Taiwanese writer Yang Zhao spent fifteen years reading Marx and listening to Marx during the catastrophe of capitalism. In the interview below, Yang Zhao not only talks about the history of Marx's acceptance in Taiwan, but also about Marx's acceptance history in the West. Through multi-faceted and three-dimensional reading, we can re-understand Marx's different perspectives and current values.
In July 1968, the Taiwan authorities arrested Chen Yingzhen on charges of organizing a gathering of left-wing books such as Marxism-Leninism and Lu Xun and propaganda for bandits, ending the revival of leftist ideology in just two years since 1966.
Chen Yingzhen was undoubtedly a banner of leftist thought during the "White Terror" period, and he tried to rekindle the torch in the desert formed after the purge of leftist thought in Taiwan in the 1950s; he constantly introduced the ideas of the civil rights movement, the French "May Storm", and inspired by the Cultural Revolution in 1966, opened a book club and organized the Taiwan left to form the "Democratic Taiwan Alliance". This undoubtedly had an impact on the "pro-American and anti-communist" authoritarian government that the Kuomintang had tried to build, and had a huge impact on the students at that time.
In the same year, Qian Yongxiang had just entered the Philosophy Department of National Taiwan University. A year ago, when he was a high school student at Jianguo Middle School, he received a great reputation among the students because of the warm response of several issues of the school magazine "Jianzhong Youth".
In Taiwan at that time, Li Ao lost his voice because he was accused of "traitor" in the Fairbank incident, Yin Haiguang was also suppressed by the authorities and banned, the "dispute between Chinese and Western cultures" that had a great impact in the early 60s also disappeared with time and no one mentioned it, the older generation's attempts to shake the authoritarian environment failed with the suppression of the authorities, avant-garde magazines such as "Wenxing" and "Literary Quarterly" all declined with the loss of voice of the main creator, but two student publications were widely sought after by students because of their ideological avant-garde depth: one was the "Jianguo Middle School" Jianzhong Youth", the other is the "University Forum" of National Taiwan University.
A year later, Qian Yongxiang, who was promoted to the second grade, "took over the "University Forum" with his arrogance in "Jianzhong Youth", and thus deeply participated in the "fishing incident" led by Taiwan's left-wing students.
The University Forum was also accused of "circulating bandit books" in the "Taiwan University Philosophy Department Incident" that occurred later because it received a box of Marxist-Leninist books mailed by international students.
Qian Yongxiang became the trigger of the incident, closed at the "security headquarters" for a week, and then was monitored until he went to study in britain.
Zhang Dachun once lamented that "the rest of his life is also late, and he has not been fortunate enough to always enjoy amazing symbols such as hippie, student movement, psychedelics and fishing in his memories like his predecessors who spent puberty in the 60s", and Yang Zhao, who was born in 1963, lamented that "intellectuals who were slightly older than me at that time still held left-wing ideas or left-wing beliefs, and at that time they were able to secretly organize book clubs." ”
In his generation, "the garrison headquarters had 20 more years to confiscate all the books that could be found in Taiwan at that time related to Marx, Capital, and communism, and basically all these left-wing groups that secretly gathered in the dark." The first time he heard about Marx was in the school's "Three People's Principles class", of course, it also appeared in a very negative image.
In 1978, Yang Zhao entered Jianguo Middle School, when he had a literary dream, because he submitted articles to the "Three Three Collections" and became acquainted with Zhu Tiantian, so he joined the "Three Three" literary group founded by Tang Nuo.
When he first enrolled, he would also ask the senior about the "Jianzhong School Journal", and the senior replied that he only had "Jianqing Society" and no "School Journal", and he would feel that "Jianzhong Youth" was very proud until he became the editor-in-chief a year later, and he cared how different the cover of the issue he edited was compared to the previous issue (No. 69).
At that time, he would conceive of a girl who died early in the face of the grave, he would also write about an ancient city gate in flowery words, he would miss the days when the editor "Jianqing" skipped class, and he would miss the youthful spirit when he confronted the teacher. He thought he would be a poet, but he didn't.
