Can Asians Think? Understanding the Divide Between East and West by Prof. Kishore Mahbubani

Prof. Kishore Mahbubani, a Distinguished Fellow at the Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore, has had two distinguished careers, thirty-three years in diplomacy and fifteen years in academia, when he was the Founding Dean of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy. He lived in New York for over ten years as Singapore’s ambassador to the UN. In 2019, he was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He is globally recognized as one of the world's leading public intellectual.

He has authored several books, among them Can Asians Think?, Has the West Lost It?, The New Asian Hemisphere, The Great Convergence, and Beyond the Age of Innocence. He travels extensively and lives in Singapore.

Prof. Mahbubani was also "President of the United Nations Security Council between 2001 and 2002".

He is uniquely qualified to write about this.

"major new reality in East Asia is the genuine conviction and confidence among new Asian minds that their day is coming, even if they have to stumble once or twice more before they make it. Many Asian minds have now been exposed to the highest levels of Western civilisation, in the fields of science and technology, business and administration, arts and literature. Most have clearly thrived at these levels. The Asian mind, having been awakened, cannot be put to sleep in the near future. "

"At various points in the history of the past few centuries, when the West experienced its many ascendant moments—either during the peak of the colonial era or in the post-Cold War period—there developed a conceit that eventually all of mankind would be absorbed into the fabric of Western civilisation. V.S. Naipaul, an Asian child of the West, captured this spirit forcefully when he spoke of Western civilisation as being the only universal civilisation. Indeed, for most of the past few centuries, any other prospect seemed literally inconceivable."

"I encountered another unusual strand in the Western mind: the desire to believe that there were black and white solutions for complex moral issues."

"it has not yet triggered a discussion among Asians on how and why their societies and civilisations fell several centuries behind European civilisations."

"throughout history, there have been examples of societies that have produced brilliant individuals yet experienced a lot of grief collectively."

"You cannot get good grades in an examination by luck. It requires intelligence and hard work. Similarly, you cannot get good economic performance, especially of the scale seen in Asia, simply by luck. It reflects both intelligence and hard work. And it is vital to stress here that the pace and scale of the economic explosion seen in Asia is unprecedented in the history of man."

"The mental switch that is taking place in Asian minds today is that they no longer believe that the only way to progress is through copying; they now believe they can work out their own solutions."

"One of the key goals of my writings is to alert Asians that they have had no better historical moment than the current one to develop their true potential and, at the same time, prod them to be bolder in their ambitions and aspirations. If they get their act together, Asian societies could once again out-perform other societies."

"But it will not be easy to walk out of a thousand years of stupor."

Asia's lost millenia

"How did they come to lose a millennium?"

"for most of the past 500 years, Asians stopped learning."

Authors advice: "resume the learning process they had aborted for centuries."

They have to ruthlessly analyse their past. They have to understand, for example, why so many Asians allowed themselves to be colonised by so few Europeans. What went wrong? They must further determine what went right in the West. Many would want to credit Europe’s success to purely material factors: its domination of science and technology in the past five centuries. Superior European weapons subdued large Asian masses.

But to look at the “hardware” alone, while ignoring the “software” advantages of European societies, would be a mistake. Distilling the wrong lessons may be even worse for Asia than distilling no lessons at all. And learning the right lessons is becoming more crucial as history fast-forwards into the next millennium."

Good governance

Good governance "is associated with the willingness and ability of the government to develop economic, social and administrative systems that are resilient enough to handle the challenges brought about in the new economic era we are moving into."

"China provides a good living example of this. Its leaders are not looking for the perfect political system in theory. They are searching daily for pragmatic solutions to keep their society moving forward. The population support this pragmatism, for they too feel that it is time for China to catch up. Traditionally, the Chinese have looked for good government, not minimal government. They can recognise good governance when they experience it."

"Good governance is not associated with any single political system or ideology."

"In the United States, good government often means the least government. In Third World societies burdened with huge development demands, the common characteristics found in the successful East Asian societies may help to provide a useful definition of 'good government'. These would include:"

political stability
sound bureaucracies based on meritocracy
economic growth with equity
fiscal prudence
relative lack of corruption

Way ahead

"A short essay like this cannot provide all the answers. But let me suggest three key principles that may be found in the software of success."

"The first is “meritocracy”."

