Thursday, December 6, 2012
What are they teaching journalism students in school about editorializing? One thing that really irritates me as a consumer of secondary (as opposed to breaking) news like the Economist and Bloomberg is the 'alien from outer space' point of view. Haven't heard of it you say? I just made it up, so stay with me while I describe. I scanned an article recently about the philosophical difference between American style capitalism and its very different Chinese state capitalism. The author treats each version of economy the way a sports writer might list differences and similarities among football teams in the National Football League. Each country is basically graded the way a team might receive an A for great pass defense and a C for a lackluster run game. In this particular Bloomberg article, Americans are said to have created 'exceptional innovation' but sadly, not enough has been done to 'collectively' fix the long-term problems. The other side of the coin, for this author, is how China is doing well finding collective solutions to the welfare of their citizens bringing millions out of poverty; they fall short on providing their citizens with 'individual rights' however. Aside from the laughably simple characterizations of both economies is the author's willingness to write about each country like he/she bears no responsibility, concern or opinion on what is the proper and moral direction of a free country. There should be no comparison between China and the US on the value and effectiveness of capitalism, unless to point out how woefully short the middle kingdom is from giving its people a more open system. The United States is far closer than at any time in history to the sort of collective vision that much of Europe has surrendered to, like anemic militaries, hefty pensions for government employees and a permanent underclass on the dole. At its core however, the country is still the primary destination for foreign students and emigrants looking to give their children a better opportunity. China is run by technocrats concerned with keeping and maintaining power; they have had success by opening up to the inevitable truth that their power is threatened by an increasingly wealthy and educated middle class who envy the freedoms and upward mobility that exists in America. The Communist party has essential made a bet that prosperity will keep the masses focused on making money and not starting trouble by challenging the legitimacy of the group that allowed for prosperity. Most foreigners would rather live in China today than at any time during the last......well ever, actually. For journalists to treat the vastly different philosophies and core values like opposite side of the same coin is insulting. Journalists are not aliens who just landed with the task of gathering pro and con type data on different nations. Does anyone else notice this or is it just me and my lying eyes?
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