13 Comments
founding
Oct 24, 2022Liked by N.S. Lyons

Precious bodily fluids - Doctor Strange Love.

I have read your Paladium piece three times now, and find Wang’s read on the west compelling.

Professor Deenan on the post liberal order substack calls this “ The utopian authoritarianism of the liberal imperium“. It truly appears to be in the very molecules we breathe and yes it is almost certainly too late. 

Expand full comment
Oct 24, 2022Liked by N.S. Lyons

I give you enormous credit for this. Made my Yale China seminar read your essay from a year ago; referenced your insights in my new book, “Accidental Conflict,” coming out shortly, and stressed the point you make today in a piece I just published on Project Syndicate— all with due credit, of course. Much gratitude. Best, Stephen Roach

Expand full comment

Hu Jintao was clearly unwell. Xi had to remind him to sit down at the start and even gestured / almost touch him to sit when everyone else did. He was escorted out to save face in case he collapsed or did something erratic is my guess.

Expand full comment

Your linked essay is very informative.

Expand full comment
Oct 24, 2022·edited Oct 24, 2022

Your essay, The Triumph and Terror of Wang Huning, was really interesting.

Thank you for highlighting that in your Substack post.

It discusses a very scary issue for society today, and so having two vastly different approaches (China vs. USA) attempting to solve the problem will be interesting to watch. My sense of the matter, however, is that the “time frame” for resolving this is much longer than one might consider. I am thinking more than a few generations, certainly longer than anyone today who is alive will see the answer. Ray Dalio in his new book, The Principles for Dealing with the Changing World Order, discusses “cycles” which repeat over and over again, but because they are so long, no one notices them while trapped inside of them.

Expand full comment

Your article on Wang is fascinating, thank you.

Something that struck me is his analysis of western - and principally American - malaise; it’s very close to what BBC documentary film maker Adam Curtis has been saying for the last 25 years (maybe he read Wangs book).

Century of the self, Bitter Lake, Hypernormalization and I can’t get you out of my head all diagnose the same issue of individualism.

Where they differ is that Curtis argues America deliberately turned to individual consumerism as a way to neutralise the forming of dangerous mass ideologies that had led to the atrocities of World War 2. Interestingly, it appears Wang wants to go the opposite way.

I’m yet to see what sort of coherent ideology the CCP has to offer though.

Expand full comment

I just read the Palladium piece - interesting...as I was reading I thought he comes across like all the New Right/NRx/Chopped Liver whatever you want to call them I read on substack and elsewhere. Should the New Right adopt Wang Thought?

Expand full comment

Hadn’t heard of this gentleman. China historically vacillates between engagement with the world, and walling the world out.

Expand full comment