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.
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
As European nervousness over Trump demonstrates, the United States is more than ever the hub of the European regional security system. Perhaps it’s time for the United States to find some new spokes? READ MORE
Book review — Chinese Hegemony by Feng Zhang
Originally published at: http://asianreviewofbooks.com/content/chinese-hegemony-grand ...“It is a common rule of propriety that culturally inferior foreign peoples should respect the Central Kingdom.” So begins a 1374 letter from Ming China’s founding Hongwu Emperor to a regional ruler in Japan. It continues: “One principle in both ancient and modern times has been for the small to serve the great.” READ MORE
Interview — Why China’s ‘One Belt, One Road’ project will fail — and how it’s already succeeded
Originally published at: http://www.worldpoliticsreview.com/trend-lines/22298/why-chi ...The rail distance from Chongqing in western China to Duisburg, Germany, the main western terminus of China’s One Belt, One Road rail services, is 11,000 kilometers, or 7,000 miles. That’s two-and-a-half times the distance from New York to Los Angeles. READ MORE
Can Germany defend Europe on its own?
Originally published at: http://nationalinterest.org/feature/can-germany-defend-europ ...If Europe wants collective defense, it is time for Europe to pass around the collection plate. Most of NATO’s frontline members in eastern and southern Europe are doing their part. Germany is not. READ MORE
- As I've been saying about the iPhone 8, the revolution isn't in the phone; it's in how it will be used. https://t.co/7MEQQe2nH6
- Agreed: https://t.co/hXYjEMo4rY
- Funny ... https://t.co/cLMCVioSUP
