Will Asia mimic bankrupt Western ideas, fall
victim to hubris – or generate new, sustainable visions?
As the
European economy teeters on the verge of a second recession and the US recovery
wobbles, Asia is brimming with optimism. For Asian triumphalists attending a
recent conference in Thailand – “Reading the Signposts of a Changing Landscape”
– the signs are big, clear and point to a happy future.
I’m
less sure. The wording on many signposts is confused, with many pointing
towards dead ends or quicksand. In the rush of exuberant expectations that
Asia’s time has come, the continent could fall victim to what’s behind many
failures in the history of the world – simple hubris.
The
rise of Asia is not predetermined, just as the dominance of Western
civilization for the past few hundred years was not preordained. The rise of
European imperialism and then American hegemony was not simply due to economic
power backed by military might. It was underpinned by innovative, even
revolutionary thinking, about the primacy of the rule of law; the separation of
church and state; the commitment to an empirical, scientific worldview; and all
the institutions that brought about the modern state built on liberal democracy
and market capitalism.
Much of
the intellectual vigor propelling the West to supremacy is now spent. In its
place is frustration that the old order is not working, with no vision as to
what the new order should be.
So
could Asia rise to the occasion and, in the intellectual vacuum, offer new
solutions to bankrupt thinking? Is the continent capable of creative
destruction of taboos and restrictive mindsets hobbling it during past
centuries? Is Asia’s economic growth matched by equally vigorous intellectual
innovation?
The regional landscape offers clues.
India,
for example, has managed, despite numerous challenges, to remain the world’s
largest practicing democracy. But the continuing clash and contradictions
between tradition and modernity renders Indian political and social relations
almost dysfunctional. And while Indian pride in its scientific, artistic and
business achievements is justified, the continuing inability to lift millions
of people out of abject poverty remains a sobering and hopefully not
insurmountable challenge.
China,
the other great and ancient civilization of Asia, is today to become the second
most powerful economy in the world. Its government has, unlike India, lifted
teeming masses from abject poverty. Private capitalism thrives alongside the
more dominant state capitalism. But the absence of a dynamic civil society –
unlike in India – and its opaque political structure, as so glaringly revealed
by the Bo Xilai scandal, is possibly unsustainable.
India
suffers from a lack of political consensus; China has too much of it. India has
a surfeit of democracy and a deficit of economic equality; China has eradicated
poverty, but suppressed democracy.
Indian
thought leaders realize that democracy has not reduced inequality or improved
the lives for most Indians. Chinese intellectuals recognize that the current
systemic problems of political governance, glossed over by rapid economic growth,
are unsustainable and brittle. But neither knows how to move forward beyond
recognition of the need for drastic reform. Intellectual innovation and
political power are not integrated.
Japan’s
social cohesion stands in stark contrast against China and India, but that same
homogeneity and social conservatism has left it stranded in genteel decline,
with no new thinking to break the country out of its stifling insularity.
South
Korea, Taiwan and Singapore are probably the best examples of societies which
grew rapidly due what political scientists call “developmental
authoritarianism” and have successfully transited to liberal democracy. But
their models of development are not easily transplanted to larger, more diverse
societies.
Southeast
Asia has largely recovered from the debilitating financial crisis of the late
1990s, which nearly crippled its private sector and brought down its banks. But
internal contradictions remain unresolved in Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia
and are, arguably, growing steadily.
While
one can’t deny the real achievements of an ascendant Asian civilization, it’s
difficult to accept the facile self-congratulations of the triumphalists who
suggest that Asia’s success in this century is inevitable. Even those who
believe fervently that Asia’s time has come cannot afford complacency. Asia
requires diverse, innovative thought leadership if its economic rise will
result in a sustainable, new paradigm for civilizational progress.
In
particular, Asia needs to inculcate a virtuous cycle whereby business,
political and social leaders interact to create new norms of economic, social
and political behavior and values. One example is the dire need of a
replacement for the highly individualistic, American form of capitalism which
at its best, enormously rewards risk-taking, but at its worst, creates
monstrous inequalities based on speculative gambling of other people’s money.
Capitalism is not universally identical; it’s shaped by history and culture,
resulting in the Scandinavian variant or the German model. The American model
may not be broken, but after recent financial debacles, Asia should not blindly
adopt it.
Asia
needs to delve into its own history and culture for inspiration in creating an
Asian variant of capitalism. One such source can be the webs of mutual
obligations which serve as a common, recurring socio-ethical tradition of Asia.
This communitarian characteristic of Asian culture can, if thoughtfully
enhanced, nurtured and developed, replace the highly individualistic, Darwinian
ethos of American capitalism. Communitarian capitalism can be an Asian form of
ethical wealth creation, where the interests of the community of stakeholders
in an enterprise – owners, employees, customers and suppliers and the larger
community – would be a higher consideration than return on capital.
In
other words, communitarian capitalism would be stakeholder-driven, not simply
shareholder-driven.
One of
the contradictions of globalization is the starkly worsening income
inequalities across the world, particularly in Asia. There is no middle way, no
waffling position where Asia’s elite claim credit for generating growth but deny
responsibility for its negative consequences. Such waffling unfortunately, is
what most Asian business leaders are doing today; hiding their heads under the
sand, thinking that if they simply stick to what they’re good at doing –
creating and consuming wealth – they are part of the invisible hand of
productive capitalism. But that’s just not good enough because, as we’ve seen,
unfettered capitalism is not an absolute good, and often businessmen deepen its
imperfections.
History
has shown how many institutions of a modern and progressive society, such as
liberal democracy or universal suffrage, arose out of the demands of a rising
business class – the bourgeoisie. Asia’s rising middle class needs to play the
same historic role as their counterparts in Europe several hundred years ago.
Thought
leadership need not be in grandiose or visionary ideas, but can small,
practical solutions to real problems. For example, as a tiny country, Singapore
has no pretensions of being a global thought leader. It has simply and quietly
created solutions to its own set of changing circumstances, setting a model for
others.
Singapore’s
approach to social security and public housing, launched many decades ago, has
been universally hailed as revolutionary. In the field of sustainable resource
management for cities, Singapore is probably one of the leading world examples.
Across
Asia, there are many more examples of innovative, inspiring thought leadership
covering a spectrum of fields. But this is not enough. Asia needs fundamental
paradigm shifts, particularly on political and business governance, if it’s to
reach the vision of its future. Future generations will either blame or thank
the present elite for what they do, or more disappointingly, choose not to do.
Ho Kwon
Ping
Asia
Sentinel
Business & Investment Opportunities
YourVietnamExpert is a division of Saigon Business Corporation Pte Ltd, Incorporated in Singapore since 1994. As Your Business Companion, we propose a range of services in Strategy, Investment and Management, focusing Healthcare and Life Science with expertise in ASEAN. We also propose Higher Education, as a bridge between educational structures and industries, by supporting international programmes. Many thanks for visiting www.yourvietnamexpert.com and/or contacting us at contact@yourvietnamexpert.com
Dear
Reader,
May I
invite you to visit our new blog: IIMS-Asean http://iims-asean.blogspot.com/
News
and activities of the International Institute of Medicine and Science Asean
Chapter of IIMS, Inc. California, USA - Health care, Life Science, Education,
Research, Philanthropy. Asean is the economic organisation of ten countries
located in South East Asia: Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR,
Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. IIMS is a
non-profit organization.
No comments:
Post a Comment