"When capitalism destroyed feudalism in Europe in the 19th century, it moved away from aristocracy towards meritocracy. Capitalism, with its essential ingredient of “creative destruction”, generated new elites. Democracy provided another institutional process for flushing out old elites and churning out new ones."

"They were also functional instruments that enabled—most times—new talent to emerge while simultaneously preventing the encrustation of old elites (which has been one key reason for Asia’s failure). If each Asian society allows its best minds to emerge, flourish and provide leadership, Asia could well take off. But conservative social and political forces resist change. And a great deal of Asian talent is wasted."

"Globalisation may succeed where domestic forces have failed. New economic forces are plowing through Asia, turning up talent."

Europe used capitalism, democracy and globalization to weed out aristocracy and bring new opportunities for talented people.

Asia had no such forces and kept aristocratic fossilized old elites in place.

"The second principle is “peace”" - or the rule of law rather than arbitrary laws and punishment imposed by government.

"Some Asian minds, including those of key policymakers, still linger in the feudal era. "

"peace[following the law rather than its arbitrary use] is an essential condition for growth and prosperity in the modern world. Wars drive out investment dollars and kill (literally) talent. Peace does the opposite. Just one major war in Asia—between any two major Asian powers—could propel Asia back into the 19th century."

"The third principle is “honesty”".

"a polite way of drawing attention to one of Asia’s most shameful aspects: corruption. Successful societies have functional elites. They add more value to their societies than they take from it. Unsuccessful societies have corrupt elites. As a result of feudal attitudes, they become easily entrenched, even though they survive as parasites."

"And the costs are not purely economic. They are also social and spiritual. They breed cynicism and disenchantment, sustaining a vicious cycle that has held Asian societies down: When there is no hope for change, why try?"

"the most dreadful truth that Asians have to come to terms with. Asian societies have not been held back due to colonialism. Nor have they been held back by inequitable international economic forces. The external causes are all peripheral (and often benign).

The real reason that Asian societies have fallen behind European societies in the past 500 years is a simple one: Asians have held Asia back."

"The “veil of ignorance” is being lifted. A new process of learning has begun. All these forces will generate new opportunities for Asian societies."

Towards development

"Cultural confidence is a necessary but not sufficient condition for development".

"Future generations of Indian citizens will be wondering how 300 million Indians—including my own ancestors—allowed themselves to be passively ruled by fewer than 100,000 Britons. Those as yet unborn will not understand how deeply the myth of European cultural superiority had been embedded into the Indian psyche."

"Yet few Asians have given thought to how they will reshape the world order. The world is keen to learn what new responsibilities Asia will take on. So far, the region has remained silent. "

"Asians have been consumers of Western cultural products, especially American ones. The Asian economies now produce almost 40 per cent of global GDP, but they have only a minority stake in the world’s cultural industries, from film to TV, from books to print media."

"No Asian TV channel currently can match CNN or the BBC. This distorts global perspectives. The world sees Asia through Western eyes.

Asians have yet to explain themselves in their own terms to the rest of the world."

Free press as opium

"the US press has been second to none in exposing the follies of the US government. But have all their exposures served as opiates, creating the illusion that something is being done when really nothing is being done?"

"30 years of discussion of African-Americans’ problems have served as a substitute for 30 years of action, creating an illusion of movement when there has been little or none. "

"Can the minds generated by the freest press in the world conceive of such questions?"

"A free press can lead to good government. But this is not necessarily a true proposition. A free press can also lead to bad government."

"a free press is neither a necessary nor a sufficient condition for development and progress" - examples of India and China.

Other points covered in the book

"Westerners should not even dream of overthrowing most of the existing governments in Asia. attitude of many human rights activists: get rid of the imperfect governments we know—do not worry about the consequences that may follow. On their own, such activists will probably cause little trouble. But when they get into positions of influence, their ability to cause real damage increases by leaps and bounds."

Establishing minimal codes of civilised conduct: "there should be no torture, no slavery, no arbitrary killings, no disappearances in the middle of the night, no shooting down of innocent demonstrators, no imprisonment without careful review. These rights should be upheld not only for moral reasons. There are sound functional reasons. Any society that is at odds with its best and brightest and shoots them down when they demonstrate peacefully, as Myanmar did, is headed for trouble."

Decline of the west: "I do not foresee the decline and fall of Western civilisation for a long time more. But what is likely to end is its domination of the world."

