Touching on a topic I mentioned a while back, Brooks explains the fundamental differences in worldview held by Asia and the West. While the West values individuals and their success, Asians seem to prioritize collective harmony. For example, show a fish tank to an American and he sees the biggest fish and its actions. An Asian, on the other hand, sees the relationships between the fish. In experiment after experiment, “Americans usually see individuals; Chinese and other Asians see contexts.”

For much of history, individualist societies excelled economically, but Brooks thinks the rise of China may point to a change in that narrative.

“But what happens if collectivist societies snap out of their economic stagnation? What happens if collectivist societies, especially those in Asia, rise economically and come to rival the West? A new sort of global conversation develops.

The opening ceremony in Beijing was a statement in that conversation. It was part of China’s assertion that development doesn’t come only through Western, liberal means, but also through Eastern and collective ones.”

However, I think Brooks is missing a key point. I’m not an expert on either economics or China, but my understanding of the rise of China is that it hinged upon economic liberalization led by Deng Xiaoping. By opening up to international trade and moving towards a market system, China paved the way to the double-digit growth which has characterized its recent years.

What Brooks alleges, then, is that China has embraced capitalism while maintaining a collectivist spirit. In Ted Koppel’s recent miniseries entitled “The People’s Republic of Capitalism,” he interviewed a Western-educated Chinese youth who thought government censorship and repression was acceptable because it was bringing China out of poverty and improving millions of lives. Brooks sees this sentiment, which I believe is widespread, as a collectivist capitalism.

I disagree. I think it is driven by self-interest; it is individualistic. Those suppressed are not supporting the suppression. They don’t think collective harmony for growth is good, like Brooks supposes. The Koppel interview shows citizens who are being personally benefited by markets – the selfishly driven interaction of individuals. The rise of China – an economic phenomenon of GDP growth – comes with increased individualism. My intuition is that while it may masquerade as collectivism (“all of China is benefiting from this system, so suppression of dissent is okay”), it is really individuals seeing themselves benefit and liking it. Brooks thesis, as I understand it, would be supported by an active Falun Gong member supporting his suppression because his family is richer than last year. And, although I haven’t looked hard, I don’t think that is happening.

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