American Values: An Exploration by a Chinese Scholar

Author: Zhu Yongtao
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2002-03-01
Features: This book is divided into five parts. Part 1 is an overview, first defining the meaning of values and the main factors they include. Values are abstract ideological concepts that serve as standards for distinguishing individual behavior in a society, an unwritten law existing in people's minds, and they reside deep within culture. Part 2 discusses American individualistic values. Individualism is the core of American values and the central idea that governs other values. Therefore, this book first elaborates on individualistic values. When it comes to individualism, Chinese and Americans have quite different understandings. This chapter first uses examples to illustrate the meaning of individualism in the cultures of both countries. This difference in meaning is by no means accidental; it has been shaped under different historical conditions. Part 3 explores the success consciousness of Americans. Emerson once said, "The highest test of a nation is to see whether it succeeds." This sentence expresses the national psychology of Americans. Part 4 examines American views on family, marriage, and love. Whether it is the Republican or Democratic Party, none of them fails to emphasize the protection of family values as an important campaign issue. This is because family values are one of the most fundamental values in America, and many of the current social problems in American society are largely related to the loss and weakening of this value. Part 5 analyzes American values in terms of religious belief. Religion is one of the fundamental values of culture. Religion has a very close relationship with a nation's politics, economy, culture, national character, and even its way of thinking. It is a basic indicator for observing a nation's culture, the core of its cultural identity, and thus an important marker for distinguishing different cultures. At the same time, it is also one of the greatest obstacles in cross-cultural communication.