中國崛起之四：西方衰落的根本原因

Root Causes of the Decline of the West
遠古的風 於 【文學城】的〖古風無痕〗博客 2011-03-06

A very good painting of what is going to happen in the US:
Documentary: I.O.U.S.A. (2009), directed by Patrick Creadon
http://www.amazon.com/i-o-u-s-David-Walker-Peterson-Foundation/dp/B001P9G3HE
http://www.amazon.ca/I-O-U-S-a/dp/B002612S42

Capitalism: A Love Story (2009), directed by Michael Moore
http://www.amazon.com/Capitalism-Love-Story-Michael-Moore/dp/B0030Y11XS
http://www.amazon.ca/Capitalism-Love-Story-Michael-Moore/dp/B003439LIC

Aside from ism, the truly insightful comment of "Capitalism: A Love Story" lies at 01:02:30-01:03:24, in less than 60 seconds, the secondary root cause for the Western decline is plainly stated by Prof. William Black:

"... Today, our best minds are used for something else. Where do we send our top math and science people? Into finance. They do not go to science in the America; they go to Wall Street. ... instead of working for the common good. We've taken people that could be enormously productive, just we are short of in the America, and we've taken them and put them in activity that is not simply less productive, but where that is actually destructive: where actually every day they work, they make the world worse. ..."

This is of course the consequence of the primary root cause, the severe deterioration of basic education system for the past 30 years:
http://www.rinr.fsu.edu/summer2004/coverstory.html
http://richarddawkins.net/videos/525724-gathering-storm%E2%80%99-approaching-category-5
http://news.creaders.net/headline/newsViewer.php?nid=449061&id=1017330
http://watch.thecomedynetwork.ca/the-daily-show-with-jon-stewart/full-episodes/#clip356338
(I will try to write a more detailed article on this matter later.)

NEW YORK — An unprecedented study that followed several thousand undergraduates through four years of college found that large numbers didn't learn the critical thinking, complex reasoning and written communication skills that are widely assumed to be at the core of a college education. Howard Gardner, a professor at Harvard's Graduate School of Education known for his theory of multiple intelligences, said the study underscores the need for higher education to push students harder. Read more:
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2011/01/18/106949/study-many-college-students-not.html

Also check out the latest from Fox News:
China's Rise, America's Fall? | Glenn Beck
http://www.foxnews.com/on-air/glenn-beck/transcript/chinas-rise-americas-fall

Fast forward to page 4 of the transcript and read the words of Jim Rogers (reproduced below):

"The average American has got to start with education, with their children and grandchildren. I have a daughter. When she was in the first grade in Singapore, had more homework than I ever had in any year of my elementary school. She's doing things in the second grade that I'm having trouble helping her with in her math.

"I can't believe what they're demanding of her. It's very rigorous. It's very demanding. And all these kids are working their heads off. She's in the second grade. You know, China produces something like 20 or 30 times as many engineers every year as we do in America. We don't teach math. We don't teach science. We teach self-esteem. In Singapore, you have to earn your self-esteem. You know, you're not told about self-esteem, you have to earn it."

Democrazy made in the USA: democracy is orchestrated by ill-informed, poorly educated, and ultra-selfish crowd, and the results will be long-lasting suffering. From my own educational experience, I have found that the western population is increasingly lacking the basic abilities to think correctly and critically. This is the root cause for the decline of the West and there is no turning back. From now on (actually from the end of the Reagan years, 1989), the US along with its western friends will go downhill. It is also a wonder that so many western people are extremely confident about themselves and their ability to rebuild their societies. Unfortunately, such a fest requires high-quality education from grade 1 onward based on real assessment of students' performance, not on empty praises. Tragically, empty praises have become the social norm of all western societies: students get high marks for not doing much at all. Also, teachers at all levels of the education system scale students' grades up so that everyone involved is happy for the results. This is the exact practice brought down the western financial system in 2008 and will be the exact reason for its further decline in coming years.

http://bbs.wforum.com/wmf/bbsviewer.php?trd_id=90707
Obviously, the current Chinese government is the wisest one in the world. While the Western governments spent billions on bailouts of their banks and obsolete industries (including the auto and road-construction industries), the Chinese government instead invested massively on public transit, infrastructure, green technologies, and education. Ten to 15 years down the road, the benefits of the Chinese investment will begin to manifest whereas the suffering of the Western democrazy-driven short-sighted policies will further short-circuit the Western socioeconomic progress. We just need to wait for the triple-digit oil prices to return and see the above forecast to unfold before our very own eyes.

See what are the desperate deeds of the US:
http://news.creaders.net/headline/newsViewer.php?nid=428481&id=976642
http://news.creaders.net/us/newsViewer.php?nid=428226&id=976127

Elizabeth Warren: The Coming Collapse of the Middle Class in the US
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akVL7QY0S8A

What the future will look like:
http://seekingalpha.com/article/199443-10-top-green-giants

Finally, let's read a recent news item:
http://news.creaders.net/photo/newsViewer.php?nid=463938&id=1047372

這其實隻是冰山一角：在美國，凡是與軍工（還有高端生物科技）有關的項目，華人（不論你是大陸人、還是台灣人或香港人）和俄國人都是被排除在外。因此，這些與國家競爭力直接相關的項目的結果的好壞就是西方科技（包括精密加工製造業）的最直接表現。現在，可以很肯定地說：以美國為代表的西方科技已經深陷在嚴重的衰敗過程之中了。其跟本原因在於西方基礎教育（從小學到大學本科）的缺失：西方如今已經產生不出足夠數量的本土傑出科技人才了。從美國F35的難產到F22的忽悠，我們都可以觀察出好些端倪來。在如此的狀況下，我們就可以好好地品味一下“巧婦難為”的好戲了：
http://news.creaders.net/headline/newsViewer.php?nid=463988&id=1047472

如果您對美國（以及西方）的衰落還不是很確定，請進一步參閱：
Lament for America by Earl H. Fry (University of Toronto Press, 2010)
http://www.amazon.com/Lament-America-Decline-Superpower-Renewal/dp/1442601914
http://www.amazon.ca/Lament-America-Decline-Superpower-Renewal/dp/1442601914