Customer Reviews

The New Asian Hemisphere: The Irresistible Shift of Global Power to the East

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I like this book. It is stimulating and relevant. Also, his perspective is especially valuable for Americans, who understand very little about Asia (or Africa or Latin America - areas that this author calls "the Rest," as opposed to N. America/Europe as "the West").

Having praised this book, I now want to explain what it is and is not. The author is making a case (and a good one), but as with all such "big thinkers" glossing over much in his search for generalizations.
Indeed, his approach is captured at the very outset, under "Acknowledgements," when he thanks his main research assistant who, with his argument in mind, would "find the right statistics and anecdotes to bolster many of the points I made." Not social science, but certain the way most wide-ranging policy makers and analysts operate. (I personally have performed such functions for policy-makers.)

His basic theme - other than the rise of Asia - is that free-enterprise-based economic growth (or "development" if you prefer) produces a vital middle class. This well-educated and affluent sector in turn changes the tenor of life in a society, bringing not only more economic progress but more competent government that serves all (or most) sectors of society.

As usual with such books (and thinkers) many of the finer points and issues are glossed over in the narrative. For example, in his zeal for free enterpise (laissez faire economics) he skirts the positive and sometimes absolutely necessary functions of regulation by public agencies. He also is weak on the shortcomings of so-called "meritocracy," for example, its tendency to pass inherited privileges and skills through unequal access to quality education and career contacts.

Limitations notwithstanding, among his arguments and anecdotes given to bolster the case are important points that Western (US and European) audiences need to hear. For example, on pp. 85-86 he discusses the rule of law and compares patterns in Asia with the West.

My own inclination is toward books by specialists. However, now and again, and especially on topics as important as our understanding of and relations with Asia and "the Rest", "big thinkers" provide me with valuable insights and perhaps refresh understandings that I had decades ago but blurred with age and other experiences.

I highly recommend this book. I lament that many of my conservative friends won't even consider learning something by reading it, and that many of my more liberal friends won't read it because they think that they "already know these issues and points."

First I noticed the controversy about this book in Hard Talk on BBC, where the host and the author did some very unsatisfactory pirouettes around the contentious issues, which are related to the Western reservations about current Asian progress. Then I read an even worse interview in Der Spiegel, where the interviewers excelled in stupidity while the author excelled in stubbornness.
Consequently I had to pick up the book and read it. KM expects to provoke 'us' Westerners, but he asks some pundits to write blurbs, which Summers and Zbig and others did.
KM's thesis is this: Asia rises, and that is good for the world. The Western leaders have trouble in adjusting their mental maps, which are trapped in the past. Asia has benefitted from the world system as established after WW2 and has no interest in endangering it. The current wave of optimism will enter West Asia as well and Pakistan, Iran and others will want to have the same progress as China and India etc...
The March to Modernity is good for all, and it is not just material, rather the escape from poverty has far reaching immaterial value for the masses of Asia.
In short, KM is a 'hopeless' optimist, and I do hope that his victorious scenario wins. My biggest doubts are over the Islamic world's ability to join the trend. Maybe KM knows better. I do hope so.
One surprise for me was that KM steps away from the old litany of Lee Kuan Yew and others, i.e. that Asian economic success is due to traditonal Confucian values. In the contrary, KM argues that China, India, and the others, are following Japan in adopting the '7 pillars' that were the basis of the West's surge forward some centuries ago. These 7 pillars are: 1. free economy (expect Adam Smith in the Asian pantheon of the future!), 2.science (enormous push forward; quote Rajiv Gandhi: better brain drain than brain in the drain); 3. meritocracy/equal opportunity, a trend which requires overcoming huge traditional obstacles, but which is clearly on the way; 4.pragmatism: possibly a euphemism for copying; 5.a culture of peace (maybe hard to believe for many in the West); 6. the rule of law: far from being an attained target so far; 7.education.
If KM is right, the adoption of Western values is going far beyond copying Gucci bags and Lacoste shirts. In that sense I would'nt be surprised if he got as much headwind in Asia as in the West.
The headwind in the West comes from his criticism of the exportation of democracy into nations that are not ready for it. And of course from his criticism of the way the West dominates the international institutions and applies double standards.
Why are we not happy with the Asians following our example? Because it means loss of power, plain and simple.
Can't say that I don't see his point. Equally I think he is right in blaming the current Western leadership for gross incompetence in critical issues such as Middle East policy (the Iraq invasion as the single worst case of bad judgment and terrible implementation), free trade, nuclear non-proliferation, global warming...
Incidentally, KM points out, at the time when Giordano Bruno was burned for heresy in Rome, the Muslim emperor Akbar the Great pronounced principles of a secular government in India. So much for Western conceipt.

