Under the Roof of the Earth: Observations on Human Politics

Author: Zhuang Liwei
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-06-01
Features: In Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's The Little Prince, the little prince lives on a very small planet. If he sits in a chair and looks this way, he sees the sunrise; if he looks the other way, he sees the sunset. The only other creature on the planet besides him is a single rose. Such a scenario and perspective, due to its (shock value), evokes endless imagination and introspection. The Earth we inhabit is far larger and more complex than the little prince's planet. People often have to use very complex mathematical formulas and textual laws to observe and explain the relationships between things. However, if we had the chance to come to the moon and look at Earth, Earth and the little prince's planet would be roughly the same size. It would resemble a blue boat adrift in the ocean, a solitary, wet, large round stone, with some very lonely humans on it, appearing quite alone in the universe. Earth is humanity's only shelter from wind and rain, and all humans live under the same roof of the Earth. If there is not enough kindness and tolerance among humans, this roof and house will collapse. Under the roof of Earth is the position where the author of this book stands. This book focuses on observing world politics from the perspectives of specific individuals, human hearts, human nature, and human culture. It examines world politics (including inter-state politics, transnational politics of sub-state and supranational actors, as well as domestic politics as the background for analyzing international and transnational politics). Alternatively, this book is an observational notebook about "human politics." In the academic circles of China, when studying world politics, it is a relatively common phenomenon to see "the state" but not "the people" (especially ordinary people). I have always tried to interpret and critique world politics in my own personal style. Compared to that, I pay more attention to the impact of grand politics on ordinary people, and the fate of the weak under the jungle (jungle law) of world politics. At the same time, I also focus on the skepticism and intervention of ordinary people toward grand politics, emphasizing the interpretation and critique of world politics from the perspectives of civil society and world citizenship, as well as from the positions of humanitarianism and greenism. Additionally, I also try to observe and question grand political issues from the micro, personal perspectives of ordinary life and travel notes. Moreover, I pay more attention to writing for the general public and engaging with them, as much as possible, in the construction of knowledge and value debates in the public sphere. Compared to the mainstream perspective and ideology that sees "the state" but not "the people," my style of perspective and ideology may not be as "scientific" or "precise," but I firmly believe that there is a difference between studying "things" and studying "people." At the same time, I also believe that reverence and revelation are necessary checks on human reason. I am still an experimenter and learner in a state of exploration. I often find that many ordinary readers and non-professionals are much wiser than me. It is very pleasant to communicate and debate with friends of different temperaments and viewpoints.