Chinese vs. American Political Philosophy
Summary
TLDRThis video script explores China's rich historical and cultural heritage, emphasizing its long-standing civilization and contributions to the world. It highlights China's 'century of humiliation,' and the rise of Chinese nationalism, aiming to restore the country's global dominance through the 'Chinese Dream.' The script discusses Confucianism’s influence on social order, modern political ideologies like Marxism-Leninism, and China's strategic flexibility in leadership and military affairs. Lastly, it compares Chinese and American political thinking, noting the linear vs. lateral approaches and China's preference for strategy over conflict.
Takeaways
- 🌏 China's history is ancient and stretches far back, making it one of the oldest civilizations with significant contributions to the world, including inventions like paper, gunpowder, silk, and the compass.
- 🏛️ The Xia Dynasty, China's earliest dynasty, is considered potentially mythological due to the lack of historical evidence.
- 📉 China's decline in global dominance started during the Industrial Revolution, leading to a period known as the 'Century of Humiliation' when China was dominated by foreign powers.
- 🇨🇳 The 'Chinese Dream' reflects the modern Chinese belief in returning to their rightful place as a global power, with Xi Jinping promoting national rejuvenation.
- 📜 Confucianism is central to Chinese moral philosophy, emphasizing social harmony, respect for hierarchy, and filial piety, and has been revived alongside Communist values in modern China.
- 🛑 The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) holds supreme power in China, and the legal system is subject to the party, meaning laws are flexible, and political opposition is not tolerated.
- 🇺🇸 In contrast to China's flexible and relativistic legal system, American law is more rigid, with the rule of law seen as supreme and above political parties.
- 🔄 Political dynamics in China differ from those in America; in China, conservatives are communists (left-wing), while progressives (right-wing) push for liberal reforms.
- ♟️ Chinese political strategy is often viewed as lateral and flexible, much like the game of Go, compared to the more linear, direct strategy often associated with American politics.
- ⚔️ Historically, China has not been an aggressive military power, preferring strategy and indirect conflict as emphasized in Sun Tzu's *Art of War*, rather than direct military engagement.
Q & A
What is the significance of the Shia Dynasty in Chinese history?
-The Shia Dynasty is believed to be the earliest dynasty in Chinese history, but many consider it mythological due to the lack of solid evidence proving its existence. Its importance lies in the long historical narrative of China, though its actual existence is still debated.
Why do many Chinese people feel proud of their country's history and heritage?
-Chinese people are proud of their history because China is one of the world's oldest civilizations, known for significant contributions like paper, gunpowder, silk, porcelain, and the compass. They see their country as historically dominant and believe its rightful place is at the forefront of global civilization.
What was the 'century of humiliation' in Chinese history?
-The 'century of humiliation' refers to the period between the mid-19th century and 1949 when China was dominated by foreign powers due to its inability to adapt to the Industrial Revolution. This period caused national trauma, and many in China still feel resentment toward the countries that exploited China during this time.
What is the 'Chinese Dream' as described by Xi Jinping?
-The 'Chinese Dream,' according to Xi Jinping, refers to the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, embodying the long-held hope of generations to see China restored to its former position as a dominant global power. It reflects China's aspirations for power and prestige on the world stage.
How does Confucianism influence Chinese political and social structures?
-Confucianism emphasizes respect for order, stability, and hierarchy. It advocates for wise and benevolent leadership where rulers care for their subjects, and subjects reciprocate with respect and obedience. This philosophy underpins China's emphasis on social harmony, respect for elders, and filial piety, concepts still relevant in modern China.
How did Communism initially impact Confucianism in China, and how has this relationship evolved?
-When Mao Zedong brought Communism to China in 1949, Confucianism was disavowed and labeled as bourgeois. However, Confucianism has since been rehabilitated, and modern Chinese leaders invoke Confucian principles like social harmony, showing that Confucianism and the Communist Party's ideals now coexist.
What is Marxism-Leninism, and how is it applied in China's political system?
-Marxism-Leninism, the ideology guiding the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), advocates for a self-appointed political elite to rule society in the name of the people and maintain a single-party state. It stresses the suppression of political opposition, state control over property, and provision of social services like education and healthcare, although heavily propagandized.