"Only hubris can explain why so many Western societies are trying to defy the economic laws of gravity. Budgetary discipline is disappearing. Expensive social programmes and pork-barrel projects multiply with little heed to costs. The West’s low savings and investment rates lead to declining competitiveness vis-à-vis East Asia. The work ethic is eroding, while politicians delude workers into believing that they can retain high wages despite becoming internationally uncompetitive. Leadership is lacking. Any politician who states hard truths is immediately voted out. Americans freely admit that many of their economic problems arise from the inherent gridlock of American democracy. While the rest of the world is puzzled by these fiscal follies, American politicians and journalists travel around the world preaching the virtues of democracy. It makes for a curious sight."

Decline, stagnation and irrelevance of Europe: "most Europeans want to keep their heads down".

Declining, geopolitically incompetent, and unwilling to share its prosperity. "the most successful continent in the world has also become one of the most pessimistic continents in the world."

"The Chinese leaders are aware that their country’s rise in power could provoke discomfort both in Washington, DC, and among its own neighbours." "China has decided to share its growing prosperity with all of its neighbours. Until recently, the largest trading partner for Japan, South Korea and several of the states grouped in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, was naturally the US. But a dramatic shift has taken place in recent years, and today China is the largest trading partner of both Japan and South Korea."

"Simple geopolitical common sense would dictate that Europe should share its prosperity with North Africa to prevent a flood of illegal migrants. Sadly, there is no such common sense in the EU’s geopolitical thinking."

"The combination of slavishly following the US lead (with the possible exception of the invasion of Iraq), its reluctance to contemplate badly needed strategic initiatives (as in the Middle East) or provide real political leadership to complete the Doha round of global trade talks and other such failures have led to the steady shrinking of Europe’s footprint on the world stage."

"the citizens live in a bubble of security while feeling each day a rising level of psychological insecurity about their future".

One possible reason for this geopolitical incompetence and inability to make decisions quickly: "Henry Kissinger was absolutely right in highlighting the EU’s biggest geopolitical handicap: there is still no single phone number to call."

Individual freedom: "The same hero-worship is given to the idea of individual freedom."

"The United States has undertaken a massive social experiment, tearing down social institution after social institution that restrained the individual."

"Since 1960 the US population has increased 41 per cent while violent crime has risen by 560 per cent, single- mother births by 419 per cent, divorce rates by 300 per cent, and the percentage of children living in single-parent homes by 300 per cent. This is massive social decay. Many a society shudders at the prospect of this happening on its shores. But instead of travelling overseas with humility, Americans confidently preach the virtues of unfettered individual freedom, blithely ignoring the visible social consequences."

"Many Western values explain the spectacular advance of mankind: the belief in scientific inquiry, the search for rational solutions, and the willingness to challenge assumptions. But a belief that a society is practising these values can lead to a unique blindness: the inability to realise that some of the values that come with this package may be harmful. Western values do not form a seamless web. Some are good. Some are bad. But one has to stand outside the West to see this clearly and to see how the West is bringing about its relative decline by its own hand."

Think tanks: "if we wanted to hear the best geopolitical discussions, we should go to Washington, DC, or New York. However, if we wanted to see the best geopolitical performance, we should go to Beijing."

"any objective study will show that this unnatural state is mostly a result of Beijing’s geopolitical competence outweighing Washington’s tendency towards incompetence."

"there is nothing in China to match the rich array of think tanks and the various processes of policy dialogue that one finds in Washington (and in other intellectual centres like New York and Boston). No country can match America’s conceptual output in volume. The story is different when it comes to quality."

"There is little debate heard in Beijing from op-ed pieces, television talk shows or think- tank forums, but there is nevertheless a remarkable ability to think outside the box, particularly with respect to long-term planning."

"The typical time horizon in Washington hovers somewhere between the daily spin for the evening talk shows and the next election cycle. In Beijing the clear focus is on where China wants to be in 50 years in order to avoid a repetition of the two centuries of humiliation China experienced before finally emerging as a modern power."

Chinese geopolitical strategy: "Deng Xiaoping turned to such ancient wisdom to craft his famous 28 characters, which prescribed seven guidelines for China to follow:

(1) observe and analyse developments calmly;
(2) deal with changes patiently and confidently;
(3) secure our own position;
(4) conceal our capabilities and avoid the limelight;
(5) keep a low profile;
(6) never become a leader; and
(7) strive for achievements."

