Ideology, Telos, and the “Communist Vanguard” from Mao Zedong to Hu Jintao

This work discusses why Marxist vanguard parties require ideology in their struggle to gain and maintain political power. Despite being considered theoretically inconsistent with classical Marxism and western vernacular, I chart etymologically how “ideology” came to China and proliferated during the Mao era as a positively framed term via, in all likelihood, Japanese renderings of Leninism. After discussing ideological challenges under Deng Xiaoping and Jiang Zemin, I explore whether Hu Jintao’s scientific development and harmony concepts might be understood as ideological campaigns which—by synthesizing Maoist and Dengist approaches to ideology—effectively address what otherwise be referred to as the Party’s telos problem, and thus resolve in part the threat to the Party’s vanguard claim.

America's Anti-China Human Rights Hype

正As U.S. President Joe Biden and his Secretary of State Anthony Blinken attempt to rebrand post-Donald Trump America through new policies and narratives at home and abroad, the topic of "human rights" has become, once again, a focal point of Washington’s propaganda. China should welcome this discussion and join it robustly.     

Greeting A Brand-New Year

Six lessons for the international community to take As we move into the new year with cautious optimism while still facing lingering challenges from 2020, the annus horribilis, and prepare for other challenges, including global warming and those that have not yet emerged but surely will, here are six intersecting lessons to consider as we continue containment and recovery efforts.     

Good Leadership and Common Prosperity

正Beijing recently released a new white paper providing a comprehensive overview of a multitude of efforts to achieve a xiaokang, or moderately prosperous, society, on schedule in 2021, coinciding with the centenary of the founding of the Communist Party of China(CPC). First described in the modern era by Deng Xiaoping in 1979, subsequent generations of Chinese leadership made this concept central to national development goals.     

QUALITY OVER QUANTITY

Over the many years of accelerated economic growth in China,there has been a general tendency in m any corners to fetishize GDP growth rates as paramount indicators of economic developm ent The simple logic of "bigger is better" has always been an easy sell to citizens and investors alike,and particularly in the wake of China’s joining the WTO,it has been the story above all others,arguably,that has captivated international attention,along with the persistent concern that at some point,those rates would decline and then,perhaps,all bets would be off.     

Evaluating the Xi-Biden Summit

The virtual summit has come and gone and what has it changed? Virtually nothing. We had good reason to believe that more would be accomplished. Admittedly, the original meeting read-outs were relatively sparse, and new details emerged in the days that followed, indicating that more was said and done than either side initially conveyed. But the key questions facing us now are: Why did we expect more; why didn't we get it; and what does all of this mean for China-U.S. relations going forward?     

DANGERS OF DECOUPLING AMID THE VIRUS

While the current novel coronavirus outbreak continues to affect many in China,loom ing questions remain regarding global im pacts related to health,econom ics and geopolitics.Given current scie n tific understandings of the disease,including its transm ission rates and associated morbidity and mortality(and despite multiple studies indicating a relatively low fatality rate),the costs for China and in particular,Wuhan,the outbreaks epicenter,continue to be substantial.     

Chinese and U.S. Schools: In Comparison

When comparing U.S. and Chinese schools, one finds a number of stark differences and unexpected similarities. Differences exist Let's begin with the most overwhelming difference. While the Chinese education system has many different objectives, its dominant feature is the gaokao system. Gaokao refers to the national exam that high school students take to determine admission to colleges and universities. The main part of the exam is taken by most students during their senior year, although some special subject exams can be completed the year before.