1. Chua Essay
Amy Chua, in her article, "A World on Edge", presents her argument concerning Globalization and its affect on the world and claims that “the global spread of markets and democracy is a principal aggravating cause of group hatred and ethnic violence throughout the non-Western world". Society has always viewed Globalization, the spread of increasing global connectivity, integration and interdependence in the economic, social, technological, cultural, political, and ecological sphere, as a good thing. Chua specializes in the field of international business, a graduate from HarvardUniversity, has a different standpoint about how Globalization has positively or negatively impacted certain countries. Stressing the importance of identifying this matter and providing possible solutions, she states that if free-market democracy is to prosper, the world's market-dominant minorities must begin making significant and visible contributions to the local economies in which they are thriving. Her article is towards the educated society, people who have a basic understanding of Globalization.
Amy Chua’s project in “A World on Edge” is to shows the effects of a market dominant minority and globalization on the countries of the world. She provides examples from countries all over the world that are or have been in chaos due to the struggle between the market dominant minority and the impoverished majority. She also provides examples of the effects of globalization and how it can positively or negatively impact certain countries. Chua writes “A World on Edge” so that she can get her message across to the world. She wrote “A World on Edge” for the Wilson Quarterly which is an academic journal read by college scholars and has been read by government officials. This was then published in books that have reached people who were interested about the topic. She does a very thorough job in informing her audience, which she has done so by drawing their attention to problems with ethnic violence exacerbated by globalization and organizing her supporting her text and how they link and influence what she says.
Chua’s central argument is that free-market democracy cannot possibility flourish in countries that have market dominant minorities. It is because problems like this that globalization is ultimately ineffective in many parts of the world. Chua supports her argument when she states, “The combined pursuit of free markets and democratization has repeatedly catalyzed ethnic conflict in highly predictable ways, with catastrophic consequences, including genocidal violence, and the subversion of markets and democracy themselves,” this shows the results of globalization and why some places in the world are not fit for free-market democracy.
At the beginning, Chua makes a very strong claim, that market dominant minorities are the “Achilles’ heel of free market democracy.” Her support for this claim is that in a free-market democracy the free-market will favor the minority because of their wealth, while the democracy will favor the impoverished majority. This situation causes a great deal of tension because the poor majority sees the great wealth of the minority and becomes resentful because they see people of a different ethnicity come to their country and make a great deal of money. This leads to much of the ethnic violence in the world today. Chua uses the United States as an example, “Americans today are everywhere perceived as the world’s market dominant minority, wielding outrageously disproportionate economic power relative to outnumber. As a result, we have become the object of the same kind of mass popular resentment that afflicts the Chinese of Southeast Asia, the whites of Zimbabwe, and other groups”. With this she is illustrating that despite the relatively small population in the United States we have the most economic power in the world, therefore other countries have become resentful towards the United States.
Another claim that Chua makes is that globalization cannot be effective in the presence of a market dominant minority. She believes that when democracy and free-market are introduced to a country with a market dominant minority there will be a conflict between the masses. “When free-market democracy is pursued in the presence of a market dominant minority, the result, almost invariably, is backlash.” Because the introduction of a democracy will not be successful backlash is the ultimate outcome. Chua has explained that there are three types of backlash: first is “a backlash against markets that target the market dominant minority’s wealth”. The first plan of action would be the pockets of the market-dominant minority. The second type of backlash “is an attack against democracy by forces favorable to the market-dominant minority,” then the markets will fight back with power so that they remain in control. Lastly, the third type of backlash “is violence, sometimes genocidal, directed against the market-dominant minority itself.” Chua is saying that because the market-dominant minority retaliated and they are trying to oppress the majority again, the majority feels that there is only one option and that is to fight back and use violence.
The structure of Chua’s text “A World on Edge” like any paper has a beginning, middle and an end. She has organized her text so that she begins her text with a very straight to the point personal anecdote and emotional appeal, the murder of her aunt in the Philippines. With this she has completely shocked her audience with what happened because what she described could have happened to anyone. Then she broadens out and goes and introduces the similar problems that have occurred or is occurring in other countries such as Siberia, or Rwanda, in doing so she has illustrated the key issues of the text. She provided evidence of her knowledge of knowing about the effects of Globalization first hand and revels to us that she has done her research. She closes her introduction with a statement saying that “There is a connection among these episodes apart from their violence” basically saying that she believes that there’s a central cause to all of these tragic incidents.