"When did you stop writing poetry?" The year of the Belle D'Or military trial. Instead of stopping completely, the sentences were scribbled in the book line by line, but the motivation to publish and organize them into chapters was completely lost. There was something else that interfered with my romantic poet dreams. My poetry, other people's poetry, is missing something, something that I feel more and more should not be lacking, but I can't grasp it. ”
In the first two years of the history department of National Taiwan University, Yang Zhao still looked for various poems to read, but "I felt that there was nothing in it that I wanted." He was touched by Shi Minde's defense in Yang Mu's poems, but he also recognized "the absurd nature of poetry and poets", but poetry could not give him an answer to "human justice and justice".
During his Japanese studies, he found a dusty Japanese translation of Capital in the basement of the library of NTU Law School, and for a long time afterward, he became the person who used the photocopier for the longest time, and he was terrified to copy the complete set of Capital. Then he found the English translation of Capital in the General Library, and it took a few weeks, and at the bottom of the wardrobe there was a photocopy of the English translation, and comparing the two translations, he read Capital for the first time.
In 1987, Yang Zhao went to Harvard University, and at the "Revolution Bookstore" in Harvard Square, he received "Mao Xuan" and the German version of "Capital".
At this time, nearly 20 years have passed since Taiwan's leftist students studying in the United States enthusiastically organized the "Fishing Movement", and the street movement of the Left in the United States has subsided for more than 20 years.
After Chiang Ching-kuo announced the lifting of strict regulations, society was like sitting on a high-speed train, and there were new events and new ideas every day. Yang Zhao learned about the latest situation through the newspaper sent by a friend and began to try to write a commentary.
The latter thing is more well known, Yang Zhao gave up his doctorate and returned to Taiwan, and began to throw himself into the rushing wave of Taiwan, he participated in politics and also devoted himself to journalism. He served as the project director of Xu Xinliang's campaign for "president" and also served as the editor-in-chief of New News.
"Without shyness or guilt, I did what I should have done in my time at a critical moment in Taiwan." He wrote reviews, which Liang Wendao called "one of the most knowledgeable and insightful writers in Taiwan's critic circles today"; as a lecturer, he lectured on Chinese and Western classics and Chinese history at Taiwan's Eslite Lecture Hall, Min Long Lecture Hall, and Trend Lecture Hall...
Yang Zhao did not forget Marx, although he also lamented that he thought that Taiwan would have a copy of "Capital" after the lifting of the strict, but after a short period of "new Malaysia fever", "Capital" became a slow-selling product in bookstores.
However, he still spent fifteen years perfecting the course of interpreting Marx's thought, wanting to "do something for young people" and let them know that there is such a beautiful world, just as he will not forget Chen Yingzhen's influence on himself, "If a person only lives for himself, what a shameful and shameful thing!" ”
Yang Zhao
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<h1 toutiao-origin="h3" > Marx outside of Marx's dogmatization and dogma</h1>
Yanjing Book Review: In the publication of the ideal audio class "Hello, Mr. Marx: Capital and the World It Creates", you proposed how you would "de-dogmatize" marx and capital outside of "dogma"?
Yang Zhao: The process of "dogmatization" involves a very complex historical process. First, in the process of establishing several regimes with communism as an ideology, they used communism as the source of legitimacy of their regimes, claiming that Marx's thought helped them discover and grasp many truths.
These truths include both truths in reality and truths about the future direction of mankind. Dogmatic Marx became the ideology of the regime, which was helpful for these regime revolutions and seizures of power. Moreover, these regimes need to maintain their rule and need such a framework, and dogmatization is beneficial to this process. The dogmatization of Marxism is a very obvious and very important historical phenomenon of the 20th century.
I first came into contact with Marx in Taiwan and met his works in an environment where his works were regarded as "banned books." Later, I went to the important town of Western neo-Marxist leftist thought (Boston) to further deepen my understanding of Marx and Marxism under the tradition of Western Marxism.
