Tango is not only a fascinating dance but also a fascinating philosophy, culture and lifestyle. The search of tango is the search of connection, love, fellowship, unity, harmony and beauty, i.e., an idealism that is not consistent with the dehumanizing reality of the modern world. The world divides us into individuals, but tango unites us into a team, community and species. In tango we are not individualists, feminists, nationalists, Democrats, Republicans, etc., but interconnected and interdependent members of the human family. Tango calls us to tear down the walls, to build bridges, and to regain humanity through affinity, altruism, cooperation, and accommodation. It is a dance that teaches the world to love.



October 28, 2021

The Vicious Circle of Regime Change


The history of the United States is so short that most Americans are ignorant of regime cycles and blindly optimistic about the status quo. In fact, any regime or political system has a life span, which can be as short as a few years or as long as a few hundred years. It will eventually be replaced by another regime or system.

But with thousands of years of history the Chinese understood that well. China has experienced thirty-one dynasties since its unification by the Qin Dynasty in 221 BC. Among them, the nine longest-lived dynasties that ruled all of China are the Western Han Dynasty, 231 years, the Eastern Han Dynasty, 195 years, the Tang Dynasty, 289 Years, the Eastern Jin Dynasty, 103 years, the Northern Song Dynasty, 167 years, the Southern Song Dynasty, 152 years, the Yuan Dynasty, 162 years, the Ming Dynasty, 276 years, and the Qing Dynasty, 295 years. The rest are all less than a hundred years.

Every dynasty at its inception achieved a balance acceptable to all interest groups and political factions through redistribution of power, wealth and land. Over time, that balance would be broken. Wealth was reconcentrated into the hands of a few. Land was annexed again by the landlord class. When most people lost the means of production, the economy lost vitality. At the same time the regime was corrupted by power, weakened by partisan fights, alienated into oligarchy, plutocracy, autocracy, tyranny, hegemony, etc. Bad governance and mismanagement such as profligacy, corruption, militarism, overspending, excessive taxation, heavy debts, uncontrolled issuance of currency, etc., eventually led to political, economic and financial failures, which were intensified by natural disasters, plagues, foreign invasions, rebellions, etc., causing the regime to collapse. The life span of a dynasty might vary, but the regime would peril regardless. Three hundred years is the upper limit of how long it takes for a regime to die. In China, no dynasty, even among the most successful ones, survived for more than three hundred years. (See Democracy vs. Plutocracy.)

From their long history the Chinese have learned many things that countries with a short history do not know. For example, a country with a short history often pursues a policy of plundering, exploiting and bullying the weak, but the Chinese understand that the ultimate winner must be the one with justice, moral integrity, and support from the people. (See Understanding China: Geography, Confucianism, and Chinese-Style Modernization.) Based on this knowledge the Chinese instituted their current government, the People’s Republic of China. It is a government of the people, by the people and for the people, aimed at the well-being and prosperity of all its citizens rather than a small number of landlords, industrial tycoons and bankers. History has also taught the Chinese that only when the people have the means of production, they will be the most productive and happy; therefore, the government provides people with land, opportunities, projects, financial and technical supports, etc., to help them be successful in all kinds of business ventures, but prohibits them to use competitive advantages to form monopoly and cut off other people’s opportunities. That way, China has eliminated poverty, become the world's largest manufacturing powerhouse, and created the world’s largest middle class population. (See America Is in Big Trouble.)

History has also taught the Chinese to improve their system through meritocracy, collective decision making and continuous reforms. They implement good governance by selecting officials with both moral integrity and practical abilities based on long-term reviews of the candidate's character and performance. Political decisions are made in democratic ways through thorough investigations, consultations and discussions rather than partisan fight. Thousands of years of political experiences have made the Chinese deeply aware of the dangers of partisan politics. Parties only represent the special interests. Partisan fights severely weaken the government’s ability to govern and cause deep divisions among the people. Rotation in power by opposing parties leads to incoherent policies and makes long-term planning impossible. Voters are not always well-informed and rational, and can be easily manipulated by empty promises, emotional incitement and misinformation. The elected politicians tend to be sensational and lack moral and practical experience in governing. They work more for their patrons and their own re-election than the long-term interests of the people. The current administration often takes irresponsible actions such as overspending, over borrowing and overprinting of money to benefit its own tenure, leaving disastrous consequences to future administrations. Without continuous reforms, these myopic practices motivated by self-interest will make a regime impossible to escape the fate of the historical cycle. (See Pluralism vs. Monism.)





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