With China being granted more than double the number of patents than the US in 2022, and India emerging as one of the fastest growing major economies in the world, it is clear that the pivot to Asia spoken of since the 1980s is already a reality. Up till this time, scholars have generally attributed this development to factors that played an important role in the rise of Western countries, with insufficient attention paid to cultural drivers unique to Asia. Indeed, the implicit assumption behind the policy of strategic engagement adopted by the US with respect to China since the 1970s was that an economically well-off Chinese population would demand democracy in much the same way as the American population.
Today, China is posing difficult questions for the universalist Western conception of human societies by becoming a powerhouse of innovation while retaining its authoritarian political system. Similarly, by cleaving to democracy, albeit with varying levels of success, despite its material challenges, India bucked the trend of other newly independent colonies that regressed into authoritarian structures. These contrarian phenomena suggest that the restoration of Asian influence after about 500 years is not merely a geographical redistribution of power, but represents a fundamental change in the cognitive foundations that animate our civilization.
Starting from the mid-1500s, the radical social transformation referred to as the ‘Enlightenment’ sought to loosen the grip of three forces over human beings: organized religion, monarchy and the inimical manifestations of nature. It replaced these authorities by an individual-centred vision that presented the faculties of reason and observation as new lodestars for human beings.
The world-view of the ‘Enlightenment’ led to the most rapid phase of material progress in recorded history, but was also characterized by a rapacious exploitation of non-Enlightenment societies. As shown by frequent natural disasters and widespread human displacement in the midst of unprecedented wealth, the simultaneous occurrence of dazzling light and enveloping darkness is an even more prominent feature of the rationality-driven world today. These intense dualities along with the material rise of Asia represent an existential threat to prevalent modes of being. Indeed, the present turbulence at this high point of development can be characterized as the last dance of rationality. What are the fundamental ideological shifts we can expect Asia to bring?
In the age of globalization, economic ideologies promoting market-led growth generally prevailed over considerations of equity or the preservation of the environment or culture. As a result, the vast mass of the population is faced with uncertain economic prospects. In this context, governments are reverting to nationalist and cultural appeals to survive. In India, religion and nationalism have become more prominent in politics than ever before. In China, Marxist-Leninist-Maoist doctrines are making a major comeback, with President Xi Jinping having declared that “only socialism can save China." Simultaneously, we are seeing the rise of populist leaders who are able to exercise a vice-like grip on power. The world is also facing the impact of natural disasters and public health crises on a colossal scale. Thus, all that Enlightenment values sought to overthrow— organized religion, all-powerful leaders and the fury of nature—is making a comeback.
But, perhaps this pessimism is a vestige of my Enlightenment conditioning. In the new age of meta-reason, one should acknowledge the validity of cultural factors that lead to an Indian model of democracy, or a Chinese conception of free choice, which are formulations that would accommodate religion or Communism, or a role for a larger-than-life leader.
Nevertheless, beyond cultural specifics, as leaders of this new age, China and India do have the universal responsibility of fashioning new trajectories that will enable the world to deal with existential imperatives like climate change and artificial intelligence (AI). Just as the two countries are beginning to master measures like GDP growth that powered the passing age, they need to develop new metrics for measuring their future success.
In this context, their mutual dynamics will be decisive. In India, the youth is highly motivated by the aim of ‘catching up with China.’ However, let us remember that leaders break new ground, they do not play the game of catch up. India needs to balance economic dynamism with a moral compass that enables it to eschew glittering prizes in favour of sustainable choices that benefit the environment as well as the vast multitude of Indians. A single-minded focus on China will prevent it from playing its much-needed role. Similarly, China must fashion a new image as a benevolent power, not one bent on aggrandisement. It needs to revitalize its Confucian roots that emphasize human-centred virtues, not just within its borders, but across the world at large.
In the Asian era, what India and China will learn from each other is vital. Will India justify authoritarianism by invoking China’s economic success? Will centralized structures hinder the rational use of vital natural resources? Will broadband for all lead to a greater concentration of power? While a schizophrenic division between an open economy and a closed political system may have worked for China, will it work for the argumentative Indian?
The turn of a year is a good time for a big-picture perspective. But this year, it is not enough to review the past 12 months or even the decade. One has to appreciate the inflexions that lie hidden in the broad sweep of history.
Rohit Prasad is a professor at MDI Gurgaon and the author of ‘The Last Dance of Rationality: Making Sense of an Unravelling World Order’
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The India-China dynamic seems set to lead an age of meta-reason
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25.12.2023
With China being granted more than double the number of patents than the US in 2022, and India emerging as one of the fastest growing major economies in the world, it is clear that the pivot to Asia spoken of since the 1980s is already a reality. Up till this time, scholars have generally attributed this development to factors that played an important role in the rise of Western countries, with insufficient attention paid to cultural drivers unique to Asia. Indeed, the implicit assumption behind the policy of strategic engagement adopted by the US with respect to China since the 1970s was that an economically well-off Chinese population would demand democracy in much the same way as the American population.
Today, China is posing difficult questions for the universalist Western conception of human societies by becoming a powerhouse of innovation while retaining its authoritarian political system. Similarly, by cleaving to democracy, albeit with varying levels of success, despite its material challenges, India bucked the trend of other newly independent colonies that regressed into authoritarian structures. These contrarian phenomena suggest that the restoration of Asian influence after about 500 years is not merely a geographical redistribution of power, but represents a fundamental change in the cognitive foundations that animate our civilization.
Starting from the mid-1500s, the radical social transformation referred to as the ‘Enlightenment’ sought to loosen the grip........
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