Why Asia is Rising Now

WHY ASIA IS RISING NOW

By KISHORE MAHBUBANI

Asia is home of the three great civilizations – Mesopotamia, Indus Valley, and Chinese – and these three great epochs in World History have the first thriving economy in the world.  But this grandeur of the past weren’t sustained by the descendants of these great civilizations.  Unfortunately, Asia’s prestige declined thus the beginning of the downward spiral of these civilizations to dust.  Their Western counterparts were the ones who pioneered in many aspects of life since the beginning of Modern History and these phenomena signaled that the pendulum that Asia has long been keeping for thousands of years is now shifting into the European sphere. 

The West as the stalwart of knowledge and many sorts of revolution is now being challenged by Asia in the 21^st century.  Asia might have been sleeping for the past hundred years but this time, there is a strong resurrection of many Asian countries which are ready to challenge the power of the West.  Their weapon?  Western wisdom.  These western wisdom have put Asia in a new perspective wherein if she must compete in the global market and make her countries strong and competitive, she must possess these seven pillars that helped the West established itself as the vanguard of knowledge and intellect.  Asia is fast becoming a lucrative center of commerce, trade, and industries and it through these seven pillars, Asia is fast resurrecting her once lost grandeur and glory.  Japan is instrumental in making Asia as the hub of many life’s aspects and thru her examples, Singapore, China, and India followed suit.

The first of the seven pillars is the FREE MARKET ECONOMY.  When Deng Xiaoping replaced Chairman Mao as the leader of his vast and diverse country, he realized that China had adopted the wrong economic system, the Marxist-Leninist model of production.  When Mao Zedong gained total control of China in 1949, he implemented with great vigor the central planning model he had learned from the Soviet Union.  It was not a total failure.  The political turmoil led to increases in both agricultural and industrial productivity.  However, it was only after Mao’s time that China began to progress.  The central-planning of Mao was replaced by the free-market economics  and soon thereafter, China has undergone a profound transformation never seen in the country before.  The overall national strength of China has increased remarkably and the quality of life of its people improved steadily.  Moreover, the free-market economics paved the way in reducing poverty.  More jobs were produced and a simple Chinese can now break free from the arduous, rigorous life of a peasant farmer, an occupation he inherited from his ancestors. 

Asian nations are allocating billions of dollars in SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, the second pillar.  Asian nations know that to achieve progress and to become a powerhouse, they must invest in new technologies.  Science makes people to think not just to simply accept what has been taught for ages.  Science challenges man to get out of his comfort zone and explore the world.  Asian nations like China and India are sponsoring a lot of students in hoping that their minds would transcend their nation.  Many Asians are earning their PhDs abroad and after graduating, would return abroad to impart their knowledge for the development of their country.

Feudal mindset is a social norm in Asia.  A person of low social status will never have the chance to elevate himself in society and he would be forever a lowborn until his death.  This mindset has long been in Europe’s past and MERITOCRACY, the third pillar, helped Europe to escape the clutches of this old tradition.  Meritocracy states that every individual in a society is a potential source of development therefore, all should be given an equal opportunity (as much as possible) to develop and make a contribution to society.  By allowing everyone to maximize their skills and not discriminate the rich from the poor, a nation is making everyone of its citizens a source of manpower and intellect.  This concept of meritocracy can only be fully exercised through education.  By allowing students from different social backgrounds to study, they are being given the opportunity to widen their horizon.  Education was the only way out of poverty said by Santosh Kumar whose life as a peasant boy in a village from India was changed because he was given the opportunity to study.

PRAGMATISM is the fourth pillar.  By being practical, one’s life is getting less complicated and free of many unwelcome situations.   Japan has learned from the West that by adapting Western practices and making it their own, they would become a pivotal player in the world full of competition.  By reforming its educational system which was patterned from the Americans and French, and by mixing it with some age-old traditions, particularly of Confucianism, Japan’s educational system is one of the best in the world.

The fifth pillar is the CULTURE OF PIECE.  There are many developed countries in Asia but it is a relief to know that these so-called Asian Tigers have never encountered conflicts with one another that can put the continent in limbo.  It’s as if they have this mutual respect with another that war has almost become a forbidden word.  There is a factor that helps these countries live peacefully side-by-side and that is ASEAN.  Although it’s an economic minipower, ASEAN is a diplomatic superpower.  It helps developed countries in Asia to have a peaceful relationship thus maintaining an Asia free from internal wars.

The RULE OF LAW, the sixth pillar, maintains that all human beings are to be treated equally under the law and all citizens subject to the same laws.  This is also a mindset that was so foreign in Asian society because the law only applies to the nobility before.  This paves the way for equality and opportunity for all and Asians are relishing this new doctrine like no other. 

The last but not the least pillar is EDUCATION.  Education frees a man from ignorance, opening him to many avenues that life can offer.  Asian nations know how valuable to have their citizens be educated so it’s no wonder that many Asian nations are allotting a lot of their national budget in improving their educational system.