Chinoiserie in Mod Clothes

Abstract

Leader in the history of the US Senate, has as his final valedictory effort joined the chorus of those advocating that the United States abandon its alliance with the Chinese Nationalists and extend full diplomatic recognition to the Chinese Communist regime in Peking. The arguments proferred to countenance such a shift in US policy in the Far East toward what is euphemistically called normalization of relations with the Peking regime are a classic reprise of other recent mistakes in the area. They reflect that curious and remarkable combination of naivete, 19th century scientism pushed to illogical extremes, and pure lack of information that has come to dominate the American mass media. They are also part and parcel of a trendy world in which politics, and particularly international politics, has become a dilettante's delight replacing so many older pastimes of the intellectual establishment. All too often, the proponents of policy initiatives in this area cannot carry their own arguments with any degree of sophistication. And to deal with them in a logical and serious manner is something like playing a game of tennis by jumping back and forth across the net to handle one's own volley. Moreover, the proponents of normalization span the political spectrum from retiring Senate Minority Leader Hugh Scott to mod political academics like Professor Jerome Alan Cohen of Harvard. Hence, the present discussion will not be a riposte to any particular advocacy of policy changes, but rather an attempt to present something of both sides of the discussion.