(Si Jin Note: Recently, there are many articles about "the United States has declined", and some analysis is a statement of facts and logical consistency; however, some judgments may be biased (such as a series of articles of a "financial big V" who was arrested for illegal deposit absorption). It just so happened that Mr. Pang Zhongjia and I co-authored "Why America" (published in 2012) introduced all aspects of the United States 10 years ago, which now seems out of date. Then start from April 2, select some content and share it with you...)
4-1-1 Softer than strong
" has been published for 20 years.
The term "Soft Power" was proposed by Professor Joseph Samuel Nye, Jr. 1937-), dean of the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. In 1990, he published a series of papers such as "The Essence of the Power of the Changing World" and "Soft Power" in the Journal of Political Science and Foreign Policy, and on this basis, he published the book "Bound to Lead: The Changing Nature of American Power", and proposed the concept of "soft power". He believes that a country's comprehensive national strength includes both the "hard power" shown by economic, scientific and technological, military strength, etc., as well as the "soft power" reflected by cultural and ideological attraction. "Hard power and soft power are both important, but in the information age, soft power is becoming more prominent than before."
Figure 4-1-1 Joseph Nye's "Soft Power"
In 2004, the "unilateralism" strategy implemented by American conservatives after 9/11 was hit hard, and the United States' international reputation and influence were declining. Susanne Norther, the American Institute of Security and Peace, published an article entitled "Smart Power" in the journal Diplomacy, proposing and explaining "Smart Power". The article believes that after the "9/11" incident, conservatives implemented an aggressive unilateralist strategy under the banner of liberal internationalism, claiming to expand human rights and democracy; but the military dangerous policies adopted by the Bush administration are simply inconsistent with the ideas they claimed. "It is necessary to implement such a foreign policy that not only can counter terrorism more effectively, but can go further, and promote the interests of the United States in a stable allies, institutions and frameworks by dexterously using various forces." Susanney believes that the "smart strength" strategy is an extension of the liberal internationalist theory pursued by Wilson, Roosevelt, Truman and Kennedy.
In January 2006, Joseph Nye pointed out in an article titled "Rethinking Soft Power" in the magazine Diplomacy: "Relying on hard power or soft power alone is wrong. Effective combination of the two can be called 'clever power'."
It can be seen that "smart strength" is not a new strength, but an integrated use of "hard strength" and "soft strength". The purpose is to comprehensively use the flexibility of soft and hard power, that is, an overall strategy of using both soft and hard power.
"Soft Power" should be a kind of ability to achieve the goal you want without having to force others, but by influencing others and attracting others. Joseph Nai's theory focuses on studying the achievements and lessons of the United States' foreign policy, and believes that the collapse of the Soviet Union and the drastic changes in Eastern Europe are inseparable from the "effects" of the United States' soft power. Among them, Hollywood movies and other roles in the dissemination of American lifestyles and values "make indestructible"; while the fact that the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq seriously weakened the United States' soft power is sad. Focusing on the concept of "soft power", the American media once talked about the topic of "one Hollywood is equal to several first mechanized infantry divisions."
When explaining this term, Wikipedia mentioned that Lao Tzu, China two thousand years ago, was actually the first philosopher to create the concept of "soft power". Lao Tzu said: "Softness is better than strength", "The world's softness is more powerful than strength", "No one in the world is more soft than water." And no one can defeat the strong. Because it cannot be changed. Weakness defeats strength, softness defeats hardness. Everyone in the world knows that no one can do it."
The last sentence "Everyone in the world knows that no one can do it" means: "No one in the world knows, but no one can do it"; it can be seen that "soft power" is easy to know and difficult to do. What is the reason for this?
"Soft Power", as an important part of the country's comprehensive national strength, is an invisible and tangible influence. Unlike the deterrent and inducing effects of "hard power" such as GDP, scientific research results, conversion rate, and national defense power; the core resource of "soft power" lies in the social ideology or values it contains .
Social ideology or values are different from power struggles. They are not deliberate moves to win unexpectedly in a moment, but rather the deep-seated reason that guides the fundamental orientation of the country's development path and is related to the success or failure of social development and progress.
"soft power" can have attractive or even "assimilar" charm lies in the passion, desire and dream inspired by its values - "people have the same heart, heart has the same reason" .
has removed the culture of core value and can only flow into superficial, soft and powerless cultural goods, can only leave its economic significance, and support the development of hard power, which is not enough to become "soft power".
In any historical period, only those advanced cultures that truly reflect the spirit of the times and the direction of progress and occupy a commanding height can lead the progress of social civilization, and can follow the crowd, convince them widely, and become the real "soft power".
"Of course "hard power" is the basis of material strength and also the necessary support for "soft power"; but "soft power" is essentially to win with virtue, not to conquer people with strength. Using "soft power" requires wisdom, but wisdom must also be based on virtue. The so-called "a soldier who defeats others without fighting" is limited to the category of "skill", it cannot reach the realm of "soft power".
201 Written in September 1, 2008, , Hudson Riverside
(Sijin Note: Except for the author, all articles are original by Sijin. [Disclaimer] This article only represents the personal discussions and views of the original author. Readers are advised to judge for their own purposes. The content or data is for reference only and does not constitute any specific investment advice, does not serve any commercial purposes, and is not responsible for its authenticity. Investors operate on this basis at their own risk.)
