Mr. Obama’s campaign and his ultimate election as President were predicated upon an appeal to the sense of idealism and altruism which are important components of what defines the United States.  These American ideals manifested in the United States and its citizens, collectively and individually, as being among the most charitable and forgiving of peoples throughout the course of world history, were able to be expressed because of another American principle – realism.  And, it is precisely this principle of realism that is most absent in the current administration as it wrestles with finding a solution to the current economic meltdown. Read the rest of this entry »

Among those who have made a career of studying China, there is an apocryphal story that as Deng Xiaoping told his successor, Jiang Zemin, to keep focused on developing China economically.  “Do not antagonize the United States”, he reportedly said, “but bide our time, wait until we are economically strong, and then we can assert our national rights and views.”

The story, whether true or not, does reflect China’s historical consciousness, and the single-mindedness with which the Chinese have pursued their dream of economic growth. Read the rest of this entry »

At this time of economic crisis throughout the world, there is a sense of an almost Alice in Wonderland perspective when viewed from the comfortable confines of Shanghai.  One the one hand, we have the world’s leading economy, the United States, the self proclaimed bastion of capitalism and the cause of our current economic malaise offering a stimulus package that appears to be socialist in orientation, shot gun in approach, and predicated upon the idea of either leaving future generations with an incredible debt or based upon paying off the debt via class warfare – defining the rich as anyone with earnings above $250,000 per year and socking it to them. Read the rest of this entry »