How does the concept of law differ between China and the United States?
-In China, the law is flexible and subject to the CCP's control, with the party holding ultimate authority over legal matters. In contrast, in the United States, the law is supreme and inflexible, holding everyone accountable, including political leaders, under the principle of equality before the law.
How do conservatism and progressivism differ between American and Chinese political systems?
-In America, conservatives aim to preserve the status quo or return to earlier policies, while progressives seek social reform. In China, however, conservatives are communists who want to maintain the communist status quo, and progressives are those who seek reforms moving away from communism, often advocating for liberal ideas like democracy and free speech.
What is the difference between linear and lateral thinking, and how does it apply to American and Chinese politics?
-Linear thinking, common in American politics, involves building ideas successively, with clear, logical progression toward decisions. In contrast, lateral thinking, typical in Chinese politics, emphasizes context and flexibility, where decisions are made based on circumstances rather than following a preset path. This leads to different strategic approaches, like the long-term, context-dependent strategies in Chinese political thought.
Outlines
🏛️ China's Ancient Civilization and Historical Significance
This paragraph discusses China's deep history, tracing its roots back thousands of years. It highlights China's impressive accomplishments, such as inventions like paper, gunpowder, and silk. The text emphasizes the concept of the 'Century of Humiliation,' during which China was subjugated by foreign powers until Mao Zedong took control in 1949. The idea of the 'Chinese Dream,' a vision of reclaiming China’s dominant global status, is introduced through a quote from Xi Jinping, emphasizing the nation's pursuit of rejuvenation.
🛠️ Marxism-Leninism and the CCP’s Control in China
This paragraph explains the influence of Marxism-Leninism on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its establishment of a one-party state. The role of the CCP as the supreme political authority in China, overriding the law, is outlined. The narrative contrasts the CCP’s governance with America's system, where the rule of law is inflexible and applies equally to all citizens, including political leaders. The role of surveillance, restricted political freedoms, and how dissent is crushed in China is also discussed.
📜 Political Conservatism and Progressivism in China and America
This section contrasts political ideologies in China and the U.S. In America, conservatives generally seek to maintain the status quo, while progressives advocate for social reform. In China, the left-wing represents communist conservatives, while right-wing reformers aim to shift away from communism. The flexibility of Chinese political thinking, described as relativistic and contextual, is compared to the more linear, rigid thinking prevalent in American politics, where political beliefs are built progressively.
♟️ Strategic Flexibility in Chinese Politics and The Art of War
This paragraph dives deeper into China's flexible approach to politics and military strategy, drawing comparisons to the ancient text 'The Art of War.' Chinese political thinking is portrayed as context-dependent and adaptable, exemplified by Deng Xiaoping’s 'crossing the river by feeling the stones' philosophy. The narrative also contrasts Chinese strategy with American linear political thinking, drawing parallels between Chinese flexibility and the game of Go, and American directness and the game of chess.
⚔️ China's Non-Aggressive Military History and Strategic Caution
The final section discusses China's historical avoidance of military aggression, focusing on its preference for strategy over direct conflict. Citing Confucian values and Sun Tzu's 'The Art of War,' the paragraph underscores how China has traditionally seen war as a last resort and criticizes its lack of military combat experience. This is contrasted with the U.S., which has been consistently engaged in military actions since World War II. The paragraph concludes with reflections on China's strategic rise without relying on military force.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡China
💡Century of Humiliation
💡Confucianism
💡Chinese Communist Party (CCP)
💡Social Harmony
💡Liberalism
💡Conservatives and Progressives
💡The Chinese Dream
💡Mao Zedong
💡Deng Xiaoping
💡Socialism with Chinese Characteristics
Highlights
China has one of the oldest continuous civilizations, with history stretching back thousands of years, making it unique compared to newer nations like America.
The existence of the Xia Dynasty, China's earliest dynasty, is debated, as it may be more mythological due to the lack of strong historical evidence.
China is historically a dominant civilization known for significant contributions to global inventions like paper, gunpowder, silk, porcelain, the compass, and printing techniques.
The 'Century of Humiliation' refers to a period when China was dominated by foreign powers, starting with the Industrial Revolution and ending in 1949 when Mao Zedong came to power.
