1、
However, what Xi did not say is that China, unlike America, does not have a messianic impulse to change the world. If order abroad facilitates order at home, China would be happy.
Kishore Mahbubani. Has the West Lost It?: A Provocation (Kindle 位置 865-866). Penguin Books. Kindle 版本.
2021-09-05 10:28
2、
it is almost taboo in America to speak of America becoming number two (although it will inevitably become number two). So what is the best outcome for America when it becomes number two? The best outcome would be a number one power (namely, China) that respects ‘rules and partnerships and habits of behaviour’ that America could live with.
Kishore Mahbubani. Has the West Lost It?: A Provocation (Kindle 位置 854-856). Penguin Books. Kindle 版本.
2021-09-05 10:28
3、
It is truly dangerous that there is a significant group of thinkers, policy-makers and activists in Washington DC who are quietly plotting and planning various ways of derailing China. Such activity can only give credence to the hawkish voices in the country and result in the emergence of an angry nationalist China.
Kishore Mahbubani. Has the West Lost It?: A Provocation (Kindle 位置 837-839). Penguin Books. Kindle 版本.
2021-09-05 10:28
4、
It is always easier to learn from someone who doesn’t exude an attitude of superiority.
Kishore Mahbubani. Has the West Lost It?: A Provocation (Kindle位置596). Penguin Books. Kindle 版本.
2021-09-05 10:28
5、
In an effort to remove Assad in Syria, the Obama administration transported ISIS fighters from Afghanistan to Syria to fight Assad. To ensure that the ISIS fighters had enough funding, America didn’t bomb the oil exports from ISIS-controlled zones in Syria to Turkey. Through all this, America declared that it was opposed to ISIS. In fact, some American agencies were supporting them, directly or indirectly.
Kishore Mahbubani. Has the West Lost It?: A Provocation (Kindle 位置 568-572). Penguin Books. Kindle 版本.
2021-09-05 10:27
6、
During the Cold War, the CIA instigated the creation of Al-Qaeda to fight the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan. The same organization bit the hand that fed it by attacking the World Trade Center on 11 September 2001.
Kishore Mahbubani. Has the West Lost It?: A Provocation (Kindle 位置 566-568). Penguin Books. Kindle 版本.
2021-09-05 10:27
7、
Given the dominance of bad news in the West, accentuated by Trump and Brexit, few in the West have noticed another startling fact of our times. Three of the four most populous countries in our world are Asian: China (1.3 billion), India (1.2 billion) and Indonesia (250 million). All three are led by exceptionally honest and competent leaders: Xi Jinping, Narendra Modi and Jokowi, respectively. Is this an amazing coincidence? Or is it, perhaps, a reflection of our times? These societies are in the throes of a new resurgence. As such, their people expect and support strong, competent leaders.
Kishore Mahbubani. Has the West Lost It?: A Provocation (Kindle 位置 310-314). Penguin Books. Kindle 版本.
2021-09-05 10:27
8、
In theory, democratic processes are designed to deliver results that reflect the will of the people. Also, since each citizen is entitled to participate in the processes, the result should be accepted by all and result in national consensus building. Instead, democratic processes in the US and the UK have recently led to deep polarization, with virtual civil wars continuing even after election and referendum results have come in. Western theorists of democracy need to go back to their drawing boards to figure out where democratic processes have gone awry. In Asia, a different story is evolving. The political systems remain hugely imperfect. However, in a big shift from previous ‘despotic’ assumptions, most Asian leaders now recognize that they are accountable to their people, and as long as they have to demonstrate daily that they are improving their people’s lives Asian societies will continue to improve.
Kishore Mahbubani. Has the West Lost It?: A Provocation (Kindle 位置 151-157). Penguin Books. Kindle 版本.
2021-09-05 10:27
9、
Liberalism has created an attitude of intellectual superiority, especially towards the rest of the world.
P89 / 2021-09-04 12:30
10、
Few in the Rest are convinced that the West’s post-Cold War encouragement of democracy abroad represents a moral impulse. Instead, they see this as a last futile attempt to continue the two-century period of Western domination of world history through other means. They also notice the cynical promotion of democracy in adversarial countries like Irag and Syria and not in friendly countries like Saudi Arabia. Most disastrously, when the intervention turns sour, as in Iraq or in Libya, the West walks away and takes on no moral responsibility for the adverse consequences. One painful truth that cannot be denied is that this thoughtless attempt to ‘export democracy’ has increased, not decreased, human suffering in many countries.
P50 / 2021-09-03 13:57
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After winning the Cold War without firing a shot, it would have been wise for the West to heed Churchill’s advice: ‘In victory, magnanimity. Instead, the West did the exact opposite. Contrary to the implicit assurances given to Gorbachev and Soviet leaders in 1990, the West expanded NATO into previous Warsaw Pact countries, including the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania and Slovakia.
P47 / 2021-09-03 13:50
12、
The most unwise intervention was to invade Iraq in March 2003. In theory, Iraq happened because of 9/11. In practice, it was just a demonstration of Western, especially American, hubris and strategic incompetence. To say that this war was a massive act of stupidity is an understatement. It was an act of folly on several counts.
P44 / 2021-09-03 13:43