and civilisations. Everyone will love Madonna. Everyone will sing Beatles songs and know who Led Zeppelin is. Many world-famous pianists in classical music will be from China rather than Austria. Girls will wear permanent tattoos on their body somewhere, almost motorcycle biker style. That's in fact happening all over the world: everyone loves tattoos again. Waxing and waning of the moon and fashion trends is inevitable we all know.
One just hopes there is room for wisdom in unbridled growth in any country. Like having a good meal, don't gulp it down. Take it slowly. But technology progress forces the "gulping down" syndrome due to global competitiveness.
So we arrive at one major conclusion. The history and culture of China, yea, most countries in the world, is so distinct and beautiful and rich, that we hope it will not all be erased for one global culture as predicted by the Western futurologists.
Even the Bible had something to say about that. The Tower of Babel story. People yearning to climb too quickly to heaven by building a tower and speaking one global language will fail, and will wind up with confusion and everyone speaking in confused and distinct tongues again.
We can't be a prisoner of the past but we should respect its message and implications. But we know the "school of hard knocks" prevails in children and in human beings, too. So we hope for the best outcome possible despite this. Wisdom is called for in such seemingly outlandish situations.