Introduction to “History 2.0” (V2)

Written by Frank Li

My new book “History 2.0” will be published at Amazon shortly after 1/20/2021. This is the introduction – Version 2, thanks to the feedbacks from the readers after the publication of the last version!

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The 20th century was clearly America’s. The 21st century will most likely belong to either China or America. But which country will ultimately claim it?

China, unless America reforms its failing political system, as I suggest in this book (Part 29: Political Reforms in America)!

The image below highlights the key reason behind this bold prediction.

To best appreciate this prediction, you must truly understand both America and China, because everything is relative – In today’s world, no American can truly understand America without truly understanding China, and vice versa.

Unfortunately, most Americans simply do not understand China. As a result, America is not only failing to see an urgent need of political reforms at home, but also unwilling to accept China’s “rise”, without understanding that China is just re-claiming her rightful place in history over the past 2,500 year, at least, with the century of humiliation being merely an aberration.

Worse yet, many Americans do not even truly understand America, from the real reason behind the American Revolution to that behind the Covid-19 disaster in America.

Worst of all, America has been provoking China with wars (America Unholy Crusade Against China).

As a Chinese-American, I am caught between a rock and a hard place. On one hand, I wish China, my native country, well – She suffered too much over the past 200 years. On the other hand, I wish America, my adopted country, well – She must stop her precipitous decline. Most importantly, there must be no war, trade or otherwise, between the two largest economies in the world!

So, what do I do?

I write!

I have been publishing extensively over the past decade, to the point that I must now re-write parts of the history, thus “History 2.0” …

0. History

Human history of the past 2,500 years was most prominently made by China, India, and the West (e.g. Spain, Britain, and the U.S.), with other folks making some intermittently, such as the Arabs (Early Muslim conquests), the Mongols (Mongol Empire), and the Turks (Ottoman Empire).

History is written by, and about, the victors. Because China and India were big losers throughout the 19th century as well as the first half of the 20th century, most of the [modern] history has been written by the West, especially America.

Now, China is back, big time, and so is India, to a lesser extent. Therefore, it is time to re-examine the history, re-writing some as necessary.

In this book, I simply divide human history of the past 2,500 years into three periods:

1. 500 BC – 1492 AD, when Christopher Columbus discovered the “new” world!
2. 1493 – 2003, when America launched the Iraq War.
3. 2004 – Present: Throughout this period, China has been rising rapidly, while America has been declining steadily not only ideologically, but also economically (Report: American Quality of Life Declines Over Past Decade).

Let me elaborate on each period …

1. Period 1: 500 BC – 1492 AD

Throughout this period, nothing was particularly “earth-shaking”. Two highlights:

1. All countries were challenged in governance, from Greece (e.g. democracy) to China (e.g. “All under Heaven”). For more, read Chapter 22 (Ancient Greece vs. Ancient China).
2. Some empires were built. But they were mostly land-based, over a long period of time (e.g. 200 years).

Three outstanding civilizations throughout this period:

1. Western civilization: It was primarily shaped by the Romans, building on top of Greek civilization.
2. Chinese civilization: China, together with India, led the world in almost everything.
3. Indus Valley Civilization: India, together with China, led the world.

However, India is not really on her way back like China is. Therefore, this book will focus on China and America, which actually is an extension of Western civilization.

The image below highlights the key difference between the Roman Empire and the Chinese Empire, which is the key reason the former was long gone while the latter has long endured.

For details, read the following two chapters:

1. Chapter 23 (Ancient Rome vs. Ancient China).
2. Chapter 24 (The Byzantine Empire vs. Ancient China).

The fortune of the West, especially when compared with China (and India), came after 1492, when Christopher Columbus discovered the “new” world.

2. Period 2: 1493 – 2003

The discovery of the “new” world was totally “earth-shaking”.

With guns in one hand and the Bible in the other, the West (e.g. Spain and Britain) colonized not only the “new” world, but also almost entirely the rest of the old world, including China (and India). For an overview of 500 years of European colonialism, watch this short video:

As a result, the West became exceptionally rich, while the rest of the world became exceptionally poor.

Take China as an example: China (together with India) had the largest economy in the world for most of the first 18 centuries of our 2-millennium-old calendar. Despite the Western expansion after 1492, by 1820, China’s world share of GDP was still, according to Dambisa Moyo (How the west was lost), at an impressive 32.2%, while America’s was a paltry 1.8% and Europe’s was 26.6%. However, after 1820, it was all hell for China – See image below (according to Moyo).

In short, by the mid-1800s, the world became distorted, totally!

This total distortion has resulted in two monstrous falsehoods:

1. America as an exceptional country, featuring, among other things, two “new” notions: freedom and self-governing. Neither was really new, as both predate the notion of a nation-state formed quite a few thousand years ago.
2. Democracy as a, if not the only, valid form of government. The simple truth is modern Western [liberal] democracy is a lie built on top of capitalism (Okay), colonialism (not Okay), and imperialism (not Okay), without which it has failed everywhere else (e.g. Egypt and Iraq), without exception.

