Asian Values

1
Asian Values
2009
2
VALUES

• I should go to school because
• 1. My parents want me to be in school
• 2. I want to be with my friends
• 3. I want to learn about many things in this
  world
• 4. I like to prepare for serious work later in my
  life
• 5. I need education to help my family
• 6. I want to become an engineer, doctor, teacher,
  etc. some day
•  

3
EAST vs WEST

• Different concept between the East and the West
  Goodness vs Rights -- Fred Dallmayr
• Ours (The West) is largely a rights-based
  morality --Henry Rosemont
• Individuals have rights, and there are things no
  person or group may do to them (without violating
  their rights)." -- Robert Nozick
• Classical Confucian -- "qualities of persons and
  with "persons who have or do not have these
  qualities" where western morality invokes
  "abstract principles.

4
Asia the Worlds bright economic spot

• Asia-Pacific region will be the fastest growing
  regional economic block from 2003 to 2007,
  estimated growth rate at 5.9

• In Nov 1993 on national TV, facing the horizon,
  the ex-President Eduardo Frei depicted the
  economic importance of the Pacific Ocean.

Economic Intelligence Unit the Asian
Development Bank
5
Asia the Worlds bright economic spot

• Chile hopes to strengthen its relations with Asia
  to advance global free trade.
• Chile was the first South American country to
  establish relations with Beijing in Dec 1970.
• Chile has Free Trade Agreement with South Korea
  and China. In June 2005, Pacific Four (P4)
  Chile, Singapore, Brunei and New Zealand
• Chile signed with Japan in Sept 2007.

6
2. Inventing Asia

• Asia the East and OrientEuropean invention from
  ancient Greeks. It refers to the vast land and
  people east of Europe borders.
• The Near (Middle) East, the Far East
• Southeast Asia
• Regionalism in East Asia --- historical patterns
  of cooperation, common challenge of the West, the
  quest for an Asian identity, growing economic
  interdependence

7
3. Region-building in Asia Asia
Consciousness

• Post-second World War, numerous region-building
  --The Inter-Asian Relations Conference in New
  Delhi, South East Asia Command (SEAC), Southeast
  Asia Treaty Organization (Seato), Maphilindo (for
  Malaya, the Philippines Indonesia uniting the
  Malay peoples) and ASEAN (Association of
  Southeast Asian States)
• The ASEAN 3 regionalism
• East Asia Community
• Many Asias religious /civilization divisions

8
4. Challenges on Region-Building

• IR divisions -- The China/Japan division,
  antagonism between Japan and Korea, Thailand and
  Burma, Indian and Pakistan over Kashmir
• Different impact of colonialism between British,
  Dutch, French, American and Japanese colonialism
• North-South divide within the region
• What type of regionalism prevails - an exclusive
  regionalism or an inclusive regionalism embracing
  the United States, Australia and other Western
  countries? - It will be determined partly by the
  success of the promotion of 'Asia' consciousness.
  

9
5. The East and the West Key questions to ask
about Asian Values

• What are these Asian Values? Are they different
  from western values?
• What are the contexts and the origin of the
  Asian Values debate?
• Are Asian values the culprit for Asian
  Financial Crisis?
• How do Asian Values relate to globalization and
  development?

10
6. Overview of the Presentation

• Part One
• Historical Roots
• European Advance
• Background, Context
• The Concept of Occident and Oriental
• Development of Asian Values Debate
• Proponents of Asian Values
• Part Two
• The Essence of Asian Values
• The Assumptions of Asian Values
• Empirical Studies on Asian Values
• Why did they clash with the West?
• Asian Values and Democracy Divergent views
• Asian Values and Human Rights Divergent views

11
7. Overview of the Presentation

• Part Three
• Asian values and Economic Development
• The myth of Asian Economic Miracle
• The Asian Financial Crisis Were Asian Values
  the culprit?
• The Asian Financial Crisis Going beyond culture
  and values
• Part Four
• Are these values particularly Asian in nature?
  The illusion of Asia exceptionalism?
• Criticisms on Asian Values
• Asian Values the model of the future or the
  model in decline?
• Asian Values Local VS Global
• Conclusion

