The Grass Isn't Greener in China

US problems won't be solved by mimicking other nations
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 23, 2010 1:22 AM CST
The Grass Isn't Greener in China
Chinese police officers stand guard as hundreds of workers gather outside a government building after a large toy factory closes in Zhang Mu Tou of Guangdong province in southern China.   (AP Photo/Vincent Yu, File)

America's present woes have revived the wrongheaded liberal tradition of believing that emulating other countries is the answer, writes Jonah Goldberg. People who suggested becoming more like the Soviet Union or Japan were wrong, and people like Thomas Friedman are just as wrong when they ignore obvious shortcomings to declare that the Chinese or French way is better, Goldberg warns in the Los Angeles Times.

Friedman—who suggests America could learn from China's "enlightened regime"—isn't seeing China's pollution, or the lies and cruelty that underpin its system, Goldberg writes. Such critics share a belief that countries with more power over their citizens and economies are more advanced than the US, he notes. But they forget that states with such controls have a lousy record in the long run, Goldberg adds. "We have our own problems, but history shows the solution to them is not to be found in more centralized planning," Goldberg concludes.
(More Jonah Goldberg stories.)

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