So when I talk about Marx, I have to explain that I have a very different background from the audience Chinese mainland. I am not so familiar with the connection between the Marxist system that is familiar to the mainland audience and the basic terms and ideas under this system.
So there may be misunderstandings, such as many of the most basic contents of Marx's philosophy, which the audience has studied for many years, and I still talk about it as new knowledge; for example, the difference between what I am talking about and what they have learned, they may contradict other aspects of Marx because of the knowledge of Marx that has been established in their hearts.
So, I'd like to make our background difference clear at the outset, and that difference has always existed between me and the reader. There is an invisible wall between the theory of my idea and the acceptance of the audience and the reader, and we cannot pretend that it does not exist, even if we do not have immediate access to it.
Precisely because I am not under such dogma, I think I am fit to speak of Marx. Because I am not bound by dogma, which limits the method and vision of reading, I may see a different Marx, there will be different entry points, and at the same time, the exaggerated can be retracted a little, and the ignored can be magnified.
Listening to Marx in the Midst of capitalist Catastrophe, by Yang Zhao,
Chushin Publishing 2015 Edition
Yanjing Book Review: The Western liberal world also seems to have had dogmatic interpretations or attacks on Marxism, such as McCarthyism in the United States in the 1950s. How do you view the Western world's interpretation of Marxism?
Yang Zhao: I must revise this statement a little bit, because dogma must involve authority, and without authority it is impossible to establish dogma. The Church has dogmas, and in fact both Dogma and Dogmatic are derived from the Church's interpretation of the creed. Therefore, I can't say that there are dogmas about Marxism in the Western world.
The Communist Parties of the West have a set of marxist narratives that have been inherited from the Comintern, such as Stalin's "five-stage theory of history", which even the famous British historian Eric John Ernest Hobsbawm (9 June 1917 – 1 October 2012) had to accept when he was a member of the British Communist Party. This is the position of the party, which can be said to be dogma.
Marxism in the Western world and the new Marxism that has emerged in the west, or Marxism in the broad sense, have never had such authority, and therefore cannot form dogma. Marxism in the Western world is a critical force in an opposing position.
The core movement of neo-Marxism is the Frankfurt School and the critical theories formed around the Frankfurt School, which are the mainstream society that used Marxism to criticize the Western world at that time, especially after the two world wars, and the mainstream society in which capitalism occupies an authoritative position in the political economy and society.
In fact, neo-Marxism exists as a critical tool, and the first thing is a clear object- capitalism. Without the capitalist environment, many of the connotations of neo-Marxism cannot be recognized and understood. At the same time, powerful enemies are also connected to many concepts and ideas of neo-Marxism, structured and systematized. Second, the enemy opposite Neo-Marxism does not have a clear dogma of its own, nor is it a single regime, nor is it a system similar to the church, and capitalism and the market itself are also changing, and are therefore facing an ever-changing enemy.
As a popular phenomenon, Western Marxism is not very long, from the 50s to the end of the 20th century, in the past half century, it has developed a variety of forms, showing a very lively and diverse state, and it is difficult for us to determine it in a single way. Therefore, there is no Marxist dogma in the Western world.
It is precisely because the overall environment of the Chinese mainland has changed from reform and opening up to further complex state capitalization, and now the course audience can better understand the Western Marxism I am talking about, and they are more familiar with the environment corresponding to Marx's thought.
In this environment, it is all the more necessary to put Marx back into a clear relationship with capitalism in order for us to see the richer and different side of Marx.
In a society where capitalism is abolished or capitalism has no legitimacy, it is difficult for people to appreciate marx's historical status and importance. The enemy does not exist, and the part of Marx's thought as a tool and means of criticism will basically disappear. The two understandings of Marx's thought are very different.
The interaction between Marxism and capitalism has led to many different claims and derivatives. We can no longer deny the vast system produced by Marxism, including neo-Marxism, and a series of different writings and ideas. In this context, I want to go back to Marx and think about what he said, what kind of environment he was in and what he wanted to say, which is how I want to interpret and sort out Marx's thought.