12
Part One

• Historical Roots
• European advance
• Origin, Background Context
• The Concept of Occident and Oriental
• Development of Asian Values Debate
• Proponents of Asian Values

13
8. Ideology of Asia consciousness Historical
Roots

• In China, nationalist regime of the 1920s spoke
  of an Asian spiritual unity, Sun Yat-Sen as the
  father of a Sino-centric movement
• Japanese victory over Russia in1905 an impetus
  to an Asian unity
• Japanese Co-Prosperity Sphere of World War II --
  'ancient glory of the spiritual life of Asian
  peoples'.
• The Bengali religious leader, Vivekananda
  (1863-1902) --'on the material plane, Europe has
  mainly been the basis during modern times' on
  the 'spiritual plane, Asia has been the basis
  throughout the history of the world
• The Nobel Prize-winning Indian poet, Rabindranath
  Tagore renaissance Asian civilization

14
9. European Advance

• India, Burma, Malay Peninsula Northern Borneo
  _____ colonies
• Philippines __________ and _________ colonies
• Indonesia __________ colony
• East Timor __________ colony
• Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia-_________ colonies
• Central Asia __________
• European colonialism spurred nationalist
  movements and awareness as a region
• The Cold War divided the area into __________and
  ___________ alliance systems centered on the
  Soviet Union and United States.

15
(No Transcript)
16
Singapur

• Uno del los puertos con mas trafico en el mundo
  segundo puerto con más trafico
• El Tercer Refinador de petróleo más grande del
  mundo
• Uno de los primeros centros financieros de Asia
• Una de las ciudades más cosmopolitas en el mundo
  
• El primero en el ranking mundial de Calidad del
  Trabajadores en 49 Países MEJORES TRABAJADORES
  DEL MUNDO
• El segundo en el alinea mundial (segundo después
  de Estados Unidos) en el informe Global de
  Competitividad 2000
• La puerta entre el Este y el Oeste

17
10. Background Context

• Asian values a long campaign against western
  colonialism
• The idea of Asian Way' existed in late 1970s,
  originated in Singapore, moved to international
  academic debate in the 80s
• Asian Values key factor of Asia miracle in
  80s
• In the early 1990s, the concept of Asian Values
  was used by Asian political leaders to ensure
  social stability

18
11. The Concept of the Occident the Oriental

• The Asian Values advocates stress the existence
  of a "shared identity" in Asia, and the
  understanding of "Asia" (Oriental) as a concept
  opposite to that of "West" or "Occident"
• Started in the 19th and early 20th century by
  European orientalists Max Weber
• In the 1950s, Western social scientists saw
  Confucianism as a serious obstacle to economic
  development
• Protestant ethics as providing a unique source
  of value motivation in the development of
  capitalist society in the West. (Max Weber)
• West rationalism, individualism, tolerance,
  scientific
• East subservience and intolerance of different
  views, superstitious

19
12. Proponents of Asian Values

• The rise of studies of Asian values in the West
  after the end of colonization and the fast
  economic growth of the region
• The most articulate proponents Singapore
  School-- Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew, a retired
  senior diplomat, Tommy Koh, Kishore Mahbubani
• Other prominent advocates are Malaysia ex-Prime
  Minister Mahathir Mohamed and his then deputy
  Anwar Ibrahim

20
12. Proponents of Asian Values

• East Asia Confucianism emphasis of hard work,
  thrift, filial piety and national pride have
  fuelled regional economic growth. -- China
  government official Li Xianglu
• Asian elements which have supported Japan's
  economic development have come to serve as a
  model for the world' Senior diplomat Ogura
  Kazuo
• Asia can present itself as an alternative to the
  West' and that more people are questioning the
  Western model of development'- Thai academic
  Chaiwat Satha-Anand
• 'The Asianisation of Asia' -- Japanese
  intellectual, Yoichi Funabashi

21
Part Two

• The Essence of Asian Values
• The Assumptions of Asian Values
• Empirical Studies on Asian Values
• Why did they clash with the West?
• Asian Values and Democracy- Divergent views
• Asian Values and Human Rights- Divergent views

