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Saturday, November 26, 2005A few thoughts on the Harbin disaster in China (more via Instapundit):I haven't read too much about the disaster, but I've read a few articles on the politics - officials will be fired, will this, will that... Will they get the same treatment as those who sat on their earlier health crises (eg SARS), saying, "What, me worry?" I realize the disaster is, well, a disaster. That's why they call it that. But it's one that China may finally handle correctly. How come? It was too noticeable to sweep under the rug. It drew immediate attention. Even if there are long term, terrible consequences, people know a lot more about where to steer clear and how to stay safe. This is a disaster. But it is one that is subject to disaster management - as opposed to mere PR damage control, which is where the Chinese have been on most public health issues. So why, now that we have a mess that can be dealt with are we rushing heads to the chopping block? Maybe because this involves mere industrial types and lower level planners who may have screwed up in a bad situation, whereas the other crises related to higher ranking party officials playing politics? It's also worth wondering if the Chinese government shouldn't have had better safeguards in place. I keep hearing about how the Chinese are going to overrun us all - economically, I mean. But the bottom line is, you can't have it both ways. The United States produces people like Bill Gates because our free enterprise system allows cranks and braggarts to try out their ideas and get rich or go belly-up. Eventually, this generates enough wealth that decent health standards and public safety protections are put in place by a society wealthy enough to pay for them and with a free enough, self-governing enough people that they can demand them. China, at the moment, is the ugly corporation's dreamland - it lets you exploit the people, the environment, etc, and make money - if you play nice with Beijing. But in the long run, China is going to have to open up enough that the government's fear isn't of unrest, but of being voted out, when things like this happen. Is going to have to open up enough that better safety and health precautions are in place. Is going to have to open up enough that business and government are no longer back-scratching partners but competitors for the populace's renmibi (Chinese dollars). Otherwise, no Bill Gates. China, right now, is stumbling along at the same place we were when the muckrakers cut loose on meat-packing plants, bribery, etc. Only there's no good democratic system to channel it. Which means they don't get here from there until something changes. Short version: this latest incident and the government's response shows China still isn't ready for prime time. In the long run... China's options are two. They can continue the cold war whose beginning at least traces to their finagling in the '96 elections - and be outlasted by our system, which is hard to beat with the way it unleashes the energy of free individuals. That's what happened to Russia. Or... the old Marxist enterprise that has already scuttled Marxism can prepare for a gentle self-scuttling that pushes China in our direction before it is actively forced to go there. Either way, the problems popping up in a China whose leadership wants to let the economic genie out of the bottle - but nothing else - will continue as they stumble and stagger, doing the same stupid things we've done, but without the mechanisms for self-correction that make sure you get it right sooner, rather than later, for faster real and meaningful growth that leaves the planners scratching their heads as the world whizzes by them. By the way, one hates to pile on, reading that there's just been an earthquake in central China. Still, the point does need to be made, especially for those forecasting a Chinese takeover of the world: Harbin and the like point to a system that can't find its footing, and won't, because it's not addressing its biggest internal contradiction - freedom in life, thought and money are all tied together, are all necessary to unleash a society's full potential, and in any combination are ultimately inimical to a government that thinks it can advance by controlling or managing them. 
posted by gbarto at 6:42 PM Wednesday, November 23, 2005 Shhhhh... no one knows I'm here. Er, Happy Thanksgiving, everybody!
posted by gbarto at 9:58 PM Gaius, aka the Conservative Observer, has considerably less patience for the anti-Thanksgiving crowd than I.
