"[N]early every political evil can be found on display in China: slavery, discrimination, religious persecution, xenophobia, tyranny, mass-political indoctrination, colonialism, cultural genocide, and so on. And yet, the outcry against these things in America and the West is a tiny fraction of what it was with regard to South Africa in the 1980s or Israel today. Why? Some of the political answers are pretty obvious — and have much merit. A few that come to mind: China is non-Western, and many of these sins are supposed to be unique to white Europeans; China is a victim (or “victim”) of colonialism, and so we shouldn’t judge it harshly; China is very powerful, and realpolitik dictates that we be diplomatic; and so on. But there’s another reason. As you may have noticed, I’ve become much more interested in evolutionary psychology of late, particularly the topic of coalitional instincts. The coalition instinct is the programming that helped us form strategic groups that advance our self-interest. We are a social species and cooperation is what helped us skyrocket to the top of the food chain."
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
Jonah Goldberg, "When Evil Becomes Inconvenient" (24 August 2018), National Review Online
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/China
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
China
132 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by China →
Related Quotes
"Asia now stands at the dawn a new history of civilization to create its own future, finally emerging from the long tu…"
"The great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation will definitely be accompanied by the thriving of Chinese culture."
"The U.S.-China confrontation is not simply a national rivalry, but a conflict of economic and social systems.... From…"
"We are also seeing a diffusion of power and competition at the nation state level. This competition comes not just fr…"
"As a foreign literature it is studied also by the Coreans, the Japanese, and the Annamites; and it may therefore be q…"
"The Chinese are industrious, courageous, honest, and intelligent. They created the splendid ancient Chinese civilizat…"
"Let us now pause to take stock of some of the results which have accrued from the operation and influence of Confucia…"
"All this saber-rattling is despicable. Neither Russia nor Iran threaten the U.S. and there is no reason why the U.S. …"
"So far, the world economy, particularly Australia and the United States, have benefited greatly from Chinese economic…"
"When China sends its students to the United States, especially when it sends central bankers and planners to the Unit…"