風蕭蕭_Frank
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意識形態錯覺：美國與中國的競爭不是主義
作者：埃爾布裏奇·科爾比和羅伯特·卡普蘭 外交事務 2020年9月4日
冷戰初期，美國也麵臨著類似的十字路口。 德懷特·艾森豪威爾總統等一些人物對蘇聯采取了強硬立場，但建議在對抗中必須有選擇性，引導美國外交政策走向選擇性和他所說的“中間道路”。
其他人，例如 NSC-68（1950 年國家安全委員會報告，1950 年頗具影響力的報告）的作者，相信應采取廣泛的、係統性的方法來對抗蘇聯，這一信念有助於美國在越南問題上陷入困境。 華盛頓現在正處於新的大國鬥爭的相似時刻，它應該選擇類似於艾森豪威爾的立場。
我們並不是在提議一種一維的現實政治。 美國必須捍衛自由、共和政府和人類尊嚴。 擁護這些價值觀將吸引世界各地的其他人站在美國的旗幟下，有助於展示向北京屈服的危險，並為集體努力提供動力。 我們必須認識到，北京本身至少在很大程度上是從意識形態角度思考的，即使競爭根本上不是關於意識形態的。
然而，外交政策是由需求層次構成的。 外交政策——尤其是在共和國——應該服務於一個國家公民的利益。 盡管美國人可能希望中國成為一個更自由、更公正的社會，但他們的政府不應該為此負責，特別是考慮到與北京進行過度意識形態衝突的成本和風險。 美國可以而且當然應該強調尊重人的尊嚴和政治權利，以此作為區別於中國的一種方式。 但政策製定者必須保持清醒的視角並有選擇性，尤其是在風險如此之高的情況下。
本文摘自2020年9月4日發表在《外交事務》上的一篇文章。
The Ideology Delusion: America's Competition With China Is Not About Doctrine (Foreign Affairs Sep 4, 2020)
Early in the Cold War, the United States faced a similar crossroads. Some figures, such as President Dwight Eisenhower, took a tough line on the Soviet Union but counseled the need to be selective in confrontations, steering US foreign policy toward selectivity and what he called the “middle way".
Others, such as the authors of NSC-68 (the influential 1950 National Security Council report in 1950), believed in an expansive, systemic approach to confronting the Soviet Union, a conviction that helped to entangle the United States in Vietnam. Washington is now at a similar juncture in a new great-power struggle, and it should choose a stance akin to Eisenhower's.
We are not proposing a one-dimensional realpolitik. The United States must stand for freedom, republican government and human dignity. Standing for these values will draw others around the world to the US banner, help demonstrate the dangers of bowing to Beijing, and provide a motivating force to collective efforts. And we must recognise that Beijing itself thinks in at least substantially ideological terms, even if the competition is not fundamentally about ideology.
Yet foreign policy consists of a hierarchy of needs. Foreign policy — especially in a republic— should serve the interests of a country's citizens. Although Americans may wish for China to become a freer and more just society, their government should not be responsible for making it so, especially given the costs and risks of pursuing an excessively ideological conflict with Beijing. The United States can and should certainly emphasise respect for human dignity and political rights as a way to distinguish itself from China. But policymakers must maintain a clear-eyed perspective and be selective, especially when the stakes are so high.
This is an excerpt from an article published in Foreign Affairs on September 4th, 2020.
ELBRIDGE COLBY is a Principal at the Marathon Initiative. He served as U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Strategy and Force Development from 2017 to 2018.
ROBERT D. KAPLAN holds the Robert Strausz-Hupé Chair in Geopolitics at the Foreign Policy Research Institute. He is the author of The Good American: The Epic Life of Bob Gersony, the U.S. Government’s Greatest Humanitarian.