The 'Chinese Dream' is the idea of restoring China’s dominant position in the world, which is seen as a return to the natural historical order after 200 years of decline.
Confucianism, China's predominant moral philosophy, emphasizes social harmony, hierarchy, respect, and filial piety, remaining relevant even in modern politics.
Mao Zedong initially disavowed Confucianism as bourgeois when bringing Communism to China in 1949, but modern leaders have revived Confucian principles in governance.
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) governs China under Marxist-Leninist principles, emphasizing a single-party state with centralized authority and limited personal political freedoms.
Unlike in America, where the law is inflexible and applies equally to all, in China, the CCP holds ultimate authority over the law, making it situationally flexible for party officials.
In China, political conservatism aligns with communism, making left-wing politics aligned with maintaining the communist status quo, while right-wing politics seek reform and liberalization.
Chinese political thinking tends to be relativistic and flexible, contrasting with the more linear and rigid American political mindset, which focuses on building concepts progressively.
Socialism with Chinese Characteristics is a flexible political concept, blending elements of socialism and capitalism to ensure CCP's authority and China's prosperity.
The Art of War, a Chinese military treatise, promotes flexibility and strategy in warfare, emphasizing indirect conflict and encirclement over direct confrontation.
Henry Kissinger compared Chinese political strategy to the game of Go, where long-term goals are achieved through encirclement, while American strategy is likened to chess, with direct conflict.
Historically, China has not been an aggressive military power, preferring strategic conflict avoidance and defense, unlike the U.S., which has been engaged in frequent military action since WWII.
Transcripts
unlike America which is a relatively new
country China is very old Chinese
history stretches so far back that it
sort of Gets Lost In The Mists of time
the earliest Dynasty the Shia Dynasty
might not even be real many believe that
it's mythological because there's so
little evidence that it ever even
existed so the point is that China is
old and Chinese history stretches as far
back as our records are able to take it
so China's unusual in that claim
thousands of years of history and not
only that but it's a historically
dominant civilization capable of pulling
off impressive Feats of architecture and
contributing many inventions to the
world like paper gunpowder silk
porcelain the compass printing
techniques and more what I'm basically
getting at here is that Chinese people
are proud and they think China is
special and you could even say
deservedly so China was a dominant
civilization all the way up until
modernity so all the way up until the
Industrial Revolution when the
Industrial Revolution came China was
slow to adapt and they were dominated by
foreign powers and that went on all the
way until maidong took power in 1949 so
that period where China was dominated by
foreign powers and was weak is referred
to in China as the century of
humiliation so many in China have a chip
on their shoulder from that especially
towards the countries that bullied them
and treated them as inferior the
important takeaway here is that many in
China see China as a historically
significant country whose rightful place
is to be in a dominant position on the
world stage so they see the last say 200
years or so as a historical aberration
which they think will be corrected soon
enough as China rises in power and
prestige on the world stage which is a
process referred to in China as the
Chinese dream here's shiin ping giving
his thoughts on it in my opinion
achieving the Rejuvenation of the
Chinese nation has been the greatest
dream of the Chinese people since the
Advent of modern times this dream
embodies the long-cherished hope of
several generations of the Chinese
people gives expression to the overall
interests of the Chinese nation and the
Chinese people and represents the shared
aspiration of all the Sons and Daughters
of the Chinese Nation the predominant
Chinese moral philosophy historically
speaking is Confucianism so basically
Confucianism is to China what
Christianity is to the United States but
that's a very rough comparison because
Christianity is a religion and
Confucianism is secular Confucianism is
a philosophy that calls for the
cultivation of oneself through learning
and the attainment of wisdom and doing
that in the context of a rigid social
order where you know your place within
it and behave accordingly Confucianism
has a top- down take on social order
that places the highest emphasis on
those that are in positions of power and
says that if they cultivate themselves
and behave well then good things will
follow Confucian thinking says that
those in positions of power need to be
wise and benevolent and responsible and
to take care of those below them if that
holds true then the people living under
them are supposed to reciprocate with
respect and obedience a mind State
brought on by their own
self-cultivation when that all holds
true then we have social harmony a
concept still relevant in modern China
this Dynamic is supposed to occur all
the way down and all the way back up the
social ladder so Confucianism calls for
paternalism all the way down the social
ladder and deference all the way back up
so rulers take care of their subjects