After his too previous books, "Can Asians Think?" and "Beyond the Age of Innocence", Professor Kishore Mahbubani has delivered his most mature work in this book. The book is both a pleasure to read, thanks to Mahbubani's amicable style (seasoned during 33 years in the diplomatic service), as well as brilliantly argued and intellectually appealing. The author offers incisive criticisms of Western policies and attitudes on several global issues and an illuminating analysis of areas where Asians seem to have been doing better lately. He is meticulously open-minded and as unbiased as one can get; he gives credit to the West for all the good it has done to the world (from the establishment of international norms of law to great universities), but also highlights its shortcomings. Still, he remains free of ideological constrains. Moreover, the author, being experienced both as a diplomat and an academic, possesses a keen didactic ability to explain his ideas to one who may be, for any reason, inclined to find them counter-intuitive.

This is an excellent book with a considerable set of observations concerning the shifts occurring in the global power equation. It is both complementary of and critical of Western Civilization. It gives credit where credit is due: Western Civilization established a set of cultural principles which are generally applicable to all of humankind: democracy, the rule of law, the intellectual gift of the Enlightenment.

Westerna Civilization is, however, in the process of weakening itself. It errs significantly when it deviates from those principals. The United States is particularly prone to embrace ideology (be it political or moralistic) when operating on the world stage. This approach was doomed to failure in the past and is doomed to failure in the present. One does not force democracy down the throats of people at the barrel of a gun. One does not torture people in hidden prisons. One does not make friends and influence people in a global village by playing the bully.

Essentially the world is filled with highly intelligent and hardworking people. They may not want to be fully Westernized but they certainly want to be "Modernized." How much they adopt the principles of democracy should be up to them. Not all societies are developed to a level where they can easily embrace Western views of democracy. They will, however, become more progressive.

The are some weaknesses in the book. The author is extremely concerned about the rise of protectionism particularly in America. This makes sense since the US provides the rest of the world with 100s of billions of dollars a year of its wealth. This is ultimately hurtful to the American form of Western Civilization. Diminishing the wealth base of the United States cannot continue to be the sole source of growth for Asian economies. The author does not present any recommendations as to how to deal with this form of unsustainable economics.

Kishore Mahbubani, former diplomat and currently dean of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy in Singapore, was one of the leading exponents of "Asian values" in the 1980s. Although they were in vogue for a time, the merits of those values were lost on many during the Asian financial crises of the 1990s. But since then Asian countries have made a remarkable recovery, and now Mahbubani is back taking his argument to a new level.

With 7-10% annual economic growth rates, Mahbubani sees global power shifting from West to East. He attributes this success not only to Asian values, but also to what he calls "the seven pillars of Western wisdom." Those pillars are free-market economics; science and technology; meritocracy; pragmatism; a culture of peace; rule of law; and education. Modernization in Asia began in the late 19th century with Japan opening to the West, then followed by the 4 tigers, and finally China and India. This march to modernity, as he calls it, has not only raised living standards but also Asian expectations in global power-sharing.

Mahbubani's grudge against the West is that the West is not playing by the rules which it created. The West, which he sees as Europe and North America, has only 15% of the world's population and 48% of global GDP; whereas the East - which is everyone else - has 85% of the world's population and 52% of GDP. The West is still dominating the world through outdated institutions such as the UN Security Council, the IMF, and the World Bank. Under a system of meritocracy or democracy the East should have a much larger role in global affairs.

Mahbubani makes many suggestions that would rectify this situation such as making India and China members of the G8, and opening up some of the top jobs at the IMF and World Bank to Asians. I couldn't agree more. His criticisms of the West have, for the most part, been correct. America's botched operation in Iraq is an easy target. Nuclear proliferation issues and the West's failure to stop genocide the Balkans and Rwanda are also given as examples of the West's incompentence. True again. This should not, however, be contrued as being anti-Western, it is only constructive criticism.

Unfortunately Mahbubani is as uncritical of Asia's shortcomings as he critical of the West's. When he says that the Chinese are freer today than they have been at any time in their history, one would have to agree. (This is also the view of Parag Khanna in The Second World.) But what about the rights of Tibetans and other minorities in China? What about legal and political rights in general? Autocracies only allow economic freedom. He also conveniently overlooks the violence in Kashmir, Sri Lanka, and Indonesia. And why blame only the West when nuclear proliferation in North Korea, Pakistan, and now Iran is mostly a result of China's neglect? Asian ascendancy has not been without its own fiascoes.

Parag Khanna argued that there will be three global leaders in the new century: the US, the EU, and China. Mahbubani would like to add India, for he sees India as a bridge between the East and the West. This is a valid point since many Indian intellectuals are at home in both the East and the West. He claims there is still a resistance among public intellectuals and journalists in the West to accept the East on equal terms, but I myself have not seen this resistance. I see a greater recognition of the East almost on a daily basis. With Asia's growing economic power, political power will follow no matter how much real or imagined resistance there is.

