Realizing the Chinese Dream?

Abstract

Today the notion of “Chinese dream” has emerged as part of the official discourse of the PRC. Meanwhile, its substance has not been fully clarified. The article studies historical transformations of the concept. Its evolution since the 1860s has been defined by the strategic challenge, posed by the Western states. In response the Chinese intellectual elite created several modernization programs, with each one of them more comprehensive than the previous. However, in practice the modernization of China meant its Westernization. Therefore, the way towards “Chinese dream” appeared also to be the erosion of “Chineseness”. Even Marxism, which was used to overcome the Western domination, has Western roots. Therefore, Mao Zedong and the Communist Party of China used counterstrategy of de-Westernization of Marxism, appraising it as a scientific truth, and making it a global heritage, rather than a European one. The transformations caused by China’s modernization brought about the search for Chineseness. To disclose it the author formulates the concept of “methodological China”, which reflects the ironical fact that the way the country acts defines its essence better than its values. Chinese adaptability enabled it to copy the best from the Western experience and, therefore, to take from the leading states their winning recipe. The implementation of this strategy had an impact on the general trends of global development. Any innovative strategies through time lose their exclusivity and are copied by rivals. Under these conditions, countries have to deal with resource limitations. Therefore, competition for resources to fulfil national dreams could become not only meaningless, but could also create threats for the humanity as a whole. Thus, it is important to transfer from pursuing narrowly defined “national dreams” to the construction of stable and common world. The initial reading of the “China dream” more than 3000 years ago was formulated very much in this paradigm of thought and the current Chinese initiatives testify that this logic reemerges in Beijing.