Yet no matter what point Lee wants to prove -- be it that of China following a basic democratic model or this Chinese model being of acceptable use to the U.S. -- her conclusions show that this particular model is an effective one, and one supported by the public. And herein we can find the lesson the U.S. should draw from China.
At the same time, Lee's conclusion relies on the fact that without China's economic growth, the U.S. together with several other Western countries could have hit rock bottom ten years ago when the Internet bubble burst. China's growth has created huge sales volume for the U.S. in overseas countries, as well as lowered labor costs and borrowing costs brought on by China's investments in U.S. government securities.
There is a saying that "culture is the mother of a political system." Lee believes the success of China can be found in Confucianism, saying that Confucianism is in the blood of most Chinese. After having been passed on from generation to generation for centuries, China doesn't need any textbook, law or media to get millions of people to accept these values.
Lee did not put forward something new when summarizing the core concepts of Confucianism -- e.g. the main goal of any individual person is to develop society, to be moral and treat everyone as you would like for them to treat you. What is surprising however, is that she believes American and Chinese cultures do have something in common. Lee claims the foundation of Confucian thought is similar to that of several Christian concepts, such as the idea of loving your neighbors as you would love yourself.
Furthermore, Lee points out that China is using Confucian thought to deal with many issues, whereas the U.S. basically acts in a rather more careless way towards others, not considering the consequences and only focusing on earning money. Apparently, they can learn from China, she writes. "Let's imagine a Wall Street under a Confucian influence. The financial crisis may never happen again. Why? Confucian bankers would be more concerned about channeling their energies and capital toward people and ideas that contribute to society and do valuable things than with the sole purpose of getting wealthy. Confucian bankers would be better stewards of capital and financial system because they would understand that even if they were the last ones standing in a world destroyed by greed and short-term behavior, it would not be a world worth living in."
'Collective children's weddings' held in kindergarten
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