Under the Roof of the Earth (Observation Notes on Human Politics)

Author: Zhuang Liwei
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-06-01
Features: In Saint-Exupéry's Little Prince, the protagonist lives on a very small planet. Sitting on a chair and looking one way reveals the sunrise, while looking the other way shows 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 need to use highly complex mathematical formulas and textual laws to observe and explain the relationships between things. However, if we had the chance to see Earth from the Moon, its size would be quite similar to the Little Prince's planet. It would resemble a blue boat adrift in the ocean, a large, wet, solitary stone in the universe, with some very lonely humans on it. 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, along with the house, will collapse. The position of the author of this book is under this roof of the Earth. This book focuses on observing world politics from the perspectives of specific individuals, human hearts, human nature, and human culture. In other words, it is a notebook of observations on "human political" issues. In the academic field of China, when studying world politics, it is a relatively common phenomenon to see "the state" but not "people" (especially ordinary people). I have always tried to interpret and analyze world politics in my own personal style. Compared to this, I pay more attention to the impact of grand politics on ordinary people, and the fate of the weak under the jungle law of world politics. At the same time, I also focus on the skepticism and intervention of ordinary people in grand politics, emphasizing the interpretation and analysis of world politics from the perspectives of civil society and world citizens, as well as from the positions of humanitarianism and greenism. Additionally, I also try to observe and question grand political issues from the micro and 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 of seeing "the state" but not "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 awe 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.