"It also makes it difficult to describe Chinese successes, because the Chinese themselves say so little about them. There is enormous pressure on Chinese policymakers not to appear boastful or triumphant, as keeping a low profile is a carefully calculated element of China’s geopolitical strategy. "

Openness: "America instead resembles a closed society. Indian political scientist Pratap Bhanu Mehta once compared India and China by saying, “India is an open society with a closed mind; China is a closed society with an open mind.” The same comparison may well be made between America and China."

"The Chinese have developed a remarkable capacity to understand the voices of others around the globe, a facility reflected in the contrasting fortunes of the American and Chinese diplomatic services."

"American diplomacy is being trumped by Chinese diplomacy through the powerful combination of enhanced geopolitical acumen and better professional diplomacy. In several regions I have visited, including the Middle East and Africa, local observers marvel at the linguistic skills of the Chinese diplomats sent to their countries."

"While Chinese diplomats walk around freely without escort, American diplomats live and work in fortress-like compounds, and venturing outside only rarely and with great care in many countries. Tom Friedman once recounted this story from a Turkish industrialist:

I was just on a tour to Amman and we stopped our tourist van in front of the U.S. Embassy there. We asked the guide why they need all these tanks around it, and the guy told us that within this American Embassy they have everything they need so they can survive without going outside.... I felt really sorry for the Americans there."

The Ten Commandments for Developing Countries

1. Thou shalt blame only thyself for thine failures in development. Blaming imperialism, colonialism and neo-imperialism is a convenient excuse to avoid self-examination.

2. Thou shalt acknowledge that corruption is the single most important cause for failures in development. Developed countries are not free from corruption, but with their affluence they can afford to indulge in savings and loan scandals.

3. Thou shalt not subsidise any products. Nor punish the farmer to favour the city dweller. High prices are the only effective signal to increase production. If there are food riots, thou shalt resign from office.

4. Thou shalt abandon state control for free markets. Thou shalt have faith in thine own population. An alive and productive population naturally causes development.

5. Thou shalt borrow no more. Thou shalt get foreign investment that pays for itself. Thou shalt build only the infrastructure that is needed and create no white elephants nor railways that end in deserts. Thou shalt accept no aid that is intended only to subsidise ailing industries in developed countries.

6. Thou shalt not reinvent the wheel. Millions of people have gone through the path of development. Take the well-travelled roads. Be not prisoners of dead ideologies.

7. Thou shalt scrub the ideas of Karl Marx out of thine minds and replace them with the ideas of Adam Smith. The Germans have made their choice. Thou shalt follow suit.

8. Thou shalt be humble when developing and not lecture the developed world on their sins. They listened politely in the 1960s and 1970s. They no longer will in the 1990s.

9. Thou shalt abandon all North-South forums, which only encourage hypocritical speeches and token gestures. Thou shalt remember that the countries that have received the greatest amount of aid per capita have failed most spectacularly in development. Thou shalt throw out all theories of development.

10. Thou shalt not abandon hope. People are the same the world over. What Europe achieved yesterday, the developing world will achieve tomorrow. It can be done.


"The need to reform global governance has never been greater. Paradoxically, at a time when the world urgently needs new thinking in global governance, old thinking dominates."

"Tinkering will not work."

"We need new thinking, not new tinkering. To arrive at the new thinking, we need to focus on three tensions that have arisen in global governance."
"Let us try to avoid the knee-jerk smug response that one choice is more moral than the other."

"while Western ideas and best practices have found their way into the minds of all men, the hearts and souls of other civilisations remain intact. There are deep reservoirs of spiritual and cultural strength which have not been affected by the Western veneer that has been spread over many other societies. "

"For example, if the rule of law (rather than rule by law) becomes entrenched in Asian societies, it may well be the crucial variable that enables them to lift themselves from their feudal practices. If meritocracy, rather than nepotism, became the norm of Asian societies, it would mean a tremendous unleashing of the brainpower found there."

Author's recommendation for Asia to progress further is worth noting: MPH.

Meritocracy: rather than following same entrenched ideas from aristocracy.

Peace: create environment where there is "there should be no torture, no slavery, no arbitrary killings, no disappearances in the middle of the night, no shooting down of innocent demonstrators, no imprisonment without careful review. These rights should be upheld not only for moral reasons. There are sound functional reasons." The best brains and capital leave where there is arbitrary jail.

Honesty: Search and destroy corruption. Successful societies have functional elites, not parasitic bureaucracy.



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