22
13. The Essence of Asian Values
23
13. The Essence of Asian Values
24
14. The Essence of Asian Values

• Family is the key social organization
• Group interests above individual interests
• Consensus rather than confrontation in political
  decision-making
• Social cohesion is priority, through moral
  principles and strong government
• Economic growth is a natural development of
  social cohesion and strong government
• Organic view of society

25
15. The Assumptions of Asian Values

• A set of core civilizational values, common to
  both the Confucian and non-Sino traditions of
  East Asia
• A questioning of the legitimacy and efficacy of
  the Western model development's universal
  application
• A conviction on the rise of the East and the
  fall of the West
• Asian values play in a part in shaping the
  Asian miracles.

26
16. Empirical Studies on Asian Values
conceptualization

• One of the most authoritative empirical works to
  date is a ground-breaking study by David
  Hitchcock (1994)

27
16. Empirical Studies on Asian Values
conceptualization
28
16. Empirical Studies on Asian Values
conceptualization
29
Case Study-BANGKOK DECLARATION

• The Ministers and representatives of Asian
  States, meeting at Bangkok from 29 March to 2
  April 1993, pursuant to General Assembly
  resolution 46/116 of 17 December 1991 in the
  context of preparations for the World Conference
  on Human rights,
• Adopt this Declaration, to be known as "The
  Bangkok Declaration", which contains the
  aspirations and commitments of the Asian region

30
Case Study-BANGKOK DECLARATION

• 4. Discourage any attempt to use human rights as
  a conditionality for extending development
  assistance
• 5. Emphasize the principles of respect for
  national sovereignty and territorial integrity as
  well as non-interference in the internal affairs
  of States, and the non-use of human rights as an
  instrument of political pressure

31
Case Study-BANGKOK DECLARATION

• 7. Stress the universality, objectivity and
  non-selectivity of all human rights and the need
  to avoid the application of double standards in
  the implementation of human rights and its
  politicization, and that no violation of human
  rights can be justified

32
Double Standard Argument

• Nowhere is the double-standard approach to human
  rights more glaring than in the Wests evasion of
  its responsibilities through its inaction in the
  face of the massive and gravest violations of
  human rights in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Surely, their
  apathetic and meek response to genocide, ethnic
  cleansing and rape, in the heart of Europe, makes
  a total mockery of their preaching and posturing
  on the promotion and protection of human rights
  in far corners of the world.
• We ask ourselves what credentials do they still
  have to preach about human rights when the most
  blatant abuse of those rights before their very
  eyes goes unpunished. -----The Malaysia Minister
  of Foreign Affairs

33
Case Study-BANGKOK DECLARATION

• 18. Recognize that the main obstacles to the
  realization of the right to development lie at
  the international macroeconomic level, as
  reflected in the widening gap between the North
  and the South, the rich and the poor19. Affirm
  that poverty is one of the major obstacles
  hindering the full enjoyment of human rights

34
Priorities Argument

• The right to development should be given priority
  over civil and political rights.
• Poverty and lack of development are directly
  attributable to macroeconomic policies that
  increase the widening gap between the North and
  the South, the rich and the poor.

35
Priorities Argument

• The Chinese government, which argued during the
  Vienna Conference that when poverty and lack
  of adequate food and clothing are commonplace and
  peoples basic needs are not guaranteed, priority
  should be given to economic development.
  Otherwise, human rights are completely out of the
  question.

36
Case Study-BANGKOK DECLARATION

• 8. Recognize that while human rights are
  universal in nature, they must be considered in
  the context of a dynamic and evolving process of
  international norm-setting, bearing in mind the
  significance of national and regional
  particularities and various historical, cultural
  and religious backgrounds

37
Case Study-BANGKOK DECLARATION

• 9. Recognize further that States have the primary
  responsibility for the promotion and protection
  of human rights through appropriate
  infrastructure and mechanisms, and also recognize
  that remedies must be sought and provided
  primarily through such mechanisms and procedures

38
Case Study-BANGKOK DECLARATION

• calls for greater recognition of the immense
  complexity of the issue of
• human rights due to the wide diversity in
  history, culture, value systems, geography and
  phases of development among the nations of the
  world.

