Introduction to the Philosophy of the World System and World Institutions

Author: Zhao Tingyang
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-04-01
Features: Being responsible for the world, not just for 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's problems and takes responsibility for the world, it cannot remain silent about the world and must be able to offer thoughts on the world. China's worldview then becomes the most pressing issue. Having already taken the stage, one cannot but speak. This is the intellectual task and inevitable logic of China at the present time. The world we call the world is still a non-world. The truly serious problem we face is not the existence of so-called ineffective states in the world, but an ineffective world. Opposing oneself to others, opposing believers to non-believers, opposing the West to the East, and opposing everything that is not opposed—this is the basic political consciousness of the West. Such political consciousness lacks the world and, in particular, cannot take responsibility for the world.