Guanxi: China’s Common Currency

First published in Convergence Journal, Vol 6 no 4 (South Africa), November 2005, www.axius.co.za

It has been nearly 10 years since Francis Fukuyama published his work ‚Trust‛ discussing the possibility that high levels of social trust, especially the kind of social trust that comes out of Confucian societies, will be requisite to prosper economically in the 21st century. After reading Fukuyama’s work, one can’t help but speculate that he was in large part trying to prepare his audience for the economic culture that is currently propelling many parts of East Asia to economic success. Social trust based on familial ties and kinship is nothing new, yet, the method with which Confucian societies are finding success by making use of those ties is certainly surprising, and at times inspiring. Confucian culture that is dominant in many parts of East Asia is teaching the world something about economic success and the way in which relationships can be utilized to bolster that success.

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Intimacy or Integrity: Can Leaders Walk Both Paths?

The well-known contemporary comparative and cultural philosopher Thomas P. Kasulis not too long ago published a book entitled ‚Intimacy or Integrity: Philosophy and Cultural Difference.‛[1] His book lays out a compelling argument about how cultural generalizations between Asian and Western philosophies can be employed to discover deeper cultural insight about these disparate environments. He focuses on the cultural differences between Japan and the Unites States arguing that Japan is a culture based on ‘intimacy’ while America is a culture that is based on ‘integrity.’ Utilizing these two generalizations Kasulis illuminates cultural differences between Asian and Western values that help to demystify the Far East as well as teach us important cultural lessons we can apply in more familiar settings.

While generalizations aren’t always healthy (or accurate), they do serve as a lens with which to better understand the unknown. As one generalization leads to a better and more accurate generalization, one can gain deeper insight into a culture. And, as Kasulis writes, ‚[t]he only way to refute a generalization is by posing a better generalization (one that is a more effective heuristic, one that can account for more of the data‌).‛[2] Kasulis makes a helpful point here. As we get to know a particular foreign culture we begin to peel off layers of generalizations like we peel off layers of an onion, each time a new layer comes off we are provided with fresh new insight into that particular culture (admittedly sometimes making our eyes water). In saying this, it may be worth time spent to think critically about the way generalizations can be mined for deeper cultural understanding.

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Sino-U.S. economic interdependence is growing: a savvy response from business owners is needed