首页
外语
计算机
考研
公务员
职业资格
财经
工程
司法
医学
专升本
自考
实用职业技能
登录
外语
The United States stands for freedom and democracy. There is a large gap between the rhetoric and the reality, but the United St
The United States stands for freedom and democracy. There is a large gap between the rhetoric and the reality, but the United St
admin
2012-12-01
49
问题
The United States stands for freedom and democracy. There is a large gap between the rhetoric and the reality, but the United States does export its political ideals abroad. And it does not just rely on force to do so. It relies on government-funded foundations like the National Endowment for Democracy that distribute grants to pro-democracy organizations abroad. US-based NGOs like Freedom House rank countries according to their adherence to political freedom, the implication being that other countries should conform to the ideals espoused in the US Constitution.
What does China stand for? That question arose at a recent dialogue between Confucian and African thinkers in South Africa funded by the Confucius Institute. Such dialogues are relatively new: They are carried out on non-Western terms and funded by non-Western organizations. Now that China has more wealth, it can afford to fund dialogues that explore political alternatives to Western values.
But which values does China stand for and how can they be promoted abroad? Confucianism may be China’s main political tradition, but what are the key Confucian values that have the potential to make the world a better place? Like liberals and Christians, Confucians believe that their values ought to have universal reach, but China hasn’t done a good job exporting its political values beyond the East Asian region. As China becomes a global political power, such questions are likely to become more salient.
Confucianism
The Confucian tradition is diverse and contested, but Confucians today typically defend two key values: political meritocracy and harmony. The value of political meritocracy is not hard to explain. Everybody should have the same opportunity to be educated so as to participate in politics, but not everybody will emerge from this process with the equal ability to make morally informed decisions. Hence, an important task of the political system is to select those with above average ability.
The Chinese Communist Party, whatever the Marxist rhetoric, is becoming a more meritocratic organization. Top students are encouraged to join and the overall educational level of cadres is rapidly rising. To the extent that the party has successfully carried out economic modernization over the last three decades or so, much of the credit should go to cadres selected on merit—similar to other successful East Asian countries with a Confucian heritage.
So far, however, China’s attempt to export political meritocracy to developing countries has been relatively ad hoc. Hence, there is a need for a government funded organization—let’s call it the National Endowment for Meritocracy—that would fund experiments with political meritocracy in other countries. Western powers may not be interested, but there will be takers in Africa and elsewhere. Such programs could help to improve governance in recipient countries and would earn their gratitude.
The value of harmony is perhaps best promoted via NGOs, because official support is likely to arouse political suspicion. Hence, one might imagine an NGO—let’s call it Harmony House—that relies on rigorous empirical methods to determine the extent of harmony in the world. Countries could be ranked according to a "Social Harmony Index" that measures rates of crime, incarceration, divorce and gaps between the rich and the poor. Countries that do well on the index could set a model for other countries.
It is time for China to engage in the global dialogue about political values on its own terms. Rather than, say, wasting time and money on research reports measuring the extent of human rights violations in the United States, China can do more good by promoting the political values that inspire Chinese people and can help to make the world a better place if they are taken more seriously abroad.
This is not to deny that freedom, democracy and human rights have a place in China’s future. But indigenous values such as meritocracy and harmony may have an even greater place, and China should do its best to persuade the rest of the world of their value. Of course, it also needs to set the right model at home. (From NYTimes; 668 words)
The dialogue between Confucian and African thinkers is an example of______.
选项
A、the innovation of the Confucius Institute
B、the differences in ideology
C、the prosperity of China
D、political alternative
答案
C
解析
推理题。文章第二段提到由孔子学院赞助举办的孔学和非洲思想者之间的对话是相对新鲜的事物,因为是非西方的组织资助的。后面提出中国有了更多的财富,有能力资助这样的对话来探寻能代替西方价值观的政治选择。因此C为正确答案。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/CXaO777K
0
专业英语八级
相关试题推荐
A、Healwaysstickstohislistofquestions.B、Heoftenfindsintervieweestalkaboutsomethingthathe’snotreallythoughtabo
Mostpeoplehaveexperiencedthefeeling,afterataxingmentalwork-out,thattheycannotbebotheredtomakeanymoredecision
Inaccordancewiththemissionithassetitselftofurtherthedevelopmentofsport,theInternationalOlympicCommitteestrive
Accordingtoreportsinmajornewsoutlets,astudypublishedlastweekincludedastartlingdiscovery:thenation’sJewishpopu
Withitscommoninterestinlawbreakingbutitsimmenserangeofsubjectmatterandwidely-varyingmethodsoftreatment,thecri
WiltChamberlainisretirednow,butheusedtobeafamousbasketballplayer.Hehasset65differentrecordsandevenholdsma
AttherecentInternationalSoundOffinKansasCity-whosecarsand【M1】______driverscompetedforthehighestvolu
______firstproposedtheSpeechActTheory.
①窗前挂着一串淡紫色的风铃,仿佛也和我拥有着同样的寂寞,似乎已经忘记了它在夏季中怎样歌唱。②在此时,一个冷冷的冬季,留下寂寞的风铃,在窗前苦苦等待。③难道,风儿真的也把它的友伴遗忘了吗?④可是,分明听见风儿在空中无奈地呼唤,有力拍打着窗棂,却没有一点点回
AtHarvardCollegeinSeptember,acontroversyeruptedovertheadoptionofa"freshmanpledge,"whichforthefirsttimeasked
随机试题
患儿,男,3岁。自5个月起反复患上呼吸道感染和肺炎,曾住院4次,本次因类风湿关节炎入院并伴有中耳炎,医生考虑该患儿为原发性免疫缺陷病。主要因为有哪些诊断依据,除了
针对信息的研究是
在某设备工程网络计划中,已知工作H的总时差和自由时差分别为4天和2天,设备监理工程师检查实际进度时发现该工作的持续时间延长了5天,说明此时工作H的实际进度( )。
关于互感器的主要功能,下列说法不正确的是()。
人畜共患病是指由同一种病原体引起,流行病学上相互关联,在人类和动物之间自然传播的疾病。其疾病传染源是()。
中国是新能源和可再生能源增长速度最快的国家。
弗洛伊德把性心理发展阶段分为5个时期。性蕾期的时间段是______。
Skype采用()网络拓扑。
在SQL语句中,与表达式"房间号NOTIN("w1","w2")"功能相同的表达式是
设已知一汉字的国标码是5E48H,则其内码应该是()。
最新回复
(
0
)