Peas in a Pod

… and just another way that DJT and GOP have a strong resemblance to XJP and CCP -

This below is from Jude Blanchette at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, the non-partisan and thoughtful advisor on American foreign policy. At China Books Review he reviews two China books, both of which are due their own accolades. But this is Blanchette on Xi. Go ahead and do the substitution – replace the name Xi with Trump, when you read Party think of GOP, and think of US instead of China -

Unlike his predecessors, who often adopted more cautious or internally-focused approaches, Xi has mobilized far greater resources and directed the full machinery of the Party toward strategic ambitions on the world stage. His methods — which blend Leninist control with modern economic, technological and military prowess — represent a more aggressive and concentrated effort to reclaim China’s historical stature, with the long-term goal of challenging the current global power balance.

That is the goal. Yet it is becoming more evident by the day that to achieve this objective, Xi is corrupting the machinery of effective governance, like Stalin and Mao did before him. He has replaced pragmatism with paranoia, merit with loyalty, and debate with blind obedience. Governing institutions, that once seemed to be serving the nation as a whole, now serve one man’s unrelenting pursuit of power for the Party that he leads. Bureaucratic professionalism is giving way to fear-driven stagnation, as officials scramble to stay in favor, not to solve governance challenges. The promise of a prosperous, harmonious society has been bartered for the promise of stability, security and “national greatness.” Yet the price of pursuing these goals — paid in the currency of repression — continues to rise. The question is not just whether Xi will achieve his aims, but what will be left of China if he does.

What’s that line about “if it looks like a duck and walks like a duck”?  Narcissistic authoritarians think alike.

Just a minor note on dreams, American and Chinese

There is plenty written on the American Dream. We all have an idea of what that means. It is part of our civil religion, as Robert Bellah might have suggested in his 1967 Civil Religion in America.

 China-US: Some Similarities

A bit long, but worth perusing .... use the red highlights to skip around ... note - some figures are only screen shots of originals, so they look a little ... unkempt. Apologies.
 

An introduction

The US and China are two big countries and big countries with modern economies will necessarily have some similar problems. Middle class Chinese have concerns quite similar to those of middle class Americans. 

We write all the time about differences between the US and China. Amid the anxiety and paranoia about ascendant China it might help to consider a few ways in which the US and China are similar. Just for some perspective. I'm not suggesting identical causation, only similarities in the way people experience the world. I ignore a lot of other similarities and all the differences in this short list. Some items might be interesting or fun or a bit of nourishment for you. No one should take this as an intimate analysis of those similarities that I do find. I am not making an argument here, just listing some elements of culture or economics that I find similar in China and the US.

Made in China 2025 … and by GOP 2025

A brief note on choice of dates … and choice of policies. I don’t think CCP and GOP are directly coordinating policy, but they have constructed curiously sympatico … and apparently similarly timed … programs for major world restructuring. One economic and technological, one political and radically reactionary.

Prolegomenon for all of foreign affairs for the next decade or two

I get accused of writing excessively long posts. Mea culpa. This one is long, but not my writing. I include in full four articles, all coming to me within the last couple of days. Together, they lay out a Chinese plan for the decades, a Sino-Russian plan for the decades, point to the shallowness of American hegemony, and lessons to be learned for America and allies going forward. Yeah, I know, long and a little boring. Altogether, an interesting take on the future most of us will not see. You don’t have to read them all at one sitting.  Enjoy.

Occupying the UN - What a Community of Common Destiny will look like

Around 2005, our Chinese government students in Chicago were quite interested in our notions of NGOs. They had a tough time with NGOs like community organizations that received most or all of their funding from the local government, and then sometimes took positions directly opposed to local government proposals. In Chinese terms, WTF?