Hyper Hyper

I have been listening to Radio 4's Book of the week, Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother by Amy Chua, who also made an appearance today on Woman's hour. Intrigued by Ms Chua, I resorted to the internet for further and better particulars about her. There is quite a lot of stuff on You Tube and she appears to have created a great deal of controversy in the US in respect of parenting skills generally. She is very high powered and accomplished herself and is also the author, inter alia, of Day of Empire: How Hyperpowers Rise to Global Dominance - and why they Fall (2007) which apparently examines seven major empires and posits that their success depended on their tolerance of minorities. With the decline of this tolerance comes the decline of the power. She gives a video lecture about her work at:

http://zocalopublicsquare.org/full_video.php?event_id=158

She has however, a wide definition of the word tolerance. She seems to mean those countries that - having conquered neighbouring countries - allowed the citizens of those conquered countries to carry on as normal (although under the rule of the conqueror) faired better at creating empires; and further, cemented their power by assimilating those conquered into their society. This is what she refers to as the glue that keeps it all together. It is not so much tolerance as tolerate. It is not necessarily a recognition and respect for the beliefs and practices of those other societies, but merely a strategic assessment that the less you aggravate a defeated group and let them carry on their business as usual in their own way, the less they are likely to rebel against you and the more likely they are to come around to do business your way. This strategic tolerance connected with an immensely powerful military, clever leadership and audacity, have the makings of a hyperpower.

The idea of strategic condescension, is certainly not new and is best expressed by two 20th Century Frenchmen:

Jean Baudrillard (1929-2007) sociologist, philosopher, cultural theorist and political commentator:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Baudrillard

and Pierre Bourdieu (1930-2002) sociologist, anthropologist and philosopher:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre_Bourdieu

It is well worth a plough through the entries for Bourdieu and Baudrillard for a better view on the sociology and anthropology of power. As to Amy Chua, although an interesting thesis, I am not sure that it has 'value'. Is the information she imparts of any usefulness or importance to the possessor of it? Does it have utility or merit? As a piece of written history perhaps, but one must first accept her definition of what constitutes a hyperpower . She states she picked up the idea for her book on hearing the French Foreign Minister Hubert Védrine (who popularised the term in 1998) in a speech referring to the United States. According to Ms Chua there have only been about 6 such powers since the Persian or Achaemenid Empire in the 6th Century BC. One must also allow for her extremely wide and fluid definition of the word tolerance. She seems keen to include the United States in this select group, although I am not sure to what end. She is also a keen supporter of Barack Obama, as being an example of the influence and importance of this tolerance. Is the United States then still emerging? Still on the ascendent? On the other hand it is clear that China is emerging as a potential hyperpower, and may indeed be one, but for its decided lack of tolerance. Indeed, should it not be considered as being on the decline?

Listening to her views on the success of her inheritance of Chinese parenting skills, one can only be alarmed by its rigidity and lack of tolerance, but then, one must be tolerant of that, and she is clearly the hyperpower in her family.

This piece does not mean that I don't enjoy or admire her work. I hope my criticism is tolerable.