husbands take care of their wives
parents take care of their children and
older brothers take care of younger
brothers also those that are younger are
supposed to respect their elders
and even take care of them if necessary
whether it's their parents or their
grandparents or even respecting their
ancestors which is a concept called fial
piety so Confucianism emphasizes things
like respect order stability
conscientiousness and tradition and
these are all still relevant moral and
political Concepts in China when maang
took power in
1949 and officially brought communism to
China the official Communist party line
was to disavow Confucianism and to call
it Bourgeois so Confucianism officially
disappeared from China for a while but
since then it's been rehabilitated and
modern leaders from the Chinese
Communist party now openly invoke
Confucian principles like social harmony
which means that Confucianism and the
principles of the Chinese Communist
party now officially coexist in China
the Chinese Communist party or the CCP
in forms the political structure of
China and the ideology of the CCP is
based in Marxism leninism Marxism
leninism is Vladimir Lenin's take on
Marxism as he tried to apply it to
Soviet Russia and it calls for a
self-appointed political Elite to seize
power and then rule Society in the name
of the people and it also calls for a
single-party state that crushes any kind
of political opposition it frames any
political alternatives to itself as a
threat to the people and uses the power
of the state to put it down private
property is banned and everyone works
for the state and there also tends to be
a fair amount of Social Services like
housing or health care or an education
but that education is heavily
propagandized to pull all this off the
ruling single party heavily surveils the
public which can also mean
propagandizing children and telling them
to inform on their parents if they hear
their parents saying anything
politically subversive there are air
amount of personal freedoms in modern
China so Chinese people can generally
choose their jobs or choose who they
want to marry or maybe even leave the
country but there's still not much in
the way of political freedom because the
CCP doesn't allow it an important
takeaway here is that in China the CCP
is the highest political Authority all
citizens are subject to the CCP and the
law is also subject to the CCP so the
CCP is above the law
and officials within the CCP can dictate
the law and be held to the law
situationally as they see fit so if
you're a regular citizen in China and
you want to say sue a high official in
the CCP for breaking the law say for
violating the Constitution you're not
going to be able to do it which all
means that in China the law is a
flexible concept and the CCP is supreme
in America law is much more inflexible
the law is above all cens in America and
also above political parties everyone is
equally accountable to it the point is
to not have contextual flexibility even
if a president is caught breaking the
law the president can be held
accountable for it to the extent that it
can even cost the president their job of
course there are circumstances where
some people are punished more heavily by
the law and others are able to
manipulate and Float above it but those
examples outrage us precise precisely
because they violate our principles we
demand equality before the law making
the law Supreme and
inflexible this makes law a powerful
subject in America and much of our
political thought centers around what
the law should or shouldn't be let's
break down the left and the right in
America and China in America you have
conservatives on the right and
progressives on the left conservatives
want to keep things as they are or roll
back policy IES to an earlier era
progressives are interested in social
reform they want to change society into
something new so conservatives defend
what we have and progressives criticize
Society in order to create change
America was founded on the values of
liberalism which basically means having
a government with checks and balances
and also having equal rights backed by
law and those rights include Free Speech
voting rights and property rights so
liberal societies are both democratic
and capital istic conservatives tend to
be associated with older versions of
liberalism and are more capitalist
minded and progressives tend to be
associated with more modern versions of
liberalism and are more socialist minded
in my opinion liberalism is a political
philosophy that sits sort of like a
submerged triangle below conservatism
and progressivism that bubbles up as a
distinct demographic when liberal values
like free speech are being debated in
America both conservatives and
progressives can be liberals or
illiberal depending on their take on
liberalism and how much they want the
government to intervene in social issues
I understand my take on this is
unconventional but I believe we don't
categorize these things accurately in
mainstream political discussion and in
my opinion this is a more accurate
representation of American politics I've
already made a video dedicated to
liberalism in America that fleshes out
how it relates to the left and the right
right so if you want to hear why I just
said fleshed out in more detail I would
just go check that out getting over to
Chinese politics after maong communism
was the entrenched status quo in China
so after maong conservatives are the
people who want to keep it that way so
in China the conservatives are