39
Context Argument

• Western over-reaction to Paragraph 8s simple
  description of realitythat moreover explicitly
  recognized the ideal of universality led to much
  of the acrimony that characterized the debate
  between the West and Asia at the Vienna
  Conference.
• What seemed to be controversial about the
  position is that it suggests a contradiction the
  rights cannot be both viewed as universal and
  interpreted differently according to ones
  culture??

40
17. Why did Asian Values clash with the West?

• The fallacy of the universality of the western
  model of development
• Mahbubani criticized the Westerners for
  their inability of to see that non-Europeans may
  have reached a stage of development where they
  can progress without having to repeat Europe's
  mistakes

41
17. Why did Asian Values clash with the West?

• Convergence with the West yet divergence from the
  West, modernization but not westernization
• From former President Deng Xiaoping to Jiang
  Zemin till Hu Jintao, they have revived the
  spiritual civilization to promote the
  socialist ethical and cultural progress of the
  Chinese people
• For decades Western commentators considered
  Asian values as the cause of backward
  development in Asian societies.
• Asian values freed Asians from their low
  self-esteem, the legacy of years of western
  colonization

42
17. Why did Asian Values clash with the West?

• The different interpretation of democracy and
  human rights
• The West perceives the Asian regimes employ
  Asian values to defend an illiberal form of
  government.
• Asians question why Western countries impose
  their cultural values and ethnocentric
  definitions of human rights on Asia

43
17. Why did Asian Values clash with the West?

• What is clear is that there is a general
  discontent throughout the region with a purely
  Western interpretation of human rights. -
  Bilahari Kausikan
• There is suspicion arising from Malaysia to
  Korea to Japan, that the Western media's agenda
  of human rights and environmental
  protection......are means to keep Asia from
  developing further economically. -- The Seoul
  Bureau Chief for the Far Eastern Economic Review
  commented in 1994

44
18. Asian Values and Democracy Divergent
Views

• Ref Yi-Huah Jiang, 2003
• Type I -- Asian values as distinct from the West
  and Asian countries need not embrace the model of
  liberal democracy.
• ?? " If Singapore became a Western-style,
  individualistic society, he says, "we'd go down
  the drain we would have more drugs, more crime,
  more single mothers with delinquent children, and
  a poor economy"Former Prime Minister of
  Singapore, Lee Kuan Yew (Bell, 1997 7)

45
18. Asian Values and Democracy Divergent
Views

• Type II - Asian values as distinct from the West
  but liberal democracy is the universal model for
  all.
• ?? The future of Asian countries depends not
  only on continuing economic growth but, more
  importantly, on a strong commitment both to human
  rights and democracy and to the revitalization of
  Asian traditional values and cultures. The two
  sets of values complement each other and are
  equally important (Chan, 1997 46).

46
18. Asian Values and Democracy Divergent
Views

• Type III Asian values are more rhetoric than
  actual, and democracy is a universal value which
  is not culture-bound.
• ?? Therefore, the distinction between East Asian
  and Western values is false" (Alatas, 1998 11).
• "It makes little sense to ask whether 'Asia'
  needs democracy, for it is the same as asking
  whether America or Europe needs democracy" (Ng,
  1997 12).

47
18. Asian Values and Democracy Divergent
Views

• Type IV -- Asian values are more rhetoric than
  actual and liberal democracy is not the only
  choice available to mankind.
• "Yet even if there are no essentially Asian
  values, it challenges us to think what we mean by
  democracy.
• Different democratic societies may have different
  view of the relative importance of social order
  versus individual rights, it follows that
  alongside liberal democracies there could be
  non-liberal --or at any rate less liberal --
  variants of democracy" (Emmerson, 1995 96).

48
Part Three

• Asian Values and Economic Development
• The myth of Asian Economic Miracle
• The Asian Financial Crisis Were Asian values
  the culprit?
• The Asian Financial Crisis Going beyond culture
  and values

49
19. Asian Values and Economic Development

• FREE MARKET DEMOCRACY
• ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT?

