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It's a good observation, but of course, not a complete one. China is still mired in thousand year old traditions and the country as a whole is more analogous t
by cglee 19y ago
It's a good observation, but of course, not a complete one. China is still mired in thousand year old traditions and the country as a whole is more analogous to a diverse Europe than an evenly developed country like the US.
This article obviously focused on the city dwelling folks, while some other articles I read focus on the poor, undeveloped countryside. On the whole, all views of China are correct - it's simply that diverse.
- robg 19y agoChomsky once wrote about how the founding conditions of a country determine the eventual outcomes. They're extremely resistant to change because they're so deeply embedded with the fabric of the culture. And that seems especially true of this country with the constant social tension between freedoms and Puritanism.
- byrneseyeview 19y agoThe easiest way to illustrate that is to note that our 'founding' conditions probably involved an extended mammoth hunt. At what point is a country 'founded' in Chomsky's model? Is he talking about when a dynasty begins, or when it achieves independence, or when it's first settled, or what? If your American example is from Chomsky, it's hilariously un-Chomskian "Since America began -- by which I mean, when Europeans got there..."
- ntoshev 19y agoThis cannot possibly be true about the "founding conditions" of European countries, for example.