Part II Notes on When China Rules the World, by Martin Jacques
Quoting Anthony Giddens "The Consequences of Modernity", Jacques argues that for the East Asian countries modernity is a mixture of past and future in the present; whereas, in most countries modernization the present is forward looking. Because the East Asian change from agrarian to urban was so fast, the past, and all its baggage, is still fully present.
the path to modernity is not developmental or going through stages that end up at the same place. Modernity means different things in different cultures.
Contested Modernity
Language--Chinese is the most spoken language in the world; english is next. Will English remain the dominant international language? Jacques isn't sure. But most Asian countries maintain their language and learn English as a second language
Clothing--East Asian countries have mostly adopted Western dress. Jacques suggests that, in contrast to India and Muslim countries, religion has not played a role in dress in the East Asian countries and thus clothing has little cultural value in those countries, as it does in the highly religious India.
The desire for white skin, Jacques argues has less to do with wanting to be Western and more to do with long standing class differences. Dark skin suggested you worked on the land and were poor. White skin was for the rich and upper class.
Food: Chinese food, while having some western influences, stays largely chinese and is still largely eaten by the Chinese (and many others besides). We would do better to speak of the asianization of western food, given the proliferation of Asian restaurants in the west.
the path to modernity is not developmental or going through stages that end up at the same place. Modernity means different things in different cultures.
Contested Modernity
Language--Chinese is the most spoken language in the world; english is next. Will English remain the dominant international language? Jacques isn't sure. But most Asian countries maintain their language and learn English as a second language
Clothing--East Asian countries have mostly adopted Western dress. Jacques suggests that, in contrast to India and Muslim countries, religion has not played a role in dress in the East Asian countries and thus clothing has little cultural value in those countries, as it does in the highly religious India.
The desire for white skin, Jacques argues has less to do with wanting to be Western and more to do with long standing class differences. Dark skin suggested you worked on the land and were poor. White skin was for the rich and upper class.
Food: Chinese food, while having some western influences, stays largely chinese and is still largely eaten by the Chinese (and many others besides). We would do better to speak of the asianization of western food, given the proliferation of Asian restaurants in the west.
Comments
Post a Comment