" World System Introduction to the Philosophy of World Institutions

Author: Zhao Tingyang
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-04-01
Features: Being responsible to the world, not just to one's own country, is a theoretical perspective from Chinese philosophy. In practice, it is a brand-new possibility, that is, taking "the world" as the primary analytical unit for political/economic interests, understanding the world from the perspective of "the world," which means using "the world" as the unit of thought to analyze problems, transcending the Western national/state way of thinking, and taking the responsibility of the world upon oneself to create new concepts and systems for the world.
When China thinks about the entire world and is responsible to the world, it cannot remain silent on the world and must be able to offer thoughts about the world. China's worldview thus becomes the most pressing issue. Having already taken the stage, China cannot but speak. This is the intellectual task and inevitable logic of China today. The world as we currently understand it is still a non-world. The most serious problem we face is not the existence of so-called ineffective states in the world, but an ineffective world.
Opposing oneself to others, believers to non-believers, the West to the East, andizing all things that are not inherently opposed—this is the fundamental political consciousness of the West. Such political consciousness lacks a world and, in particular, cannot be responsible for the world.