50
19. Asian Values and Economic Development

• To most Asian leaders, economic and social rights
  precede over civil and political rights. Economic
  growth and development are prioritized over
  individual freedom.
• The manifestation of Asian values have produced
  divergent social and economic outcome
• China
• Japan
• Indonesia
• India
• Burma and North Korea
• Singapore and Malaysia

51
19. Asian Values and Economic Development

• 1.China has great economic growth but without
  political freedom
• 2. Japan is the richest has most freedom.
• 3. Indonesia practices democracy but with
  poor economy
• 4. India has more freedom in politics than
  economics
• 5. Burma and North Korea are the poorest and
  have the least freedom among the Asian countries
• 6. Singapore and Malaysia are rich and half free

52
19. Asian Values and Economic Development

• Common characteristics of the East Asian Tigers
  are-
• Focused on exports to richer industrialized
  nations
• Trade surplus with aforementioned countries
• Sustained rate of double-digit growth for decades
  
• Non-democratic and relatively authoritarian
  political systems during the early years
• Undervalued currencies
• High level of U.S. treasury bond holdings
• High savings rate

53
20. The Myth of Asian economic miracle?

• Paul Krugman compared East Asia spectacular
  growth to Communist economies in the 1960s.
• Input-driven growth (growth in education,
  employment, stock of physical capital) vs
  Output-driven growth (better management and
  efficient use of resources)
• Input-driven growth runs into diminishing
  returns, inevitably limited

54
20. The Myth of Asian economic miracle?

• A nation can only continue to growh economically
  if there is a rise in output not just input
• Rapid Soviet economic growth was due to the
  willingness to save, to sacrifice current
  consumption for the sake of future production
• Soviet economy grew by its ability to mobilize
  resources, not its ability to use them
  efficiently.
• Asian growth, similar to the Soviet Union, seems
  to be caused by growth in labor and capital
  rather than by gains in efficiency

55
20. The Myth of Asian economic miracle?

• The Asian miracle seems to have been based on
  perspiration rather than inspiration
• If there is a secret to Asian growth, it is
  simply deferred gratification, the willingness to
  sacrifice current satisfaction for future gain.
  (Paul Krugman, 1994)
• Simple economic principles openness to foreign
  investment with state-managed market
• A balanced perspective cultural and economic
  factors to shape the success of the Asian
  miracles

56
21. The Asian Financial Crisis Were Asian
Values the culprit?

• The current crisis punctures the idea of Asian
  exceptionalism. The laws of economics have not
  been suspended in Asia.' (Francis Fukuyama)
• 'Asian values have become Asian liabilities.'
  (US News and World Report)
• Yesterday, we admired Asian values and almost
  despised our own. Today, deregulated America is
  in fashion' (The New Statesman)
• Some 'conservative' Americans ponder 'whether
  Asian values might teach Americans something'.
  In fact, however, America now has the
  opportunity, especially through the IMF, to
  'spread its worldview at almost no cost to
  itself.' (Sebastian Mallaby in The
  National Interest)

57
21. The Asian Financial Crisis Were Asian
Values the culprit?

• Asian government were accused of fostering crony
  capitalism that led to overinvestment in bad
  projects
• Asian values did not cause the crisis. Corruption
  and nepotism are a debasement of Confucianist
  values. If Asian values were at fault, why arent
  Hong Kong and Singapore affected? (Lee
  Kuan Yew, 1998)
• Poor system was the primary cause weak banks,
  inadequate supervision and weak exchange-rate
  policies and excessive borrowing in the past
  three to four years. (Linda Lim, 1998)
• Both domestic and international banks gave loans
  indiscriminately during the euphoria. Thai baht
  was the most vulnerable and was attacked in early
  1996

58
21. The Asian Financial Crisis Going beyond
culture and values

• The core of the problem Volatility of global
  financial markets sudden huge inflow of capital
  starting from 1993 and 1994 and then the sudden
  outflow in 1997. (Eisuke Sakakibara)
• The West has pushed us to open our markets, but
  what are we getting in return? Through
  globalization we have created a monster. Park
  Yung Chul, President of Korea Institute of
  Finance
• Implications Too much freedom too fast in both
  markets and politics can lead to downfall

59
Part Four

• Are these values particularly Asian in nature?
  The illusion of Asia exceptionalism?
• Criticisms on Asian Values
• Asian Values the model of the future or the
  model in decline?
• Asian Values Local VS Global
• Conclusion

60
22. Are these values particularly Asian in
nature? The illusion of Asia exceptionalism?