communists so in China conservatives are
the left wi since communism is pretty
much as far left as you can get in terms
of mainstream political opinion people
who want to change society into
something new are further to the right
of Communism which means progressives in
China people who want to move away from
communism and reform Society into
something new are the rightwing in China
so the left in China are communist
conservatives and on the other side of
the political Spectrum you have the
right-wing liberal reformers who
advocate for things like multi-party
democracy and Free Speech okay so we're
going to step up the complex it just a
little bit more here Chinese political
thinking is generally thought to be more
relativistic and flexible than American
thinking which is probably due to
cultural differences as the two
countries developed separately so
American political thinking is often
described as linear which means building
thoughts successively on top of each
other so an example of linear thinking
is to say something like democracy is
good and research shows that democracy
improves human well-being so therefore
democracy spreading to more places is
even better and on top of that we should
even help spread democracy to more
places so it's a series of thoughts that
progressively build on each other then
once Americans do that and arrive at a
policy decision they stick with it and
pursue it with a kind of tunnel vision
Chinese thinking is often described as
being lateral or holistic and what that
tends to mean is that it's based on
context
or how things relate to other things so
if you ask the lateral thinker is
democracy good you might get a response
back that goes something like it depends
good compared to what or whose democracy
are we talking about or good in what
sense or if you ask the lateral thinker
is democracy spreading a good thing they
might say something like it depends
where are we talking about it spreading
so lateral thinking is looking at things
based on context or how it relates to
other things to give another example
Americans tend to think that civil
rights are Paramount so anything that
infringes on civil rights is bad
Unthinkable even if you try to propose
something to an American that might
infringe on civil rights they just don't
even want to hear about it they don't
care what the proposed benefit is civil
rights are Paramount so a Chinese
thinker on the other hand might judge
the subject of civil rights more
relativistically so they might judge
civil rights based on how it affects
other things like social harmony or
security or maybe the economy so they're
not going into it with preset linear
logic but instead judging the subject
relativistically dang Xiao ping for
example the man who's considered
responsible for bringing liberal reforms
to China after ma admitted that he never
had a grand plan to achieve that but
instead compared his leadership style to
crossing the river by feeling the stones
so instead of having a pre-laid plan on
how to reform China he instead kept a
flexible mentality and judged
circumstances as they arose contextually
I don't know about you but I personally
have a hard time imagining an American
leader saying or admitting something
like that in American political culture
we pretty much expect the opposite we
expect our prospective political
candidates to lay out exactly what they
would do once they get in office and
then if we do hire them we expect them
to stick to those plans and we judge
them if they don't so I'm not
necessarily saying that one approach is
necessarily better than the other I'm
just comparing the differences between
the two cultures here I think this is an
important concept that isn't easy to
grasp so I'm going to keep going with
examples socialism with chines
characteristics is another relativistic
Chinese political Concept in America we
tend to think that capitalism is good
and socialism is bad so therefore
anything that moves in the direction of
socialism is bad and should be resisted
which could be a changing mentality but
historically that's been our general
position in China capitalism is a dirty
word but they're open to the concept of
capitalism as long as you don't call it
that so dang Xiao ping introduced the
concept of capitalism to China by
calling it socialism with Chinese
characteristics but it's a flexible
concept it means whatever it needs to
mean in order to keep the CCP and power
and to bring prosperity to China in my
opinion in that order of importance so
it could be heavily capitalistic or it
could be heavily socialistic but either
way it's flexible so socialism with
Chinese characteristics could mean two
very different things when xiin ping was
talking about it compared to when dang
Xiao ping was talking about it and you
could even translate socialism with
Chinese characteristics to mean
socialism with flexible characteristics
China's famous Treatise on Military
strategy The Art of War is all about
flexibility it literally argues that you
need to become so adept with the subject
of war that you can wield it like an art
form adopting wildly different
strategies to accommodate whatever
circumstances might arise for example
saying when able to attack we must seem
unable when using our forces we must
seem inactive when we are near we must
make the enemy believe we are far away
when far away we must make him believe
we are near even when attacking sunzet
advocated for a flexible mindset saying
in battle there are not more than two
methods of attack the direct and the
indirect yet these two in combination
