David W. Rudlin
3y
Is China Modernizing but not Westernizing?
Excellent question!

I’ve lived and worked in Japan (I know you asked about China — bear with me) for more than 30 years. And from Day 1 I’ve been hearing how Japan is becoming more and more western with each passing day.

And yet, all these years later, Japan is still Japan. Sure, people eat burgers and kimono are pretty rare. But — and this is the key thing — the fact other cultures do some of the same things as we do does NOT mean they aspire to be like us, warts and all.

China doesn’t want to be “westernized.” They’d love to have American tech salaries, and big American houses. But they want those things because they’re nice to have, not because they’re American.

In fact, most Chinese think America is on the verge of becoming a failed democracy. They look at things like school shootings and opioid addiction and the circus that passes for US politics, and walk away convinced that the Chinese cultural model is vastly superior.

Moreover, the idea that other places in the world dream of being us reveals a dangerous arrogance, narcissism and ignorance. There are KFC’s in China? Folks, the Chinese were eating fried chicken for centuries before The Colonel discovered his secret blend of herbs and spices.

To flip the question, does the fact sushi is booming in the west mean the US and UK are “Japanizing”? Of course not. It’s perfectly possible to enjoy some products of a different culture without trying to make that culture your own.