Salvatore Babones (@sbabones) is an American sociologist at the University of Sydney. His research takes a long-term approach to interpreting the structure of the global economy, with a particular focus on China. He can be reached at: s@salvatorebabones.com.
Book review — Merchants of War and Peace by Song-Chuan Chen
Originally published at: http://asianreviewofbooks.com/content/merchants-of-war-and-p ...The Opium Wars are probably the only actual shooting wars in history that are named after a drug. It wouldn’t be so surprising if the Opium Wars fought between the United Kingdom and China in 1839-1842 and 1856-1860 had been given the label by aggrieved Chinese historians to highlight the key role played by drug trafficking in British imperialism, but that’s not what happened. READ MORE
Chinese students enrich Western universities in more ways than one
Originally published at: http://ippreview.com/index.php/Blog/single/id/524.html ...The greatest wealth that Chinese students have to offer Western universities is not in their wallets or their parents’ bank accounts. It is in their minds. And they are eager to share it. READ MORE
Interview — Is the United States the “Tianxia” of the 21st century?
Originally published at: https://www.voachinese.com/a/american-tianxia-21-century-201 ...The twenty-first century may be the century of the Chinese people, but of the Chinese people living in America. READ MORE
American Tianxia: The Chinese term for American power
Originally published at: https://policypress.wordpress.com/2017/07/19/american-tianxi ...I first heard of the term “tianxia” at the end of 2015. I had spent several months working in the Wang Gungwu Library at the Chinese Heritage Centre (CHC) at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. Prof. Wang Gungwu didn’t donate the money for the library. He donated the books. READ MORE
American Tianxia: A Chinese term for American power
Originally published at: http://ippreview.com/index.php/Blog/single/id/500.html ...Many of the peoples of historical East Asia probably resented Chinese supremacy. Nonetheless they understood that China was the central state that guaranteed the stability of “all under heaven.” Today that central state is the United States, and the harmonious order of “all under heaven” in the twenty-first century is the American Tianxia. READ MORE
American Tianxia: The United States as the new “Middle Kingdom”
Originally published at: http://asianreviewofbooks.com/content/american-tianxia-the-u ...Only a state founded on the primacy of the individual and ideologically committed to freedom of opportunity for all individuals could succeed as the central state of a truly global world-system. READ MORE
American Tianxia: When Chinese philosophy meets American power
Originally published at: https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/2017-06-22/american- ...The last time a whole world was so organized around a single, central state was in the fifteenth century, when East Asia was centered on Ming-dynasty China. China at the time wasn’t just the leader or regional hegemon; it was the central state of a political and cultural realm that stretched from Burma to Japan. READ MORE
Interview — The politics of inequality
Originally published at: https://www.opendemocracy.net/democraciaabierta/salvatore-ba ...People are proposing many creative approaches to reducing inequality, but I don’t see any reason to be creative when reliable, well-tested policies are available off the shelf. To reduce inequality, governments should collect taxes using strongly progressive income tax systems and governments should provide services universally on an equal basis to all citizens. READ MORE
- It's interesting (and commendable) that the @PDChina is reporting on this. https://t.co/tf2nbOCNbw
- Credit where credit is due ... the Trump administration is absolutely right to scale back US support for Egypt. https://t.co/vKCHnJeQXs