give rise to an endless series of
Maneuvers the direct and the indirect
lead on to each other in turn it is like
moving in a circle you never come to an
end who can exhaust the possibilities of
their combination I think this
flexibility makes Chinese political
thinking difficult to understand
especially from an American perspective
think of how much effort seemingly the
entire world puts into trying to
understand Chinese political strategy
and think about how much easier it is in
comparison to understand American
political strategy and American goals
and motivations Henry Kissinger a man
with extensive diplomatic experience
with China famously compared Chinese
strategy to the game of Go where any one
given move is hard to understand the
conflicts aren't direct since peces and
go are taken by being encircled and the
strategy is broadly conceived in
long-term goals and he compared American
strategy to chess where the conflicts
are direct as the pieces clash with one
another and the intentions behind any
one given move are much more clear you
could say that you play the game of
chess by using linear thinking you think
I can move here and here and here and
then I'll get a Checkmate and I will win
and go in comparison is played much more
like crossing the river by feeling the
stones another way to think about this
linear lateral distinction is that
linear thinking is vertical and lateral
thinking is horizontal so for example if
I wanted to explain capitalism using
vertical thinking I could say something
like you need the freedom to exchange
goods and services with others backed by
private property rights and I could go
further to say things that you could
expect from capitalism like in terms of
prosperity and inequality so it's
building Concepts on top of each other
like blocks if I wanted to give a
lateral horizontal explanation of
capitalism I could say something like
capitalism is like having a wolf in a
room with 10
sheep I guess that's a cynical
explanation of capitalism but it's still
a lateral horizontal one it's explaining
capitalism by comparing it horizontally
to other subjects in this case by
explaining how it relates horizontally
to animal nature crossing the river by
feeling the stones is another example of
a horizontal explanation it's explaining
dung Xiao Ping's leadership style by
comparing it horizontally with a
technique of crossing a river again
these are generalizations I don't think
anyone thinks in a purely linear or a
purely lateral way I think we blend the
two together based on our personal
preferences and based on the subject the
point here is that you can expect to see
more linear thinking that judges
subjects independently using logic and
reason in a vertical fashion in American
politics and he can expect to see more
lateral relativistic and flexible
thinking in Chinese politics one last
quote and then I'll move on here's
Kissinger's impression of maong after
their first meeting who he said had an
elliptical style of conversation most
political leaders present their thoughts
in the form of bullet points ma Advanced
his ideas in a Socratic manner he would
begin with a question or an observation
and invite comment he would then follow
with another observation
out of this web of sarcastic remarks
observations and queries would emerge a
direction though rarely a binding
commitment which seems to me like a
lateral thinker strategically avoiding
linear conversation the last subject I
want to talk about is war it's possible
that China will become aggressive as a
military power as it rises on the world
stage but historically speaking China is
not an aggressive country the basic
story of China is a story of a country
that's kept to itself and had its own
internal conflicts and most of the
direct conflicts that China's been in
historically speaking are from foreign
countries invading it so it's possible
China will become aggressive but
historically speaking it's not an
aggressive country you can find roots
for that in Confucianism and you can
even find roots for that lack of
militancy in The Art of War which treats
War as not a glorious subject but a
somber subject opening with the
statement that war is a matter of life
and death a road either to safety or to
ruin and even says to fight and Conquer
in all your battles is not Supreme
Excellence Supreme Excellence consists
in Breaking the enemy's resistance
without fighting winning through
strategy and encirclement and not direct
conflict unlike the United States which
has been using its military in conflicts
pretty consistently since World War II
China uses its military so seldom that
they're often criticized for not having
enough experience to be battle ready
they're literally criticized for not
having enough people in their military
with actual combat experience to be able
to go to war so things could change but
historically speaking China is not an
aggressive country they prefer strategy
and not direct conflict on that note I'm
going to wrap things up so hope you got
something out of it and I never ask this
but if you could consider for this one
video doing the YouTube algorithm stuff
you like the liking commenting um even
writing like a placeholder comment any
kind of interaction with the video makes
YouTube pay more attention to the video
and share it with more people either way
I appreciate you watching so till next
time thanks for watching thanks for
listening and I'll see you on the next
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disint the one you behind
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