From here she narrows down and provides similarities that many incidents share and finally presents her main argument to her readers. She then shows different aspects of the situations and provides examples and has evidence that supports her claims and assertions. Such as how things cause a chain of thing to happen. She identifies backlash as the ultimate result when a minority is present and give examples where it happened and how it has affected the location where it had occurred.
Finally she concludes her argument and gives possible solutions as to what to do in order for democracy to prosper. Chua in the conclusion provides a solution for how to make free-market democracy prosper. Chua states that if free-market democracy is to prosper, the world’s market-dominant minorities must begin making significant and visible contributions to the local economies in which they are thriving. She acknowledges that it’s possibly for them two to coexist, it’s just that one of them, and the market-dominant minority, needs to make contributions to the majority so that they can slowly thrive. Chua also believes it will take a long time to achieve economic equality, to level the playing field’ in developing societies will thus be a painfully slow process, taking generations if it is possible at all. Ultimately Chua thinks that it will take a great deal of time to even out the economic playing field.
Chua presents a very strong argument and has specific evidence that supports her argument. By doing so she has made her argument clear and easy to follow. Myself as an audience was able to comprehend her project, and her purpose for writing her text. She made her introduction very effective by giving her audience a shocking personal experience. Her language may have been difficult to follow if it were to have been a high school audience but as a college student her language was precise and to the point. The structure of her text makes it easy to follow because of the explanations we were given along with the examples she presents to us. Anyone could read Chua’s text and understand where she’s coming from because she has such a broad understanding of the problem and she addresses all of the issues including those that are in other countries. I believe that Chua’s text has changed my perspective of the world and how I view it, to be made aware of the problems that we don’t encounter daily is a different outlook on the world.
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2. A World on the Edge
Globalization is a concept that almost everyone one in the world is affected by. Some part of Western life is imposed on nearly every country; ranging from form of government to consumer products. Amy Chua analyzes the political and economic aspects of globalization and the support and opposition of globalization in her investigative academic article A World on the Edge. Chua is a law professor who is a descendent of the Chinese minority in the Philippinesthat controls about 60 percent of the Philippines private economy. Chua describes these types of minorities as “market-dominant ethnic minorities,” or small ethnic groups that control the economy of a country whose majority is of a different ethnicity. She believes that they are one of the central causes of poverty, violence and oppression in many developing nations. This article is Chua’s address to a problem that indirectly affects every being in the world, that the introduction of democracy and free markets into a society with a market-dominant minority will produce ethnic violence. In the following paragraphs I will examine Chua’s argument, including her view of the problems and the solutions she proposes, discuss how her organization aids her argument, and explain how her argument impacts her reader.
Chua’s overall argument contains three separate aspects. When combined, Chua believes, these three aspects are a recipe for disaster. Chua states that in countries with a market-dominant minority “the pursuit of free-market democracy becomes an engine for potentially catastrophic ethno nationalism” (pg. 106). She is saying that the oppressed majority, with their new voting rights and economic freedom, will turn against the wealthy market-dominant minority. The majority will elect leaders because of their resentment towards the wealthy minority, rather than their true ability to lead. However, Chua believes that there are various ways to introduce free markets and democracy without causing violence and backlash. The key, she states, is that “the problem of market-dominant minorities must be confronted head-on” (pg. 114). Chua presents this problem, containing three parts, and she then offers a solution to the problem; but as shown in the text, it is easier to offer solutions than make them a reality.
In order to fully understand the problem that Chua presents us, we must first identify and understand the different components of the problem. The first is democracy. One might ask, “What could be the problem with Democracy? It is the political structure of most of the great nations in the world.” It is not that Democracy is problematic; it is that the sudden imposition of Democracy on a non-democratic state is problematic. Democratic political systems have never been implemented overnight, which arouses the question of why many western states believe it possible to impose a democracy on a nation. When introduced to a nation with a market-dominant minority, Chua believes that democracy “fosters the emergence of demagogues who scapegoat the resented minority and foment active ethno nationalist movements” (pg. 108). The votes of the majority go toward leaders who wish to suppress the minority of that nation. Another situation is that market-dominant minorities will form collusive agreements with the corrupted leaders of that nation. Chua gives a real world example of this situation: “In Kenya, President Daniel arap Moi, who had once warned Africans to ‘beware of bad Asians,’ is sustained by a series of ‘business arrangements’ with a handful of local Indian tycoons” (pg. 109). Even though democracy creates problems in underdeveloped nations, when introduced it is often coupled with some form of capitalism, which, Chua believes, is part of the formula for violence and backlash.