posted by gbarto at 6:09 PM On giving thanks... Instapundit points to the thoughts of a not very grateful Robert Jensen. Says Jensen, we oughtn't be giving thanks, but making apologies: One indication of moral progress in the United States would be the replacement of Thanksgiving Day and its self-indulgent family feasting with a National Day of Atonement accompanied by a self-reflective collective fasting.Jensen would have us atone, of course, for the extirpation of Native American culture. And why not? Our "interactions" with the Indians do not constitute the proudest moments of our history. But... In reading Jensen, one does not find the balanced view that unnuanced Yankee Doodle Dandies miss; one merely finds its counterpoint. Instead of "My country, right or wrong," Jensen offers, "My country's always wrong." Acknowledging the barbarism that punctuates all of human history, we must contemplate the strong possiblity of imperfection on our part. But though we have much to atone for, we do, also, have much to be grateful for. Jensen worries about the uses of history, fretting that a dolled-up version of the origins of the USA gives the wrong impression in assessing our motives in Iraq. Fair enough. But so does a version of history which magnifies our wrongs and explains away the progress we have made. Jensen falls into the same error as the jingoists, implying that history has an absolute value and that the moral credentials of a people across history can be readily assessed. In reality, however, history is not a question of fact, but of interpretation. Like a traveler without a map, the historian can only assess where we are in relation to where we've been. And lacking a specific destination (the end of history doesn't count), we must refer to extra-historical markers - our particular values - to decide whether our history represents progress or retrogression. Jensen would have had me, had he called for a Day of Reflection, a moment to contemplate what this country of ours means to us - where it brings us joy and pride, where it brings shame and sadness. But Jensen's Day of Atonement represents something different. For all his laments about the powerful imposing an understanding of history, it shows that his true resentment is in not being powerful enough to impose his understanding. Whether you call it Thanksgiving and savor America's divine bounty or call it a Day of Atonement and lament America's ill-gotten spoils, you are imposing meaning on the rest of the country. A Day of Reflection would allow us to escape the impositions of the powerful, forming our own meaning. But perhaps, just perhaps, this would remind that we are in a society where you can not only think thoughts against but write articles savaging our evil founding fathers. And then you might feel, God forbid, gratitude for living in a country where you can publish diatribes about the evil government with your name on them for all the world to see with your greatest fear being nasty commenters. My own particular view, using my own particular yardsticks, is that we live in a nation that exterminated Native American culture, then used its only unique holiday to celebrate one of the few happy interactions with it. A nation founded on the principle that all men are created equal, then had to fight a war with itself before accepting that maybe it really meant it, but which did fight that war and start the still-ongoing effort to right the wrongs that were done and create a freer, fairer society for all. A society that eventually decided all women were created equal too, even letting them vote, though a few states are still coming to terms with the ramifications of this. A nation that exterminated Indian culture because Manifest Destiny gave us the divine right to do so, but which boasts today of liberating nations, getting the hell out and leaving people to their own destinies as soon as possible (and the America as liberator idea goes way back to the World Wars). Ours is a nation of affirming hypocrisies: When we see the embarrassment of our old ways, we do our damnedest to live them down and align ourselves with what we'd like our nation to be. It's a tedious and arduous process, rife with heroes who slaughtered indiscriminately, thugs in white hoods and colored-only drinking fountain signs. But it's also a process with people overturning, repudiating and moving beyond these embarrassments. We are a society whose proudest defining moments are those where more people were made free, then empowered to grow, to learn and to prosper. A society distinctly uncomfortable with itself about those who were held back, or whom we might still be holding back. Though there is much yet to do, there is much that has been done. The promise of America is that we have a tendency to do what must be done to remain a symbol of freedom and hope, at least for those oppressed and hungry, if no longer for a bloated and declining Europe. We are a self-correcting society, manifestly imperfect but slowly reconciling ourselves to the tasks necessary to be what we would imagine we already are. Because of our society's ability to grow and to evolve, what Reagan said remains true, giving not only cause for hope but a reminder that complacency is not in order: America's best days are yet to come. The question of where we have been, where we are headed and in what direction we really want to go should give us pause for reflection. That we can discuss it openly and freely, celebrating our triumphs and lamenting our failures and lapses, gives us much to be thankful for. May your Thanksgiving be filled with gratitude and reflection - and family, friends and food to your taste.
posted by gbarto at 8:58 AM Tuesday, November 22, 2005It's Pajama Time!The other day, I gave up and put "osm.org" on my blogroll. But I have to confess that to get my blog round-up, I was much more likely to dial up Instapundit or, say, Roger L. Simon. Here's the deal: OSM was supposed to be the blogosphere's answer to the MSM. But the answer sounded kind of like, "Er, um, yes, you're right, sir." The Pajama brigades are supposed to be hip and cool and fun. OSM, in name and look, was like a local news station trying to put up a site that says "You can count on Action News 5!" It wasn't what blogworld's all about. So, it's good to see that OSM is returning to its proper name, Pajamas Media. Now, if they can just make it look like a blog! Visit LGF, visit Instantman. What makes them great? A professional look that says, "Action 5 is on the Scene - with News, Weather and Sports!" ? No, it's lot's of linky goodness in multiple entries so you can scroll awhile for the bits that interest you. The look is crisp and clean, of course, not as jumbled as this site, but it's designed to be read, not admired, which is why it is read, as opposed to gawked at on the idiot box or boob tube. Let's wish the OSM idea fond parting, then, while welcoming the return of pajamas media, with the hope that its next unveiling looks a little more like LGF and less like a barebones version of the old media it extends and surpasses.
posted by gbarto at 1:07 PM |
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