Almost finished with Wang Huning’s AMERICA AGAINST AMERICA (美国反对美国).
I don’t understand all the people who have described this as a “screed,” “attack,” or even really a “critique” of America?
I don’t understand all the people who have described this as a “screed,” “attack,” or even really a “critique” of America?
WHN of 1991 is very ambivalent about American life, but is only in the mode of “I am going to describe various US institutions/social scenes along with my observations for why I think they work, and where and when they will or not work outside of America.”
Does not read as a hit job at all. At times he deeply admires aspects of the American system. He writes a five page panegyric to the Science and Industry museum in Chicago, and a similar length meditation on the virtues of presidential debates and inaugurations
He’s far more friendly to American culture and institutions than most of the 19th century visitors I quoted in this essay
palladiummag.com
palladiummag.com
Inasmuch as he has central ideas in this book, I’d say there are 4 reoccurring questions:
1) What are the requirements for scientific advance and technological modernization that he believes the US embodies? Especially human capital requirements?
1) What are the requirements for scientific advance and technological modernization that he believes the US embodies? Especially human capital requirements?
2) How do Americans replicate their political culture and institutions over time? Does capitalism inevitably level culture as it advances?
3) why do Americans follow rules and cooperate when there is no central government planning program to unify effort and no central party line to unify thought?
4) What are the consequences of American identity being grounded in contradictory ideals (eg liberty vs equality, democracy vs individualism, etc)?
Obviously the WHN of 1991 is not the WHN of 2023. But it feels a lot like of the takes on this book are imposing the China of of Xi on a text that is more about the problems set of the China of Deng.
(Another way of framing it: Wang’s take on America is far, far, *far* less scathing than that written by many *Americans* —both then and now).
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