Why is everyone so excited that China is becoming a superpower?

I've seen tons of posts in this forum where people seem so happy and excited that China will eventually become the top superpower. Posters can't wait until they pass the US. So my question is why? Doesn't China have a pretty bad history of human rights violation and oppression of civil rights and freedoms? Is that what people are looking forward to? Hooray for censorship?

sonicare

I've seen tons of posts in this forum where people seem so happy and excited that China will eventually become the top superpower. Posters can't wait until they pass the US. So my question is why? Doesn't China have a pretty bad history of human rights violation and oppression of civil rights and freedoms? Is that what people are looking forward to? Hooray for censorship?

sonicare

[QUOTE="sonicare"]

I've seen tons of posts in this forum where people seem so happy and excited that China will eventually become the top superpower. Posters can't wait until they pass the US. So my question is why? Doesn't China have a pretty bad history of human rights violation and oppression of civil rights and freedoms? Is that what people are looking forward to? Hooray for censorship?

[QUOTE="sonicare"]

I've seen tons of posts in this forum where people seem so happy and excited that China will eventually become the top superpower. Posters can't wait until they pass the US. So my question is why? Doesn't China have a pretty bad history of human rights violation and oppression of civil rights and freedoms? Is that what people are looking forward to? Hooray for censorship?

Kage1

[QUOTE="surrealnumber5"]

[QUOTE="Wasdie"]

What the hell is the point of that?!

Wasdie

what china's doing. It's crazy.

It's almost insane but to them it's all good as long as they keep the GDP up.

[QUOTE="Wasdie"]

[QUOTE="surrealnumber5"] me posting it, or what china is doing?

shert

what china's doing. It's crazy.

It's almost insane but to them it's all good as long as they keep the GDP up.

Doesn't China have a pretty bad history of human rights violation and oppression of civil rights and freedoms?

sonicare

They just can't wait for the U.S to fall. People hate America so much that they don't see the reprocussions of the U.S. losing superpower status. Its sad really...MgamerBD

[QUOTE="sonicare"][QUOTE="kuraimen"]Another thing and this is probably the most important one in my book. Ever since we have written memory the "world culture" has been dominated by the "western" mentality. From Greece, to the Romans, to the Spanish, English empires and now the US, everyone of those cultures evolved from an indoeuropean heritage meaning that we are plagued by indoeuropean mentality, which, among other characteristics, is very patriarchal, dualistic and rational oriented. China will be the first big diversion from this pattern. It is probably not the best one but it is a start. I think eastern cultures has a lot to teach us westerners in matters as to how they conceive the world, religion and human nature. kuraimen

[QUOTE="kuraimen"][QUOTE="sonicare"] Japan has been a world economic superpower for years.gameguy6700

Of course we are going through a transition so it is obvious that China sees the need to learn english, it is not like the US is completely irrelevant now. I don't know you but in my country, which is in latinamerica, they opened hundreds of chinese language centers last year. We have a lot of cultural influence from the US and yet we see more and more chinese stuff in the streets everyday, they are even creating a chinese neighborhood in the center of the capital. The government here ignored a call from the US condemn China because of human rights violations and accepted a soccer stadium from the chinese in return (everything in that stadium is written in chinese by the way). I have seen similar stuff happening in several other countries specially Brazil which is more and more growing to become a economical power. Of course a transition as big as this one is not going to happen so fast but it will happen and it already started. Hell my 3 year old niece is learning chinese in kindergarten in a german school (a german government policy for that school here), they even teach that here before english now.

[QUOTE="MetalGear_Ninty"][QUOTE="kuraimen"] You should read a little about history then then you will realize that most of the western world was conquered by the indoeuropeans because of how warmongers they were. All of western main languages are indoeuropean in origin including english, german, spanish, etc only maybe finnish and estonian are not of indoeuropean descent. And yes there has always been skirmishes and conflicts with human societies but it is by no means the norm to go out and conquer the others, I suggest you read Guns, Germs and Steel for a pretty good account on how the modern cultural makeup came to be. There were lots of cultures who mostly kept to themselves and were minding their own business until the indoeuropeans went out of their way to conquer all of the modern world. Of course the indoeuropeans has not been the only violent ones but they have been, by far the most, violently successful ones. And yes there has been matriarchal societies as there are a couple left right now by the way. Human nature is not specially violent, that's what the western mentality has promoted and made popular. There has been lots of examples on how we don't particularly enjoy being violent because it will have basically made our evolution impossible. Even Darwin insisted on the non confrontationist and cooperative nature of humans but he was ignored in favor of the violent side interpretation by politicians and economists who had an interest to promote aggressive overly-competitive capitalism as the only real option for modern society.kuraimen

"The view of matriarchy as constituting a stage of cultural development now is generally discredited. Furthermore, the consensus among modern anthropologists and sociologists is that a strictly matriarchal society never existed." 'Matriarchy', Encyclopædia Britannica, 2007.

You can talk about feminine symbology and Godess worship but I'm afraid this does not translate into political or military power for women.

