Sovereign wealth funds have been in the news recently. Merrill Lynch, a US investment bank hit severely by the subprime debacle, is seeking a capital infusion. Temasek Holdings of Singapore is apparently going to invest about US$5 billion.
That's a lot of money. Merrill made mistakes, bit it's very likely to rebound after the capital infusion. Temasek is likely making a good investment.
But more to the point for readers of this blog, the world is at a turning point. Asian countries are accumulating power. At this point, Singapore is not going to even think of exerting disproportionate influence on the United States through investment. Singapore is, for better and for worse, a staunch ally of the US, and this investment is of no security concern.
However, Singapore isn't the only country with a huge amount of sovereign wealth - other Asian and Middle Eastern countries are prospering. Investment in Western countries by Southern ones is going to increase. We've already seen some European countries react by protectionism.
Additionally, I'm reminded of an article I read, about Asian Christians being reverse missionaries in Western countries, and opening churches there.
Asians are seen as being more quiet and less interventionist than Westerners. However, power brings corruption. Asian countries have acted imperialistically before. Japan wanted a "Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere" in the time leading up to WWII. China has invaded and colonized Tibet. Viewing Asia's increasing economic power as a threat to the sovereignty of Western nations is xenophobic, because Western nations and corporations already do exercise disproportionate power over the lives of Southern people. However, Asia's increasing power is a threat, because power brings corruption. Frankly, Asia has yet to understand the concepts of human rights, colonialism, and freedom. If we continue as we are, we will simply swap one colonizer for another. We will colonize the ex-colonizers - is that what we really want?
I was recently at a talk given by Wang Dan, the famous Chinese pro-democracy dissident who was imprisoned for years by the Chinese Communist Party. Wang Dan was harshly criticized by several in his mostly East Asian audience for apparently being too pro-West. Speaking from personal experience, Asians who criticize their own culture are often accused of being too pro-West. Wang Dan did, in fact, criticize the West for trying to contain China militarily and economically, instead of engaging with it and promoting democracy (by example, not by bayonet).
Wang Dan is, I think, a lot less "Westernized" than I am. He offers a vision of hope for Asia's future, rooted both in democracy and in Asian culture.
Isiah 40:3-5 says, in the NRSV translation:
In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord,
make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
Every valley shall be lifted up,
and every mountain and hill be made low;
the uneven ground shall become level,
and the rough places a plain.
Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed,
and all people shall see it together,
for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.’
The world is changing. Asia needs prophets like Wang Dan. Will there be prophets to prepare the way of the Lord, to make straight a highway in the desert? Will there be Asian prophets to lead us out of empire and into freedom?
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