Frankfurt School: Horkheimer (front left), Adorno (front right) and Habermas (background right), Heidelberg, 1965.
How to read Marx?
Yanjing Book Review: You have also told About Marx many times, from the beginning of the Marx Lecture in the "Eslite Lecture Hall" in 2005, to "Listening to Marx in the Catastrophe of Capitalism" in 2014, to "Hello, Mr. Marx: Capital and the World It Creates", has there been any change?
Yang Zhao: In fact, there is not much change, but the environment is constantly changing. When I was in my twenties, there was a "new left fever", "new Malaysian fever", and "Weber fever" in Taiwan, and the young people at that time had a feverish about the ideas that were popular in the West but could not be concerned about being exposed before.
In 2005, when I first started to talk about Capital in the "Eslite Lecture Hall", the environment had changed, and I felt that Taiwan did not have a copy of Capital because of its opening up; on the contrary, Capital could not be sold, and the Chinese edition of Capital published by the publishing house was actually discontinued.
When I was talking about it, I also had a series of feelings about it. In fact, there were only 5 classes in that lecture, and most of the framework I wanted to talk about was not covered. During that time, Taiwan was not interested in Capital and Marx. In 2012, I published a Taiwanese edition of "Listening to Marx in the Catastrophe of Capitalism" in Taiwan, which surprisingly sold well, indicating that many people were still curious about Marx.
In 2017, I re-lectured Marx's "Capital" in the "Eslite Lecture Hall", although it spanned more than ten years twice. To be honest, what I want to say and what I know about Marx is almost stuck at the age of 40 in 2005, and not much has changed.
I knew very well in 2005 that to understand Marxism, we must understand the characteristics of the origin of Marx's thought, which is too complex. If we want to investigate why Marx's thought is so complex, and has since expanded almost endlessly, resulting in many different versions of Marxism, we have to recognize that Marx is trying to construct an overwhelming network, and he wants to thoroughly explain capital and capitalism through this huge system, so it needs to cover all aspects of this problem.
In addition, Marx's thought evolved into Marxism, because the system was too large to be completed until Marx's death, and the successor Engels was also not completed. If we want to know Marx and Marxism today, we must recognize and restore this matter.
We must not only touch on all aspects of Marx, but also, in accordance with his wishes, not cut every part apart. In today's way, part of Marx belonged to sociology, part to economics, and part to political science. Marx himself did not want to do this, and the fusion of multidisciplinary methods was both motivated by great ambition and even more indicative of his contribution.
I respect Marx, so I say that Marx's thought must be mixed or both divided and combined, including Marx of economy, Marx of sociology, Marx of anthropology, Marx of philosophy, and marx of revolution. At the same time, it is also necessary to restore these different roles, not only to one person, but more importantly, to a set of ideas, rather than scattered. Achieving unification is a difficult thing to do, and in 2005, I found my strategy, method and content arrangement, so the main content of more than a decade has not changed much.
Yang Zhao opened on the "Look at Ideals" platform
Hello, Mr. Marx: Capital and the World It Creates
Yanjing Book Review: You also mentioned two kinds of "historical reading" and "literary reading" in reading traditional Chinese classics, which seem to have some connection with the two methods of reading Marx's history and modernity.
Yang Zhao: In fact, there is a difference, the literary reading method is the universality and commonality of reading classics, and the historical reading method is to compare the difference with the present in a specific time and space. Therefore, literary and historical reading, one is to seek common ground, and the other is to seek difference.
While reading Marx, I spent a lot of effort to connect the classics with the real life created by the current capitalist environment, systems, and capitalism. I deliberately ignored the historical reading, that is, the reading of seeking difference.
Outside of the course, I also told the audience and the readers that I had to apologize, because it was my custom to introduce any book first about the author and the era in which he lived. My intellectual history conviction and training is to treat each work as an important key question that the author raises in the face of a particular era, and the answer that the author receives or provides in the face of the problem.
