The Nation
Not anti-Western, rather post-Western
Published on Apr 15, 2003
Having introduced a number of new concepts to Thai society, including
"Strong Civil Society", "Good Governance" and lastly the notion of
"Post Western Society", I have decided to make it a lifelong mission to
build on these ideas. The task is more demanding than it first seemed
since it might take the time and effort of so many minds in the country
to collectively deconstruct the age-old Western ideas so deeply
entrenched in the lives and minds of most Thais.
It should be made clear from the start that my proposed concept is
neither anti-Western nor non-Western but post-Western. It is my
conviction the present century would not be another American century as
many American writers have hoped for and neither an Asian century as
predicted by some scholars but rather a multi-polar, multi-cultural
post-Western century.
Despite a swift victory over Iraq, the self isolating and brute force
war reflects a declining US political and military influence in the
world.
The US economy, which has been on a downward spiral for the past two
years, is likely to be repeatedly in the doldrums. Culturally speaking,
a visible change is transpiring, be it in areas of film, music, high
arts, sports, travel and leisure, food, fashion and beyond. China,
Japan, Korea, India, Latin America, Africa as well as Southeast Asia
have revealed their presence and are acquiring more cultural space. In
a few decade's time, we shall witness greater balance among various
cultures.
In a post-Western world, greater equity will be achieved, in terms of
pride and right to appreciate one another's national or sub-national
culture. When a post-Western society is ushered in, there shall be
greater self-respect for one's culture as well. Will it revolutionise
people's lifestyle? I should make it clear that my effort is not an
anti McDonaldisation but it would go deep into the role played by
content, structure, definition, valuation of knowledge (mostly Western
constructed) in shaping the lives and minds of the rest of the world.
Firstly, material culture, with science and technology which was under
Western domination over the past two to three centuries, will give way
to more equitable contributions from other cultures such as Russian,
Chinese, Indian, Japanese, Latin American and African. These "coloured
people" will play a greater role also in the development of physics,
electronics and so on.
Secondly, the excessive lifestyle and characteristics of Western
conspicuous consumption, and the belief in materialism which led to
ecological destruction and the abandonment of spiritual dimension in
life, will gradually be tipped into a more balanced one.
Some asked if a post-Western society can eradicate poverty? In the long
run, it will bring about greater equality among people of different
cultures since valuation in the present world is severely asymmetrical
- mutual appreciation should certainly rectify this. However, we must
still apply the concept of social justice to address the disparity
within a cultural group.
Then there is the question as to whether a post-Western society is the
sole salvation to the world's problems? The answer is obviously no.
Post Westernisation is vitally needed but since the world is complex,
fluid and diverse, it requires different answers to different questions
- be it in saving the ecology, community spirit or in creating a public
sphere.
Deep colonialism functions through complex technical know-how in which
formal colonialism thrived for about three centuries. Thus it is not
plausible to dismantle it in haste. However, the deconstruction process
could be done quicker than the construction process. This is because
people around the globe, Westerners included, are joining this effort
to build more mutual cognition and recognition.
Deep colonialism or Westernisation functions through many important
channels. It operates through the hegemony of knowledge and meaning,
the control over governmental policies, and even through the controls
of history and time dimensions.
It is well known that the West utilised knowledge such as medical
science, agriculture and engineering as tools to colonise and
hegemonise the world. This process is ongoing, even at present. The
production of knowledge, be it science, philosophy, arts and culture,
all constitute a pivotal tool of the Western world more than that of
the role played by technology and manufactured goods.
However, Western hegemony dwells deep into the monopoly of meanings of
life that goes beyond mere knowledge, be it the grand question of what
is the purpose, the pursuit or the reproduction of one's life. It
controls the way we think of our careers, our dreams, imagination,
taste for architecture and design, clothing, our notion of what is
beautiful, and even our intimate sexual desires.
It's unbelievable that it also controls our view of what constitutes
good politics and progressive society. Those who do not play by the
rules will be discredited. This is why the philosophies of the Lord
Buddha or Lao Tzu are not regarded as philosophy in the Socratic sense
of the word but a religion or a cult.
This process enlisted the help from universities around the world,
which generate theses and dissertations that conform to Western notions
of knowledge. Thinkers and academics are more familiar with Shakespeare
than Sunthorn Phue, more knowledgeable about Goethe than Tagore,
appreciate Hermann Hesse better than Kawabata.
Most alarming is the control of what constitutes a human being. The
crudest attempt at such hegemony is the belief that the ideal physical
being is that of a well-proportioned athlete seen via Greco-Roman
sculptures. More subtle is the discourse that to be a worthy person at
the present time must be entrepreneurial, forward-looking, risk taking,
and willing to rebound when met with failure, along with other
qualities such as willingness to be a life-long learner.
These entail the fashionable processes or re-engineering, re-skilling,
re-learning and so on. In this sense, Americans are the ultimate role
model, and some Europeans are not even quite qualified, not to mention
Asians who lead life under crony capitalism.
Thirayuth Boonmi
Thirayuth Boonmi is a social critic and lecturer at Thammasat
University.
attatchment (text/enriched) ignored