When imposing their political and economic system on a nation, Western nations try to introduce democracy and a form of capitalism simultaneously. It can be argued that this act is hypocritical of western nations because none of them implemented democracy and free markets at the same time. Chua attempts to argue this by stating “at no point in history did any Western nation ever implement laissez-faire capitalism and overnight universal suffrage simultaneously-though that’s the precise formula for free-market democracy currently being pressed on developing countries” (pg. 112). It is also interesting to note that the type of capitalism being suggested by the West was in fact abandoned by Western nations long ago. “For the past 20 years the United States has been promoting throughout the non-Western world raw, laissez-faire capitalism” (pg. 112).Chua questions how this type of capitalism will fix the poverty in the world if there is no system to redistribute wealth. In fact, redistribution of wealth is one of the many solutions to this problem.
Chua believes that “a more controversial strategy consists of direct government intervention in the market designed to ‘correct’ ethnic wealth imbalances” (pg. 115). In the previous paragraph however, Chua says that “Western style redistributive programs have limited potential” (pg. 115). In this piece of the article, Chua is proving that the problems that globalization creates are not easily solved; but understandingthat difficulty is a step towards the solution. However, the most interesting of Chua’s solutions does not lie in the political or economic systems of the nation. Rather it lies in the original problem itself, the problem that turns free markets and democracy into a ticking time bomb; the problem of market-dominant minorities.
The underlying cause of ethnic hatred, ethno nationalism, and the overall problem of globalization is that market-dominant minorities exist within nations with an impoverished majority. Chua’s argument is that market-dominant minorities joined with democracy and free markets will produce violence and backlash. Without the market-dominant minority, this problem would be far less intensive. Chua believes that ethnic identity and market-dominant minorities go hand-in-hand. And because ethnic identity is a developed over decades or centuries, it creates a very strong feeling in an individual. It is impossible to ignore ethnic differences because they are so deep rooted. Chua’s solution to market-dominant minorities “is to isolate, where possible, and address, where appropriate, the causes of the market dominance of certain groups” (pg. 114). This may sound great on paper, but even as Chua agrees, it is not that simple. “The underlying causes of market dominance are poorly understood” (pg. 114). One would believe that Chua is contradicting herself, but with this statement she is making it clear that the problem can only be solved with a great amount of effort. Chua also believes though, that market-dominant minorities themselves are “the best hope for free-market democracy” (pg. 116). Market dominant minorities are best suited to deal with their country’s problems. Chua says that “the world’s market-dominant minorities must begin making significant and visible contributions to the local economies in which they are thriving” (pg. 116). She suggests that if market-dominant minorities start to fix the poverty in their own country, it would be possible to introduce democracy and free markets without violence and social backlash. But it all lies in the hands of the wealthy market-dominant minorities.
I believe that the strongest part of Chua’s argument is in her organization. She begins with a story about her aunt who was killed in the Philippines. This introduces the concept of market-dominant minorities and how the majority around them feels about them, as well as gives Chua the appropriate background to write this piece.She also includes many examples and real-world scenarios where this same type of ethnic violence is occurring.
The second and most crucial part of her organization lies in the middle of the article. She states her argument and begins to explain each aspect of the argument, interweaving examples throughout. She explains that the three aspects, democracy, capitalism, and market dominant minorities, together create the ethnic violence illustrated in the beginning of the article. Within the middle of her article, she also offers the opposition’s opinion of globalization, which she uses to strengthen her own argument.
In the third part of Chua’s article, she offers what she believes are reasonable solutions to the problem. She proposes various ways to better capitalism in underdeveloped countries, and ways for the market dominant minority to help their own country. Chua ends her article witha statement appealing to the reader’s emotions: “It is difficult to see, in any event, how a little generosity and humility could possibly hurt” (pg. 117). This final statement urges the reader to lend a helping hand, in form of donations, food, clothing, or any other way possible.