So I will always go back and ask who the author is, what kind of life he has, what kind of family background he has, what kind of setbacks he has encountered, and what kind of questions he has asked, and then we can use the work as an answer to a huge question.
But when I talk about Marx, I did not do this systematically, so the historical reading method is still relatively small in reading Capital, and the more force used is the chronological reading method, that is, the analysis of why Marx's views put forward in Capital more than a hundred years ago are still valid, such as Marx's belief that capitalism will inevitably collapse and disintegrate.
Many people see that capitalism still exists to this day, so they think that Marx's ideas are absurd. This is precisely because they neglect to return to Capital to understand Marx, but if we look at it from the internal logic of Capital, we will indeed come to the conclusion of the collapse of capitalism.
The time-based reading I emphasize is based on reality, but it is dangerous because I oppose the idea of "using the past for the present." This idea is that the things that the ancients thought were conceived by us, and that it is my best to avoid what the ancients said for the sake of us today.
I must also admit that in reading Capital, I put the life and environment of real capitalism in my heart, and I have used the case of the 2008 financial crisis many times, which is more special than my other classic interpretations.
"China in the Classics", by Yang Zhao,
Guangxi Normal University Press, 2016
Yanjing Book Review: Why do you focus on Capital in the course, and how to understand the position of Capital in Marxist thought?
Yang Zhao: Marx's goal in his life was to thoroughly explain capital and capitalism — how capital is formed, what kind of historical phenomenon capital is; furthermore, he wants to criticize capital and the world created by capitalism as evil, and predicts that capitalism will collapse in the future. Therefore, if you want to integrate Marx's ideas, you must understand the core of his ideas, that is, capital.
From this point of view, it is clear that the most serious, complete, and enormous work of Marx's life was Capital, and that Capital was also published during Marx's lifetime. If one chooses any book to talk about Marx's thought, it is indispensable for Capital, and other works have neither such a scale nor can it be considered to be at the same core position as Capital.
At the same time, in the process of discovering Marx, many people's process of knowing Marx is also reversed, first reading the later "Capital", and then reading Marx's youth manuscripts in the 20th century, which may be interspersed with notes related to "Capital".
To introduce Marx's thought, of course, it is possible not to choose a certain book; but my attitude has always been that I want to use my course as a reading class, and the audience wants to read after listening to the course, so I insist on choosing such a book as a foundation.
Understand Marx's different perspectives and values today
Yanjing Book Review: In Berlin's writing, Marx seems to be an overly rational thinker; and you portray Marx as a humanistic intellectual. Marx did have a variety of identities, such as philosophers, economists, historians, journalists, and even writers, how to understand Marx from these different roles?
Yang Zhao: There are many people who explain Marx, so when we understand the interpretation of Marx by different people, we should first understand from what position the interpreter is commenting on Marx. Isaiah Berlin (6 June 1909 – 5 November 1997) speaks of reason in contrast to romanticism, his own inner impulse.
At the same time, it also reflects his own personality, he has always believed that he has a rational appearance, such as his historical and intellectual history research, but inside he is a romantic. Otherwise, he would not have met Akhmatova after going to Moscow, talked all night, and encountered a romantic shock.
Berlin explained that Marx had his own tendencies, and that everyone who faced and wanted to interpret Marx would do so, stemming from Marx's breadth. This kind of breadth is not erudition, not the erudition of Qian Zhongshu or Chen Yinke, but when Marx talks about something, he will mention and include everything that may be related, and he will not let go of any of them.
Capital is also one of the links in his vast ideas. If you want to contact and understand Marx, you must understand Marx's psychology, that is, integrate the way he approaches capital from all different aspects.
Karl Marx, by Berlin,
Yilin Publishing House, 2018 edition
Yanjing Book Review: After discussing Marx's classical theory, you seem to pay special attention to the form of Marx's thought in the contemporary era, that is, to analyze contemporary issues through Marx's perspective, where is the important value of Marx's ideological heritage to modern people?
