Western attitudes towards the societies of East Asia are a
sad reflection of an inability to appreciate the economic achievements of Japan,
South Korea, Singapore, and, more recently, parts of mainland China. No
impartial observer can deny that Asian models of economic and political
development are proving successful. Impressive rates of economic
growth have been achieved in at least some East Asian societies, such as Japan
and Singapore. The resulting standard of healthcare and education which are
offered to the citizens of these countries is superior to that of many Western
countries. In addition, communal harmony and social stability are frequently
combined with these East Asian economic success stories. It is not uncommon for
East Asian societies to enjoy enviably high levels of employment and low rates
of crime. The East Asian picture is impressive and totally
justifies the invocation — in Singapore, and Malaysia and, increasingly in China
and Japan — of an Asian model of economic and political development. The potent
combination of dynamic market institutions and the benefits of flourishing
communities, which has already become a reality in parts of East Asia, is one
which has eluded Western societies. Asian models of political
and economic development draw on indigenous cultural traditions such as
Confucianism. They candidly repudiate Western ideals of individualism, human
rights and democracy. Adherence to such models is already delivering prosperity
and social stability to the peoples of East Asia so it would seem logical for
the West to demonstrate a sympathetic interest. No such interest
is apparent. It remains generally true that Western opinion and policy are based
on the premise that Western ideals and practices have universal authority. In
other words, there is a widespread belief that success for Asian societies is
dependent on their adoption of Western values and institutions.
For many people in the West, modernization implies westernization. They
would appear to overlook the fact that their own societies frequently
demonstrate features which are far from desirable. Crimes against property in
Britain are astonishingly common--with a worse record than even the United
States. The foregrounding of human rights in the United States does not alter
the disturbing fact that America’s violent crime and homicide record is higher
than in all other Western societies. The murder rate in Moscow, in 1993 was only
one third of that in New York.
What is the view of western countries toward East
Asian countries’ success
【参考答案】
They believe the success is dependent on the adoption of wes......