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How did the mastermind of China predict its internal collapse 30 years ago?
In 1988, a young researcher from China visited the United States, and after 30 years, he would become the fourth highest-ranking politician in China.📜
Wang Huning visited more than 30 American cities, over 20 institutions, research centers, and universities.
He visited the United States at the height of its power, and instead of being dazzled by the glittering skyscrapers of New York or the sparkle of Los Angeles, he saw deep unresolved conflicts within American society.
♦️ Wang Huning's findings were transformed into a book titled "America Against America." He identified the following:
♦️Lofty ideals such as "freedom, equality, and democracy" are in constant conflict with historical realities of inequality, racism, and special interest groups.
This gap between the image of "the bright city on the hill" and its actual social problems creates cognitive dissonance and social friction and periodic legitimacy crises.
♦️The conflict between individualism and society manifests in the weakness of social safety nets, challenges in fostering public consensus, and difficulties in mobilizing the community to achieve common goals that transcend immediate self-interest.
♦️Purity and diversity versus national identity and unity.
America's strength as a melting pot for immigrant cultures and subcultures is also its fundamental weakness, embodied in how to maintain a national identity and a unified political community.
♦️The conflict between political equality and economic inequality.
The principle of "one voice for each person" coexists alongside massive disparities in wealth, which are often inherited across generations.
Economic power in the capitalist system translates into political power through lobbying groups, campaign financing, and media ownership, distorting the democratic process and questioning the true equality of political voices.
♦️Democratic mechanisms: stability versus stagnation and disruption.
The system of checks and balances and federalism, along with the "two-party system," was designed in the United States to achieve stability and avoid overt manifestations of tyranny.
However, it also creates a state of stagnation, bureaucratic inertia, and inability to address long-term and systematic challenges.
The system often prioritizes procedures and opposition at the expense of outcomes and governance.
And this is a classic problem of procedural democracy rather than actual democracy.
♦️The power of religion in a secular state.
The formal separation of church and state coexists with a deeply religious society where faith has a very significant impact on social and political life.
And this influence often exceeds its bounds by changing policies through strict interpretations of religious doctrines.
Wang identified issues such as education, abortion, and family values as the fundamental conflicts between religion and the secular state since 1988.
♦️Conformity versus the promise of freedom.
The American society creates a state of deep conformity through consumerism and mass media trends and norms, despite the promises of individual choice and freedom.
"Freedom" of choice is steered towards commercial and uniform paths, leading to a paradox where abundance and choice are limited. This is most clearly manifested in the two-party system: Democrat versus Republican.
♦️Change versus tradition.
America as a society that venerates progress, innovation, and the new, yet at the same time is highly conservative, clinging to historical constitutions, traditional values, and established institutions. This tension drives both America's dynamic adaptability and its often bitter cultural and generational conflicts.
It is truly impressive that a young researcher in the 1980s from less-developed China was not dazzled by the bright lights of Manhattan, saw the fundamental cracks within American society clearly, and accurately predicted many unresolved conflicts decades before they occurred.
Does the United States have anyone with this level of insight into China?
No, they do not have.