Thursday 16 May 2019

Xi warns of disaster if one civilisation imposes will on another (Asian Values)

Xi: cultures are distinctive but no better or worse than each other
In the print edition, the headline: Xi: Clash of civilisations is stupid

In the  latest sign that the confrontation between China and the United States is escalating, Chinese President Xi Jinping warned that one civilisation forcing itself on another would be "stupid" and "disastrous".

I agree with Xi that culture are distinctive, but not that they are necessarily equal. Or “ no better or worse than each other”. Reductio ad absudum: one culture respects individual right, treats all people equally, tolerates minorities of all sorts— gender, religion, belief... etc. And the other is misogynist, supremacist, sectarian, oppresses minorities… well you get the picture. These are not equal. 
Not trying to read Xi’s mind, but I’ll assume he’s thinking of Chinese culture vs Western culture. Those are different in parts, and, yes, no better or worse than the other. Indeed we ought to be learning from each other. 互相学习,互相帮助
A Venn diagram would have a fair degree of overlap. And likely increasing overlap.