Chinese girls are pretty hot.

entropyecho

[QUOTE="kuraimen"][QUOTE="MetalGear_Ninty"] Of course altruism and cooperation was an importat fact in the evolution of humans, but mostly this circle of morality only extends to people within your own tribe, history has shown that humans are most able to commit heinous violent crimes when they fail to accept the humanity of their victims. It is this denial of the humanity of those outside your 'tribes' that has allowed humans in general, and not just Eurasian to be so violent. Even if you study remote tribal civilisations you hear stories of constant tribal warfare which is often brutal and bloody. Remember, often we are talking about tribes untouched by western influence. Also, I'm still not aware of these matriarchal societies you speak of. Care to give a few examples?MetalGear_Ninty

"The view of matriarchy as constituting a stage of cultural development now is generally discredited. Furthermore, the consensus among modern anthropologists and sociologists is that a strictly matriarchal society never existed." 'Matriarchy', Encyclopædia Britannica, 2007.

You can talk about feminine symbology and Godess worship but I'm afraid this does not translate into political or military power for women.

In my opinion, if China is able to sustain their economy for a long period of time, their human rights issues will start to improve as people's education and standard of living increases. China has only been an industrial power since about the 1970s. The US started becoming an industrial power in the mid-1800's. After 40 years from the start of the major industrialization of the US, there were tons of human rights violations, the biggest obviously being slavery (at the beginning). After that, you had the civil rights issues for blacks and women, child labor problems, etc. It took decades for these issues to be fixed. I expect China will follow the same path, as their human rights have been improving gradually. stanleycup98

[QUOTE="stanleycup98"]In my opinion, if China is able to sustain their economy for a long period of time, their human rights issues will start to improve as people's education and standard of living increases. China has only been an industrial power since about the 1970s. The US started becoming an industrial power in the mid-1800's. After 40 years from the start of the major industrialization of the US, there were tons of human rights violations, the biggest obviously being slavery (at the beginning). After that, you had the civil rights issues for blacks and women, child labor problems, etc. It took decades for these issues to be fixed. I expect China will follow the same path, as their human rights have been improving gradually. LJS9502_basic

It's nice to see some change in the world...

Sides

indeed

Because the plan is...once China becomes the major superpower then China will look for a cheap way to produce products and look to the U.S. and then we get manufacturing from them. (Idk really...just sounded good)

I would have no problem with China rising in power if they had a democratic government and human rights. Fortunately, their political backwardness should limit them in terms of forming military and economic alliances in the future.

Whatever the case, I'm joining the party through emerging market funds.

[QUOTE="gameguy6700"][QUOTE="kuraimen"] Yeah but they are not a cultural influence. There's a difference between being economically powerful and being the cultural power of the world. Japan just adapted to the western-type of mentality and succeeded economically.kuraimen

Of course we are going through a transition so it is obvious that China sees the need to learn english, it is not like the US is completely irrelevant now. I don't know you but in my country, which is in latinamerica, they opened hundreds of chinese language centers last year. We have a lot of cultural influence from the US and yet we see more and more chinese stuff in the streets everyday, they are even creating a chinese neighborhood in the center of the capital. The government here ignored a call from the US condemn China because of human rights violations and accepted a soccer stadium from the chinese in return (everything in that stadium is written in chinese by the way). I have seen similar stuff happening in several other countries specially Brazil which is more and more growing to become a economical power. Of course a transition as big as this one is not going to happen so fast but it will happen and it already started. Hell my 3 year old niece is learning chinese in kindergarten in a german school (a german government policy for that school here), they even teach that here before english now.

Well yeah but just becau- wait, did you just say that your country declined to condemn human rights violations in exchange for a soccer stadium?

Everyone? Generalization much?

[QUOTE="kuraimen"]

[QUOTE="gameguy6700"] Which is exactly what China is doing too. In Hong Kong you can't even get a corporate job without being fluent in English. The reason western culture has been spread so much is because of all the Western European empires that (literally) ruled the world during the imperial age. Then America exacerbated the situation even further when Hollywood, fast food, and chain stores came into being. No other country has ever boasted "culture" as one of its main exports. And right now it seems unlikely that China will overtake the US as the world's biggest producer of pop culture. Not only because there's no sign of them really focusing on that, but also because no other country to date has really pumped out high quality movies, music, TV shows, etc. as the US. Not to say that there aren't countries that produce a lot of those things, but their output is completely dwarfed by the US entertainment industry.gameguy6700

Of course we are going through a transition so it is obvious that China sees the need to learn english, it is not like the US is completely irrelevant now. I don't know you but in my country, which is in latinamerica, they opened hundreds of chinese language centers last year. We have a lot of cultural influence from the US and yet we see more and more chinese stuff in the streets everyday, they are even creating a chinese neighborhood in the center of the capital. The government here ignored a call from the US condemn China because of human rights violations and accepted a soccer stadium from the chinese in return (everything in that stadium is written in chinese by the way). I have seen similar stuff happening in several other countries specially Brazil which is more and more growing to become a economical power. Of course a transition as big as this one is not going to happen so fast but it will happen and it already started. Hell my 3 year old niece is learning chinese in kindergarten in a german school (a german government policy for that school here), they even teach that here before english now.

