After living 15 years in China.
Here’s the one thing the west doesn’t get about China.
When people ask me what’s the biggest difference between China and the west, I say it’s:
Collectivism Vs Individualism
Harmony
Social responsibility
In China, how well the group works together is much more important.
I think a lot of this comes from geography.
In such a large country, it’s much more important how well you work together as a group. As 1 in 1.4 billion, you have relatively less impact or ability to
change things.
But in the UK and Europe, the individual is more important.
But it’s not just sheer size, it’s the geography and landscape itself that plays a major part in shaping who we are and the culture that prevails and succeeds.
In a sense, we are all products of our environment.
The geography of Europe is unique in that rather than being a massive plain, it is divided by peninsulas, mountains, rivers.
This has enabled different groups of people to survive and thrive and develop their own cultures.
As an island the UK has been quite insulated from the perpetual threat of a better-organised mass.
I am a British who is part Scottish, Irish, and Welsh, and our history is one of individual rights, personal identity and liberty.
For Europe, our most prosperous times, were those of greatest competition.
Democracy itself comes from the city states of ancient Greece.
The city states of the Renaiisance.
The industrial revolution.
Individualism, innovation were crucial for survival and competitiveness.
Throughout history, extreme inter state and city state rivalry and competition encouraged individual risk-taking and innovation.
And this has very much shaped the culture of US.
The lessons of history of Britain and Europe lead to certain conclusions.
Individualism.
But China’s geography is very different.
With its massive agricultural plains and huge river systems like the Yellow and Yangtze rivers needs centralized control.
Looking through China’s history, the most prosperous times of China’s history were those of unity, and centralised control.
The Song, Han, Tang dynasties.
Because China’s geography is fundamentally different.
You need someone to centrally manage water resources for irrigation and flood control.
You need to control the whole river to be secure.
It’s like how a railway is a natural monopoly.
If there is disagreement then the whole system breaks down.
All of the benefits come from being part of the whole system.
The lessons of history in China and Europe are fundamentally different and lead to different conclusions.
That the benefits of a collectivist culture are how to build a better more efficient system that works better.
But they both have elements of both.
Every one in individualist cultures are also familiar with being in collectivist environments, such as sports teams, and companies. And those in collectivist cultures also have elements of individualism and their own cultures too.
The Roman empire could be seen as “an exception that proves the rule”. A period of greatness where Europe thrived. At this time the benefits of trade from the meditteranean brought enormous benefits so that it could effectively become a monopoly. But this only lasted a period of time before the advantages of mediteranean trade were less, than trade further and were able to sustain larger populations.
I think it’s important to understand what are the underlying instincts and where they come from.
Our instincts for individualism and seeing others as competition, and China’s for centralisation and harmony.
Just like two friends. You don’t start by trying to impose your values, or change the other person.
A good relationship starts with context and understanding. What can we learn from the other.
Now we’re in a global digital economy.
It’s much faster and more competitive.
It’s about finding the right combination that works best in the environment.
Here is a quote from Lee Kuan Yew
“To understand China and what it will be like in 20 years’ time, you have to know what sort of people and society they are. For 5,000 years, the Chinese have believed that the country is safe only when the centre is strong. A weak centre means confusion and chaos. A strong centre leads to a peaceful and prosperous China. Every Chinese understands that. It is their cardinal principle, drawn from deep-seated historical lessons. There will not be a deviation from this principle any time soon. It is a mindset that predates communism. It has existed for centuries, for millennia.”