Yang Zhao: When it comes to the practical significance of Marxism, I think there are two aspects. The first is Marx's clear reminder that we are living in a capitalist world. Capitalism is an extremely huge phenomenon, it is multi-layered and multi-faceted, and it is also a very unique system formed by mankind after experiencing long-term historical development. When we read Marx today, we first confirm what he is talking about, such as what is a commodity, what is interest, what is the expectation of future profits, what is capital itself, and so on.
What Marx told a hundred years ago forms the basis of our lives today. His analysis is like a series of different angles of light, through which we can see clearly the environment of life.
But the reproduction and reminder of the capitalist world is abundant, and Marx is valuable because he has his own starting point after describing and analyzing, and he reminds the reader that capitalism is not taken for granted and is not necessarily right, what he does is to pick the faults of capitalism.
In fact, there are also many people who criticize capitalism, such as the radical Green Party in the Western world, whose main issue is to protect the environment, in addition to which they also attack and criticize capitalism, but its intensity and breadth are far less than Marx. The way they criticize capitalism is fragmentary, Marx is multi-faceted and three-dimensional.
Marx hesitated a lot about capitalism, so it could survive for more than a hundred years. During this time, more intelligent people were attracted into his camp, constantly supplementing and expanding, forming a tradition.
This tradition is constantly challenged, and if we take note of any fact of the inner workings of capitalism, there is correspondingly a response or question in Marxism. So, I think that people living in capitalist conditions, whether they consume, invest and work, or envision their own future, should read Marx.
"I did what I was supposed to do in that era"
Yanjing Book Review: In an article, you mentioned "four enemies on the road of knowledge", the first is "fear", and the period of growth is still in an extraordinary period, have you ever experienced the "fear" when reading Marx as a banned book, how to overcome this "fear"?
Yang Zhao: In the "Disciples of Don Juan" that I quoted in the article, the "fear" mentioned by Don Juan refers to being in an uncertain environment, in order to figure out the environment around us, "fear" forces us to seek knowledge, and the meaning of the two "fears" may not be the same. Speaking of "fear," it's both the environment in which I live and grow, and the important motivating force in my life, it's just that at different ages, I'll deal with it differently.
But, fundamentally, I was naturally very disgusted by something, and that was that I was scared by something, and that never changed. For me, any taboo or prohibition motivated by pure intimidation tends to provoke my impulse to resist and foul.
Friends who are closest to me probably know my personality, and they will think that my personality has contradictions, such as driving fast and "fierce", but very obedient to traffic rules. It's not that it's prescribed and then I have to follow it, I have to think about it and figure out what the principle behind the rules is.
I was such a character as a teenager, and the effect of fear is not to make me afraid, but to make me angry, but I will not simply rush to oppose. For example, if I read "Capital", if I collide, I will not be able to read this book, and I must find a way to find a way.
"Fear" translates into a dynamic that allows me to bypass the intimidation and threats to see what the world is that I won't see, as it has been for decades or so.
Yanjing Book Review: At the end you mentioned that "if you weren't leftist before the age of 30, you were a cruel, cold-blooded bastard; if after 30, you were still a leftist, you were a hopeless fool." "How did Marx influence your past time?"
Yang Zhao: The left I use is very different from what you think, and what I am affected by the position of the broad left, and the core concern of the broad left is social justice.
Why you must be a leftist before the age of thirty, this means that you should not only have your own interests in your heart, when you gain or lose certain benefits, you will also consider how much others should get, how much they should not get, and how they should be distributed, which is the most important thing of the left, and it is also the enthusiasm.
When I was young, I was influenced by layers of different influences, such as my knowledge and understanding of Confucius, which led me to generate an attitude of moral autonomy in science, and then reading Chen Yingzhen's novels, the very romantic leftist ideas conveyed by him, if people just live for themselves, it is a shameful thing.
There must be someone else in my eyes, and life can't just surround me with how much I get. When you have something to gain, ask yourself do I deserve? Am I worth getting so much? Weigh yourself up against whether you're taking too much.
