This video features an interview with economist Jeffrey Sachs, who discusses the rise of China and the shift toward a new world order, emphasizing a long-term historical perspective.
Summary of Key Points
The core argument is that China’s return to the front ranks of power is a historical re-balancing, not a threat, and that China’s unique history has shaped a distinct and non-anarchic approach to statecraft.
* A Historical Re-balancing
* Sachs argues that for most of history, Asia accounted for approximately 60% of the world’s economy and population. The last two centuries, dominated by the rise of Europe and the North Atlantic, were an imbalance.
* China’s share of world output fell drastically to around 2% by the 1950s after what it calls its “century of humiliation,” marked by foreign attacks and civil chaos.
* The current rise of China, alongside the development of India and Southeast Asia, signifies a natural return to balance and the end of the Eurocentric/North Atlantic-centered view of the world.
* Ideology and the Western View
* Temporary economic and power imbalances are often solidified by ideologies like American exceptionalism or past European notions of cultural and racial superiority, which assert that the dominance is “natural”.
* Sachs notes that because of this deep-seated belief system, the U.S. views China’s rise with alarm, fear, and disdain, rather than equanimity, and focuses on containment.
* Distinctive Chinese Statecraft
* Western Statecraft: The West’s geopolitical mindset is shaped by 1,500 years of fragmentation and internal war following the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in 476 AD. This led to a belief that statecraft is fundamentally anarchic and conflict-driven (political realism).
* Chinese Statecraft: China, by contrast, unified in 221 BCE and has been a centralized administrative state for most of the last 2,200 years. Its political philosophy (Confucianism) emphasizes internal order and harmony.
* Sachs contends that China’s history does not support a Western-style drive for overseas imperialism. He cites a half a millennium of “Confucian peace” (1368-1839) with its East Asian neighbors (Japan, Korea, Vietnam) as evidence of a different geopolitical mentality. He concludes by expressing his disagreement with realists (like John Mearsheimer) who believe China will behave just like any other great power.
Video Details:
* Title: Jeffrey Sachs: Chinese Statecraft & a New World Order
* Channel: Glenn Diesen
* URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qcTLAX8hF7I