Schwarz on China
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* Benjamin Schwarz (“The U.S. Finds a New Boogeyman,” Commentary, Sept. 8) attempts to demonstrate that American fear of the “Chinese threat” is unjustified (as well as arrogant and dangerous) because of the poor quality of China’s military.
Schwarz fails to recognize what lies at the heart of such fear: The Chinese government is attempting to meld an authoritarian power structure based upon hyper-nationalist and “scientific” ideology to modern industrial capitalism without--and in direct opposition to--democratic values. Two ventures of this sort were rather successful, at least in the short term: Fascism (Italy) and National Socialism (Germany) in the 1920s, ‘30s and ‘40s.
STEVEN L. HELLERMAN
Claremont
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