Well yeah but just becau- wait, did you just say that your country declined to condemn human rights violations in exchange for a soccer stadium?

lol, yep. We also supported the US in the illegal iraqi war in exchange of the US training a special police task force. That's how my country rolls :P

I've seen tons of posts in this forum where people seem so happy and excited that China will eventually become the top superpower. Posters can't wait until they pass the US. So my question is why? Doesn't China have a pretty bad history of human rights violation and oppression of civil rights and freedoms? Is that what people are looking forward to? Hooray for censorship?

sonicare

Doesn't China have a pretty bad history of human rights violation and oppression of civil rights and freedoms? The same thing can be said of America. The only differnce is America tends to do its dirt outside of its borders, a lot of brutal dictators around the world have enjoyed American support. The guy in Egypt and even the "evil" Bin ladin

It'll spice things up, thats for sure.

Another thing and this is probably the most important one in my book. Ever since we have written memory the "world culture" has been dominated by the "western" mentality. From Greece, to the Romans, to the Spanish, English empires and now the US, everyone of those cultures evolved from an indoeuropean heritage meaning that we are plagued by indoeuropean mentality, which, among other characteristics, is very patriarchal, dualistic and rational oriented. China will be the first big diversion from this pattern. It is probably not the best one but it is a start. I think eastern cultures has a lot to teach us westerners in matters as to how they conceive the world, religion and human nature. kuraimen

What the heck are you talking about? "World culture" has been dominated by the "western" mentality since recorded history? Where did you get that gem from? I guess a life of learning mainly European/ American history in school has robbed you of the whole picture of world history.

BTW I don't think China will surpass the US in influence or standard of living anytime soon. The people of developed and developing countries are much more attracted to the American system rather than the Chinese one. However, the world is changing. We can't boil everything down into a China vs US argument. How does India fit into the picture? Or South America?

I've always said, if someone has to police the world or even take it over I rather it be the Americans than the chinese.

I'm not a huge fan of the American approach, however China banned Dr. Who. I like Dr. Who.

Most of the posters who looking forward to the possibility of China surpassing the US are adolescents living in countries outside the US who have a massive inferiority complex about their nationality. If China becomes a superpower then they'll just complain about China too.gameguy6700

Reading this post was like getting punched in the face by a physical manifestation truth itself.

I am Asian myself and I'm not excited one bit. Corruption in the government arena in China is by far out of control. Of course, the officials will abuse that power to an even greater extent if they were a first-class world figure.

I am Asian myself and I'm not excited one bit. Corruption in the government arena in China is by far out of control. Of course, the officials will abuse that power to an even greater extent if they were a first-****world figure.

Desulated

I happen to believe that having 1/6 of the world's population become more educated, increase their standard of living, and make the transition to informed consumers is a good thing.

Indeed, I would suggest that in an interconnected world economy it is inevitable that political and social reform occurs or else superpower status cannot be obtained/retained.

Oppression/tyranny relies upon having a mostly poor, uneducated, and often rural population. Clearly China has a long way to go, but they are certainly much more open than when I was a young man. The difference over those 30+ years is the shift to urban dwellers and the rapidly increasing economic wealth and increased education that comes with that.

Would be nice if, as people said, acquiring superpower status turns that nation into a less backward country in terms of human and civil rights. However, I'm Chinese yet I can't speak the language (and learning it is a real pain in the ass) so I sure as hell hope English retains its dominance as an international language for the next 80 years.

I've always said, if someone has to police the world or even take it over I rather it be the Americans than the chinese.

Espada12

Damn right!

What's funny is is that every single person rooting for China is in for a rude awakening. Their housing bubble is going to collapse so hard it's really not even funny.

the 12th 5 year plan has already highlighted that china is looking to go greener, treat the people better and do away with many of the human rights issues that plague the country, their growth can only be a good thing

as for the housing bubble bursting and ruining them, cant see it personally, learnt too much from japan, the biggest problem for them is the yuan being floated too fast and the issue within the original special economic zones potentially becoming ghost towns when companies go inland for cheaper prices (foxconn have already gone for example)

within5 years india and vietnam will be cheaper than the chinese coast for manufacturing

the 12th 5 year plan has already highlighted that china is looking to go greener, treat the people better and do away with many of the human rights issues that plague the country, their growth can only be a good thing

as for the housing bubble bursting and ruining them, cant see it personally, learnt too much from japan, the biggest problem for them is the yuan being floated too fast and the issue within the original special economic zones potentially becoming ghost towns when companies go inland for cheaper prices (foxconn have already gone for example)

within5 years india and vietnam will be cheaper than the chinese coast for manufacturing

villa4europe

I'm fine with China and the power and no I'm not Chinese. And they are only reemerging there position. Throughout history they have always been ahead in technology and on the top as far as economy and military. So this is really nothing new. After the Ming Dynastythey started going downhill, but now they are just retaking what they are normally used to being at the top.

we havethat in the states now, so in that area nothing would changesurrealnumber5