When I think about my own lack, I feel the frustration and pain of want, and ask myself can I ignore the pain of those who are as lacking as I am, or even less than I am? The left emotionally feels the pain of others, not the tragedies of others.
So why do many people grow up to be no longer naïve leftists, why do they abandon the idea of taking care of others, feeling the pain of others, and caring about equal distribution? Even later, everyone will tell you that you must recognize reality and can no longer see the world in such a naïve way.
The most acute aspect of neo-Marxism is the analysis of how we have been deceived. Society is supposed to keep everyone safe, secured, and assigned to the most basic material needs, why is this not the case, but everyone takes this reality for granted.
Neo-Marxism, such as critical theory, which looks at the field of culture, behind which is thought and value, and critical theory wants to expose how the system can brainwash and let the noble ideas about fairness that exist in people's minds be removed from the operation of culture and ideology, turning people into a selfish bastard.
After the age of 30, why is it stupid? Because at this time you will realize that it is very, very difficult to achieve social fairness, not just enthusiasm, ideas, ideas, theories; more importantly, there must be even better than Marx's revolutionary ability to act, even Marx is a mess in this regard, which shows the arduousness of the task.
But how many people over the age of 30 remember such a mission? I hope that more young people under the age of 30 can understand what social equity arouses their enthusiasm for society, and at least part of their time and energy should be devoted to this matter, not just for themselves, but to shape and build a fairer, better, freer and more comfortable society, so that many people can live better in this society.
Fortunately, I was affected by these books when I was younger, and these books were my best friends and best teachers; the process of reading books was the best experience of my life. Therefore, in the critical moment of Taiwan, I can do what this era should do, create a Taiwan that is completely different from the previous generation in our hands, and can say without shyness and guilt that the transformation is much better than what was handed over to us.
Everyone has their own different historical situations, we always have to give ourselves a dream, a mission, no matter what kind of society the previous generation handed over to us, when the next generation takes over, we can look back and say, we have done what we can do, we should do.
Chen Yingzhen
Yanjing Book Review: Some people would think that after the 70s, the world seems to be turning to the right, and now it is more obvious, for those young people who still have idealism about a better world, do you have any suggestions?
Yang Zhao: Broaden your horizons.
I have just returned from Germany, and I really hope that you will read more About Europe, read more about the news of Europe, and learn more about the different political and social systems of Europe. Probably few people in China now have a deeper understanding of the key elections that Germany is facing after Merkel's downfall, how they discuss elections, what they care about, and so on.
Broaden the understanding of the EU region, such as those outside Germany and France, those who oppose the EU's membership and look at the development of the EU nor northern Europe. If you don't just focus on China and the United States, you will see and feel very differently.
Some people think that the left set off fireworks in the 70s, but after the fireworks, it does not mean that there is no fire, there is no light; on the contrary, in the 90s, starting from Britain and France and continuing throughout Europe, those leftists have thoroughly reflected on the mistakes of the 60s.
They put too many fireworks, this kind of hilarity is not right, we must calm down, face all the problems, and solve them one by one. From labor relations to the distribution of political power, to the later conflict between race and vote, to the relationship between religion and emerging liberal nationalism. If you look at it this way, the next 30 years will be remarkable, without fireworks.
When we talk about the left, don't use several stages to browse as quickly, the left has a long history, but also a very complex story, to broaden their horizons: from the end of the 19th century, look at what happened in the 20th century, and then you can know how the 21st century came about.
At the same time, we must open our eyes, not only look at China, not only look at the eyes of tourists, only look at the landscape of those places, and dig deeper into political society and different institutional arrangements, and so on. After seeing the larger world, your vision is different, your care is different, and the way you want to find answers to your questions will be different.
Article source: public account "Yanjing Book Review"
Original Author: Li Qing, Zhang Xiaochen, |
Editors: Ru Sheng, Ai Ruo
Typography: Nanshan
Audit: Yongfang
Artist/VI: Little Week
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