• Is East-West model exclusive?
• Western industrialism was built in the 19th
  century upon values of strong government, moral
  propriety, hard work and thrift, similar to
  Asian Values
• The Asian values are favorable to Asias present
  stage of the economic development, just as
  Victorian values suited 19th century Britain

61
22. Are these values particularly Asian in
nature? The illusion of Asia exceptionalism?

• I do know that many of these Asian values were
  once also western values. (New Straits Times,
  March 16 1995, 10) Mahatir, Margaret Thatcher.
• Asian values are similar to the Christian
  principles. - Former British career diplomat Hugh
  Cortazzi.
• Why did the West move away from these values?
• A process of moral decline
• Democracy has its own backlash. Democracies are
  beginning to learn that too much freedom is
  dangerous. -- Mahatir

62
23. Criticisms on Asian Values

• Cultural Relativism
• Ignore heterogeneity and diversity
• Asian values may in fact be Chinese capitalism,
  are in fact typical to a restricted part of the
  region, in particular, the East Asian countries
• Cultural Stereotype
• Stereotyping, oversimplification and mutual
  misunderstanding

63
24. Asian Values the model of the future or
the model in decline

• Is Asian model an alternative to liberalism?
• Problems in the West society to reconcile
  individual rights with the interests of the
  larger community, a call to restraint excessive
  liberalism
• Too much democracy blockage to economic growth
• The Asian values thesis received support in the
  New Right in the 1980s ex-U.S. President Reagan
  and ex-UK Premier of Margaret Thatcher
  Traditional values are conducive to the freedom
  of the market

64
24. Asian Values the model of the future or
the model in decline

• Current social and economic problems of the West
  are not the causes but the products of social
  change inherent in the development of capitalist
  society
• The central question of the viability of Asian
  model if this model is confined to only the
  period of early growth of capitalism intensive
  mobilization of labor and capital
• Individualistic Protestant ethic good for early
  capitalist development, Collectivist ethic of a
  Confucian type good for later global capitalism
  development (Levy, 1992)

65
24. Asian Values the model of the future or
the model in decline

• International pressures on Asia to reform human
  rights, labor relations, legal system U.S. and
  other Western industrial powers to break into
  Asian markets by imposing liberal market rules
• Asian leaders see them as destroying the
  competitive advantage of the country.
• American political leaders hold double standards
  when it is in their interests but are less
  inclined to maintain the same standard when it is
  not in their economic interest, based on human
  rights rhetoric. (Mahbubani 1998 Mauzy, 1997
  212 in Michael Hill, p. 25)

66
25. Asian Values Local VS Global

• East Asian form of modernity -complexity
  relationship between globalization on the one
  hand and localization on the other.
• Asian Values a local voice to counteract
  globalization. The biased perception of West is
  the BEST and SUPERIOR and the Mc-culture
  pervades among the young generation in Asia
• The Globalization of the local and the
  localization of the global
• Globalization in effect is the universalisation
  of Western particularism
• The American sociologist Peter Berger claims that
  East Asia has made a second case of capitalist
  modernity after the model of Western Europe

67
26. Conclusion

• Asian values produced distinct political and
  economic institutions than the West
• Most social problems in advanced capitalist
  countries in Asia resemble western nations, but
  with differing degree
• The inherent problems of global capitalist
  development and modernization In search for a
  model
• East-West Asian values debate reflects
  deeper unresolved political ideological issues
• A call for a fusion between the best practices of
  the East and the West

68
(No Transcript)