China in the American Imagination
In: Dissent: a journal devoted to radical ideas and the values of socialism and democracy, Band 45, S. 54-59
ISSN: 0012-3846
Argues that US discourse on the People's Republic of China reflects the myth that entrepreneurial individualism & democratic communitarianism are mutually reinforcing. The odd political alliances generated by policies with China, during & since the Cold War, are detailed. It is contended that the 1989 massacre of prodemocracy activists in Tiananmen Square & the subsequent coexistence of tremendous economic growth & harsh political repression devastated US belief in market economics necessarily leading to democracy. Because of this & recognition that China is not Marxist, US positions have realigned. The new policy debate over China (including Taiwan) is waged among a Left & Right establishment & populism, with the establishment & US business interests mostly winning. It is concluded that China is too large & diverse to be easily contained in US discourse, & the country will probably develop differently by region, both politically & economically. E. Blackwell