Kishore Mahbubani is the Professor of Public Policy of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore. His previous books carry the interesting titles of Can Asian Think? and Beyond the Age of Innocence.

In this book, Kishore, a former diplomat explores the reaction of the West especially the United States towards the shift of global power to the east. By 2050, the world's three largest economies will be in Asia: Japan, India, and China.

Kishore's thesis is that the east like to replicate, not dominate. This was always so with Asian and Western countries. However much depends on the response of the United States. If the United States are willing to share and not dominate, then there will be much benefit to everyone. However if the United States decide to try to dominate the rising economies, there will be much chaos.

History unfortunately has shown that the Western response when threatened by the east was always a retreat into protectionism and attacks. The Japan-bashing of the 1980s, have been replaced by India-bashing of the 1990s (due to outsourcing) and now we have China-bashing in the 2000s. Looks like we in Asia are in a stormy ride.

The book starts with a detailed analysis of the (possible) courses of action for the "West" in its future relations with Asia. I found this analysis most impressive; a true eye-opener. The author does an excellent job in explaining the background to the often opposite views of the "West" and Asia on the international level, highlighting the often too important role of short-term political opportunism in "Western" decision-making. The author is a strong supporter of China. Based on the fact that the book is mainly intended for a "Western" audience, the author could have spent more attention on some of the criticism that can be heard in the "West" against China. In the second half of the book, there are a few instances where it seems that the author falls in the same trap of stereotyping, he criticises the "West" for. One example: an unfortunate diplomatic incident is used to support the conclusion that "all Europeans view Asian culture with disdain...". I find this somewhat surprising for such an author and such a book. Still, I would certainly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in "globalisation" and wants to go beyond Thomas Friedman...

The New Asian Hemisphere: The Irresistible Shift of Global Power to the East

Author: Kishore Mahbubani

As this book is written in English, I feel free to write my appreciation in English as well.

Some time ago I happened to watch an interview with Mr.Kishore Mahbubani on TV.
As I just returned from China, where I lived almost 1.5 years) it drew my attention.
My Chinese spouse had arranged a job for me as a teacher at a university-level Institute in Guilin (about the size of Montpellier). I had contacts with hundreds of young students, staff people of the Institute plus lots of local people.

During Mr. Mahbubani's interview, I recognized many characteristics of ordinary Chinese life, which increased my appreciation for his presentation.
While he uses easy language, it is not always easy to get the message. Reading his book will force you to read over and over what he wrote down, to get the message.
He bases his vision on investigations by himself and his team of researchers in relation to our changing world, in the context of history. He considers India and China as the main engines of future change and explains why.
His observations and conclusions show an impressive level of analysis, vision and resulting directions of future development of "Planet Earth". His writing is very well formulated and carefully worded. Without too much judgment of Europe or USA on the way they act today.
I am absolutely sure that his predictions will become true!!! In the benefit of the whole world!!!!
This book should be read by anyone who cares about our future!!! Especially by politicians, as they ignore long-term views.......

Strongly recommended to anyone who cares about the world we live in.

I received well this Item. This book is almost new one. I could get new information of nowadays.
Thank You very much. From Bo-Woong CHANG.

Thought provoking in a way that reminds you of Arnold Toynbee's "The World and The West", Mahbubani's book considers numerous 20th century and recent geo-political and Internatioanal political events and issues from a non-Western perspective. His message is that the influence and power of the West is in an irreversible decline due to its own failure to adhere to basic concepts of Western civilisation, in particular the concepts of fairness and even-handedness and the importance of law and order. For instance he mentions examples of how the West preaches non-violence, the importance of the freedom of the individual, and respect for law and order, and Internationally, respect for the United Nations' forum for solving International problems. He rightly compares that with government sanctioned torture of prisoners by the West, how the US has tended to ignore and has even scorned the United Nations when they were unable to persuade the majority of members to act in accordance with their wishes (the war on Iraq is an obvious example), and it's continued one-eyed support for Israel in the Middle East. He also quotes issues such as the West's continued control of the UN Security Council, the IMF and several other International organisations despite the fact that Western governments no longer are the most important contributors to them or represent as much proportional economic power Internationally as they did fifty years ago.
But the value of his message is weakened by his almost palpable and intense dislike of modern American politics and recent government administrations, particularly post President Clinton (the book was written before President Obama came to power) and, to a lesser extent, of modern European politics. To support his views, his quotations and discussion of policy issues tend at times to be quite obviously one-sidedly anti-Western, and his views of the politics of India, and particularly of China, appear almost naive at times.
His book is nevertheless well worth reading because his views undoubtedly reflect the views of most non-Western governments.