writings of non-Chinese philosophers, most importantly Marx. I’m told that his favorite book was Zuo Tradition,
which focuses on political, diplomatic, and military affairs in a “relentlessly realistic style” 2 in the period from
722 BC to 468 BC, because the lessons it offered were so relevant to what he was encountering. He also wrote and
spoke philosophically. If you haven’t read anything he wrote and are interested in how he thought, I suggest you
read “On Practice,” “On Contradiction,” and of course The Little Red Book, which is a compendium of his
quotations on a number of subjects, which I only had time to skim but was impressed by. It is interesting and
informative in ways that are relevant today.3
As a result of their longer history and their more intensive studying of it, the Chinese are much more
interested in evolving well over much longer time frames than Americans, who are much more interested in
making quick hits—i.e., the Chinese are more strategic than Americans, who are more tactical. The arc that
Chinese leaders pay the most attention to is well over a hundred years long (because that’s how long good
dynasties last) and they understand that the typical arc of development has different multidecade phases in
it, and they plan for them. For example, the first phase, which occurred under Mao, was when the
revolution took place, control of the country was won, and power and institutions were solidified. The
second phase of building wealth, power, and cohesiveness without threatening the leading world power (i.e.,
the United States) occurred under Deng and his successors up to Xi. The third phase of building on these
accomplishments and moving China toward where it has set out to be on the 100th anniversary of the
People’s Republic of China (PRC) in 2049—which is to be “a modern socialist country that is prosperous,
strong, democratic, culturally advanced, and harmonious,” which would make the Chinese economy about
twice the size of the US economy4 —is occurring under Xi and his successors. Nearer-term goals and ways
for getting toward these goals are set out in nearer-term plans like the Made in China 2025 plan,5 Xi’s new
China Standards 2035 plan, and the usual five-year plans.6
Chinese leaders don’t just plan and try to implement their plans; they set out clear metrics to judge their
performance by and they achieve most of their goals. I’m not saying that this process is perfect because it
isn’t, and I’m not saying that they don’t have political and other challenges that lead to disagreements,
including some brutal fights over what should be done, because they have them (in private). In summary
what I am saying is that they have much longer-term and historically based perspectives and planning
horizons, they bring those down to shorter-terms plans and ways of operating, and they have done an
excellent job of achieving what they set out to do by following this approach. By the way, I have coincidently
discovered over many years that my studying history, looking for patterns, and dealing with tactical
decisions has had a similar effect on how I see and do things—e.g., I now see the last 500 years as recent
history, the most relevant arcs seem about 100+ years long, and the patterns I observe from taking this
perspective are very helpful to my anticipating how events are likely to transpire and informing me about
how I should be positioned over the coming weeks, months, and years.
China’s Lessons and Its Ways of Operating
The Chinese culture developed as an extension of the experiences the Chinese had and the lessons they learned
over the millennia. They were set out in philosophies about how things work and what ways work best in dealing
with these realities. These philosophies made clear how people should be with each other, how political decision
making should be done, and how the economic system should work. In the Western world the dominant
philosophies are Judeo-Christian, democratic, and capitalist/socialist. Each person pretty much chooses from these
to come up with the mix that suits them. In China, the main ones were Confucian, Taoist, and Legalist until the
early 20th century when Marxism and capitalism entered the mix. The most desired mix to follow has historically
been the emperor’s most desired mix. Emperors typically study Chinese history to see how these have worked and
come up with their own preferences, put them into practice, learn, and adapt. If the mix works, the dynasty
survives and prospers (in their parlance it has the “Mandate of Heaven”). If it doesn’t, it fails and is replaced by
another dynasty. This process has gone on from before history was recorded and will go on as long as there are
people who have to decide how to collectively do things.
While I can’t do these philosophies justice in a couple of sentences each without digressing too deeply (though I
will go into them more deeply in Part 2), here is the best I can do: