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A plank bed, a hermit and tai chi
By Wang Yong |
March 22, 2011, Tuesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
THE miracle-in-Mauritius article by Joseph Stiglitz and the charms of rural America described by Greg Cusack (on today's opinion page) convey a common message that has become quite uncommon: it is a pleasure and privilege to be simple and equal.
As Stiglitz notes, the tiny island nation of Mauritius is much poorer than the West, but it is also a much more equal society. So, says Stiglitz: "If Mauritius can afford these things, America and Europe - which are several orders of magnitude richer - can, too."
But neither America nor Europe has done that - not because they cannot afford to do so, but because conservatives in the West embrace an ideology that sows dissension and division - as Stiglitz rightly explains.
Chinese today are several orders of magnitude richer than they were 30 years ago, but inequality caused by injustice has increased along the way, evidenced in a widening income gap.
Isn't it time for China to pause and ask which way to go: the American or the Mauritian way? This is not to say China has to mirror Mauritius. Rather, China should rediscover its own traditions of equality and take pride in a crusade, along with Mauritius, to create a more equal world.
Unequal as it is, America retains much of its rural and egalitarian charms - the wellspring of a simple life. As Greg Cusack argues, you can afford to be a happy farmer in rural America if you choose to.
This right to choose between living in a city and in the countryside is somehow diminishing in China today, as the mantra and mystique of urbanization has misled many people, including hard-working farmers, to believe that a better life comes only from cities.
False belief
A false belief.
Last week my wife and I went to Wudang Mountain in central China (western Hubei Province) to learn and practice tai chi. We were far away from urban amenities such as elevators and air-conditioners, but we were also far away from emissions. We felt much stronger and happier when we trusted in our legs, rather than in four wheels.
For one week, my wife and I slept in a 1.2-meter wide wooden bed - it was so cold up in the mountains that we had to press together to stay warm.
For one week, we ate mostly simple vegetables. Sometimes we had a power cut, sometimes we had no water, but we had fresh air and, through tai chi, we learned to be part of nature, not above it.
One day we went to visit an old, toothless hermit who lived in a simple cave half way up Wudang Mountain. He was amiable and nimble.
He had taken all the money he had saved for a set of artificial teeth and given it to poorer laborers who made a living by carrying heavy loads of food and supplies high up the mountains.
Toothless as he was, our hermit was all smiles when we sat in his simple if not shabby yard. At that moment, I understood that not everyone had the privilege to be that simple.
As Stiglitz notes, the tiny island nation of Mauritius is much poorer than the West, but it is also a much more equal society. So, says Stiglitz: "If Mauritius can afford these things, America and Europe - which are several orders of magnitude richer - can, too."
But neither America nor Europe has done that - not because they cannot afford to do so, but because conservatives in the West embrace an ideology that sows dissension and division - as Stiglitz rightly explains.
Chinese today are several orders of magnitude richer than they were 30 years ago, but inequality caused by injustice has increased along the way, evidenced in a widening income gap.
Isn't it time for China to pause and ask which way to go: the American or the Mauritian way? This is not to say China has to mirror Mauritius. Rather, China should rediscover its own traditions of equality and take pride in a crusade, along with Mauritius, to create a more equal world.
Unequal as it is, America retains much of its rural and egalitarian charms - the wellspring of a simple life. As Greg Cusack argues, you can afford to be a happy farmer in rural America if you choose to.
This right to choose between living in a city and in the countryside is somehow diminishing in China today, as the mantra and mystique of urbanization has misled many people, including hard-working farmers, to believe that a better life comes only from cities.
False belief
A false belief.
Last week my wife and I went to Wudang Mountain in central China (western Hubei Province) to learn and practice tai chi. We were far away from urban amenities such as elevators and air-conditioners, but we were also far away from emissions. We felt much stronger and happier when we trusted in our legs, rather than in four wheels.
For one week, my wife and I slept in a 1.2-meter wide wooden bed - it was so cold up in the mountains that we had to press together to stay warm.
For one week, we ate mostly simple vegetables. Sometimes we had a power cut, sometimes we had no water, but we had fresh air and, through tai chi, we learned to be part of nature, not above it.
One day we went to visit an old, toothless hermit who lived in a simple cave half way up Wudang Mountain. He was amiable and nimble.
He had taken all the money he had saved for a set of artificial teeth and given it to poorer laborers who made a living by carrying heavy loads of food and supplies high up the mountains.
Toothless as he was, our hermit was all smiles when we sat in his simple if not shabby yard. At that moment, I understood that not everyone had the privilege to be that simple.
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