Plvs Vltra
Madmaxista
- Desde
- 31 Ago 2013
- Mensajes
- 29.703
- Reputación
- 38.319
Experimento de quién y para quién? 
From a China Traveler
From a China Traveler - NYTimes.com
Given China’s vastness, it was only due to the remarkable thoughtfulness of our hosts that the six members of our Chase group were able to see and experience so much during just ten days in Peking, Sian, Shanghai and Canton. In terms of simple geographic expanse, a week and a half visit to China is something equivalent to try*ing to see New York City in less than one and a half minutes.
One is impressed immediately by the sense of national harmony. From the loud patriotic music at the border on*ward, there is very real and pervasive dedication to Chairman Mao and Maoist principles. Whatever the price of the Chinese Revolution, it has ob*viously succeeded not only in produc*ing more efficient and dedicated administration, but also in fostering high jovenlandesale and community of pur*pose.
General economic and social progress is no less impressive. Only 25 years ago, starvation and abject pov*erty are said to have been more the rule than the exception in China. To*day, almost everyone seems to enjoy adequate, if Spartan, food, clothing and housing. Streets and homes are spot*lessly clean, and medical care greatly improved. Crime, drug addiction, pros*titution and venereal disease have been virtually eliminated. Doors are routinely left unlocked. Rapid strides are being made in agriculture, refores*tation, industry and education. Eighty per cent of school-age children now attend primary school, compared with 20 per cent just twenty years ago.
Each step of the trip was choreo*graphed precisely by our hosts and, though virtually all our requests were granted, we clearly saw what they wanted us to. Still, there was little sense of the constant security found in some other Communist countries. Issues such as Taiwan and Cambodia evoke strong positions, but conversa*tion does not founder on ideological shoals. The Chinese seem so totally convinced of the correctness of their own world view that they do not feel they have to push it aggressively.
Despite the constant impressions of progress, however, some gray areas and basic contradictions also emerged. Three major questions remain in my own mind.
First, can individuality and creativ*ity continue to be contained to the degree they are now in a nation with such a rich cultural heritage?
The enormous social advances of China have benefited greatly from the singleness of ideology and purpose. But a stiff price has been paid in terms of cultural and intellectual constraint. There are only eight different theatri*cal productions in the entire country. The universities are rigorously politicized, with little room for inquiry unrelated to Chairman Mao’s thought. Freedom to travel or change jobs is restricted. When asked about personal creativity, one ceramics craftsman an*swered only that there was not time for individual art if the masses were to be served.
Second, will the highly decentral*ized Chinese economy be able to adapt successfully to expanded foreign trade and technological improvements?
Considering the problems to be over*come, economic growth in China over the last 25 years has been quite re*markable, with an annual average rise in gross national product of 4 to 5 per cent. For the 1971-75 period, this growth should range between 5.5 and 7.5 per cent a year. These results have depended largely on a wise emphasis on agriculture and a nationwide policy of decentralized, balanced industrial development. The industrial spread reflects strategic factors, the labor-abundant nature of the country and inadequate tras*portation. There are, for instance, now only a handful of commercial jet airplanes in China, and flights are entirely dependent on weather conditions owing to limited guidance facilities common in most parts of the world.
Third, are we and the Chinese pre*pared to accept our very real differ*ences and still proceed toward the closer mutual understanding that must be the basis of substantive future contact?
I antiestéticar that too often the true signifi*cance and potential of our new rela*tionship with China has been obscured by the novelty of it all. Pandas and Ping-Pong, gymnastics and elaborate dinners have captivated our imagina*tions, and I suspect the Chinese are equally intrigued by some of our more novel capitalistic ways.
In fact, of course, we are experienc*ing a much more fundamental phe*nomenon. The Chinese, for their part, are faced with altering a primarily inward focus that they have pursued for a quarter century under their cur*rent leadership. We, for our part, are faced with the realization that we have largely ignored a country with one-fourth of the world’s population. When one considers the profound dif*ferences in our cultural heritages and our social and economic systems, this is certain to be a long task with much accommodation necessary on both sides.
The social experiment in China un*der Chairman Mao’s leadership is one of the most important and successful in human history. How extensively China opens up and how the world interprets and reacts to the social in*novations and life styles she has de*veloped is certain to have a profound impact on the future of many nations.
David Rockefeller is chairman of the board of the Chase Manhattan Bank.
Y por cierto, queda toda la historia de quien financio a Marx, Lenin, Stalin... todos ellos fueron a Londres y la primera internacional fue en Londres...
London's role in the Russian Revolution - BBC News
Vic Keegan
From a China Traveler
From a China Traveler - NYTimes.com
Given China’s vastness, it was only due to the remarkable thoughtfulness of our hosts that the six members of our Chase group were able to see and experience so much during just ten days in Peking, Sian, Shanghai and Canton. In terms of simple geographic expanse, a week and a half visit to China is something equivalent to try*ing to see New York City in less than one and a half minutes.
One is impressed immediately by the sense of national harmony. From the loud patriotic music at the border on*ward, there is very real and pervasive dedication to Chairman Mao and Maoist principles. Whatever the price of the Chinese Revolution, it has ob*viously succeeded not only in produc*ing more efficient and dedicated administration, but also in fostering high jovenlandesale and community of pur*pose.
General economic and social progress is no less impressive. Only 25 years ago, starvation and abject pov*erty are said to have been more the rule than the exception in China. To*day, almost everyone seems to enjoy adequate, if Spartan, food, clothing and housing. Streets and homes are spot*lessly clean, and medical care greatly improved. Crime, drug addiction, pros*titution and venereal disease have been virtually eliminated. Doors are routinely left unlocked. Rapid strides are being made in agriculture, refores*tation, industry and education. Eighty per cent of school-age children now attend primary school, compared with 20 per cent just twenty years ago.
Each step of the trip was choreo*graphed precisely by our hosts and, though virtually all our requests were granted, we clearly saw what they wanted us to. Still, there was little sense of the constant security found in some other Communist countries. Issues such as Taiwan and Cambodia evoke strong positions, but conversa*tion does not founder on ideological shoals. The Chinese seem so totally convinced of the correctness of their own world view that they do not feel they have to push it aggressively.
Despite the constant impressions of progress, however, some gray areas and basic contradictions also emerged. Three major questions remain in my own mind.
First, can individuality and creativ*ity continue to be contained to the degree they are now in a nation with such a rich cultural heritage?
The enormous social advances of China have benefited greatly from the singleness of ideology and purpose. But a stiff price has been paid in terms of cultural and intellectual constraint. There are only eight different theatri*cal productions in the entire country. The universities are rigorously politicized, with little room for inquiry unrelated to Chairman Mao’s thought. Freedom to travel or change jobs is restricted. When asked about personal creativity, one ceramics craftsman an*swered only that there was not time for individual art if the masses were to be served.
Second, will the highly decentral*ized Chinese economy be able to adapt successfully to expanded foreign trade and technological improvements?
Considering the problems to be over*come, economic growth in China over the last 25 years has been quite re*markable, with an annual average rise in gross national product of 4 to 5 per cent. For the 1971-75 period, this growth should range between 5.5 and 7.5 per cent a year. These results have depended largely on a wise emphasis on agriculture and a nationwide policy of decentralized, balanced industrial development. The industrial spread reflects strategic factors, the labor-abundant nature of the country and inadequate tras*portation. There are, for instance, now only a handful of commercial jet airplanes in China, and flights are entirely dependent on weather conditions owing to limited guidance facilities common in most parts of the world.
Third, are we and the Chinese pre*pared to accept our very real differ*ences and still proceed toward the closer mutual understanding that must be the basis of substantive future contact?
I antiestéticar that too often the true signifi*cance and potential of our new rela*tionship with China has been obscured by the novelty of it all. Pandas and Ping-Pong, gymnastics and elaborate dinners have captivated our imagina*tions, and I suspect the Chinese are equally intrigued by some of our more novel capitalistic ways.
In fact, of course, we are experienc*ing a much more fundamental phe*nomenon. The Chinese, for their part, are faced with altering a primarily inward focus that they have pursued for a quarter century under their cur*rent leadership. We, for our part, are faced with the realization that we have largely ignored a country with one-fourth of the world’s population. When one considers the profound dif*ferences in our cultural heritages and our social and economic systems, this is certain to be a long task with much accommodation necessary on both sides.
The social experiment in China un*der Chairman Mao’s leadership is one of the most important and successful in human history. How extensively China opens up and how the world interprets and reacts to the social in*novations and life styles she has de*veloped is certain to have a profound impact on the future of many nations.
David Rockefeller is chairman of the board of the Chase Manhattan Bank.
Y por cierto, queda toda la historia de quien financio a Marx, Lenin, Stalin... todos ellos fueron a Londres y la primera internacional fue en Londres...
London's role in the Russian Revolution - BBC News
Vic Keegan
