Americans' view of China: NOT a nation of wimps

It is amazing how profound there has been a shift in the American consciousness about how powerful China has become. The Chicago Council on Foreign Relations, Pew, and others have already conducted lots of polls showing this transition. Ask Americans which country is the world's most powerful, and they are as likely to say China as the United States. Ask Americans which country will be the world's most powerful in a decade or two, and they are more likely to answer China than the United States.

Along with new judgments about relative power, Americans' views of the Chinese people and government are also changing. An increasing number of commentators, from Tom Friedman to James Fallows, identify positive characteristics in China's political system which the United States lacks and needs to adopt. They do NOT appreciate China's authoritarian system, but instead admire the system's ability to focus, identify top priorities, and invest substantial resources toward meeting those goals. Their view is still, though, far from conventional wisdom.

From the sounds and pictures one sees in American popular culture, closer to wider acceptance is the view of Chinese people as hardworking, smart, and committed to the greater good. These are qualities we used to identify in Japan and other Asian countries, what for a while were called "Asian values." Of course, these used to be traits Americans saw as embodied in their own culture (remember the "Protestant work ethic") and which some times are still applied to certain Americans, such as Midwesterners. As someone living in a Midwest state, I can confirm this praise. :)

A beautiful indicator of this shift in conventional wisdom comes from the world of sports. On Sunday (Dec. 26), a football game between the Philadelphia Eagles and Minnesota Vikings was postponed because of an impending blizzard bearing down on Philadelphia. The game was changed to be played on the following Tuesday to protect those traveling to the game and to allow time for snowplows to move snow from the streets and stadium.

This safety-first decision caused an uproar, with an amazing amount of attention given to the supposed differences between Americans and Chinese. Will Bunch, in a column for the Philadelphia Daily News, said the decision reflects how soft Americans have become. Entitled, "The Wimps Who Stole Christmas," Bunch, who I believe is not a China specialist but instead a sports writer, says such a decision would never have been made in China. He writes:

He was joined in his self-flagulation by Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell, a Democrat, who asserted the United States is a "nation of wusses." He defended his comments on ESPN.

I personally am not a great believer in cultural arguments about economic success or decline, but I'm probably in the minority. Recognizing that many people do make such judgments (either on their own or prompted by pollsters), a very good question is whether Chinese agree with Americans. I don't think we have enough good systematic data, but anecdotal evidence suggests Chinese tend to believe that Americans are lazy, overweight, and not as industrious and hardworking as they used to be. These qualities are used to explain -- and put in a moral framework -- the 2008 financial crisis, which some Chinese I know see as the product of a society that is addicted to consuming beyond its means. Again, though, we need to qualify such generalizations since we have little survey data, and I also meet Chinese who deeply admire America, including its people, society, and political system.

It is slightly ironic that this self-criticism of the US and praise of China was raised in the context of attending a football game, which last I checked qualifies as entertainment; the tickets are quite expensive, and many in the stands consume a lot of beer, hamburgers, fries, and candy. Perhaps Gov. Rendell and others could push Americans to be "more Chinese" not by walking through snow to attend a football game, but instead by studying harder in school, working longer hours, saving more money, and living healthier lives. But that would be politically unpopular. Tonight where will Gov. Rendell be? In the stands or in front of his TV watching the game, beer and burger in hand. [Update (12/30): the governor was in the stands (no beer or hotdog in open view), but next to him someone had placed a sign: "seat for non-wusses."]

To all the wusses and non-wusses, American, Chinese, and everyone else, happy new year!

Comments

[Yuelin]

At the height of the Japan hype in the late 1980s, the Japan bubble was getting ready to burst. In hindsight, the 10-15 years that followed were termed Japan's "lost decade". Who still remembers how Japan looked invincible then?

Now that America has started to catch on the China hype, chances are China is getting ready to go down the slope. Widest income gap in the world, over-reliance on fixed asset investment and export, environmental degradation, an archaic and self-degradating political system, and a sea of people that are spiritually empty. However China copes with these challenges, good or bad, it promises to be a hair-raising ride.

As far as America is concerned, there is no harm in seeing in the other nation what it perceives itself lacks. The fact that it can stimulate some debates and provoke some soul-searching, all the better. Twenty years on, few might remember it was China that provided the service.

[Becky]

Thanks for the post! I've been very interested in this topic recently and searching for reading on it. I enjoyed your thoughts. I stumbled upon another blog like I stumbled upon yours. I really enjoyed her take on it: http://www.tchuddle.com/2011/01/a-nation-of-wimps-addendum/

Thanks for your post! I'd like to see more.

[Andrea]

Thanks, Dr. Kennedy, for the entertaining read.

[Thomas Bernstein]

Dear Scott, great blog. I had trouble opening the governor's wusses comment. I think that much depends on whose wuss is being gored. Last night I listened to Jerry Brown exhorting Californians to forget their ideological prejudices and work together. Its a great idea but to have it work, there has to be widespread feeling that our system is becoming fairer, e.g., with regard to income distribution. Maybe that doesn't matter to Chinese, if Marty Whyte's book is right, but it certainly matters here.