Both falsehoods were largely exposed in March 2003, when the U.S. launched the Iraq War.

3. Period 3: 2004 – Present

The launch of the Iraq War was the end of Period 2 and the beginning of Period 3. Three main reasons:

1. China is back, ending Western domination.
2. Exceptional at birth, America has turned out to be not exceptional at all. For example, today, America is facing the same challenges as many old countries (e.g. China and Egypt) did and still do, with effective governance topping the list. For more, read Chapter 57 (Governance in America).
3. The two monstrous falsehoods, which have accompanied America throughout its life so far, were almost totally exposed by two events during the first decade of the 21st century: (1) the launch of the Iraq War in 2003 and (2) the financial crisis in 2008. Together, they gave China an extra-ordinary boost in confidence: America is no longer the model to emulate, but a target to surpass. Two recent events (i.e. COVID-19 pandemic in the United States and Killing of George Floyd) have further boosted China’s confidence.

4. Summary

1. By discovering the “new” world in 1492, Christopher Columbus made it possible for the West to violently change the world, making it exceptionally good for the West but exceptionally bad for the rest.
2. China has come back strongly over the past few decades, thus ending Western domination. The easiest way to mark a year for the beginning of a new period is not by anything China did, but by something America did: By launching the Iraq War in 2003, America self-destructed ideologically, almost completely! As a result, the rest of the world started looking at China as an alternative model to emulate: China’s peaceful development model looks better and better over time than the violent model by which the West enriched itself after 1492.

Do not under-estimate China’s comeback over the past few decades – It actually took China some 200 years to have finally found her own path to success.

5. What is this book about, anyway?

Dividing human history of the past 2,500 years into three periods may be overly simplistic. But it serves the purpose of this book: To provide a real solution for America, after arguing that America not only is flawed foundationally, but also is by far the most dangerous country in the world, with the possibility of causing World War III to destroy us all as a species!

The basis of this argument is to compare the American Empire with the Roman Empire, as shown below.

Let me highlight the comparison in terms of the past, present, and future, respectively:

1. Past: America was founded as a republic by heavily copying Rome. For more, read Part 3 (The Birth of the U.S.A.).
2. Present: Over the past 200 years, America has been evolving like Rome, from a republic to an empire, only with neither an emperor nor even a working government at home! Worse yet, while the Romans (in its later years) tried to expand and hold their empire together with one religion (i.e. Christianity), Americans have been trying to do the same with an ideology called “democracy”, which is an ancient Greek invention and a proven failure throughout human history without a single example of lasting success (e.g. 200 years).
3. Future: America will most likely end up like Rome and Greece (ancient or modern): being outlasted by China!

Worse yet for America, unlike Rome which collapsed largely on its own weight, it is now directly in competition with China, an unmatched long-enduring civilization in human history.

Worse still for America, with no more new land to be occupied and no more new people to be subjugated, it must compete against China on an equal footing …

Which country will win the head-on competition?

China!

The image below highlights the key difference between the two countries.

Two important notes:

1. America was founded on two big principles: “All men are created equal” and “We the People”. Both are nothing but bankrupting slogans.
2. The secret behind China’s unmatched long-enduring civilization is meritocracy as the foundation of its culture and society.

Finally, why is America most dangerous to the world?

Two main reasons:

1. America is very powerful militarily, but almost totally bankrupted intellectually! After all, what do you expect after “We the indistinguishable” have been running the country for a long time?
2. WMDs (Weapons of Mass Destruction).

6. America vs. China: where are we now?

Three major perspectives:

1. Economic growth: China surpassed America in PPP (Purchasing Power Parity) in 2014, and will almost certainly surpass America in GDP by 2040 (BBC: Chinese economy to overtake US ‘by 2028’ due to Covid).
2. Government approval rating at home: China (95.5%) vs. America (38%). For more, read The Harvard Gazette: Ash Center research team unveils findings from long-term public opinion survey.
3. Global approval rating: China (34%) vs. America (31%). For more, read China’s global approval rating has surpassed the U.S.

The image below offers a stark contrast between the two countries on Covid-19.

7. Looking beyond America and China …

Outside of the West, democracy is having a hard time all over the world. Four prominent examples:

1. Russia: After suffering two major blows in a row (i.e. first communism and then democracy), Russia found Putin as a savior (Putin granted right to extend rule 2036 in overwhelming referendum result).
2. Turkey: This NATO country appears to be moving away from not only the West, but also democracy (Turkey’s Erdogan: Leader-for-Life?).
3. Hungary: This EU country appears to like Russia more than her EU brothers (Is Hungary the first democracy to become a dictatorship in Covid-19 time?).
4. Egypt: After a bad taste of democracy as a result of the Arab Spring, it is back to the dictatorship (Egypt: Pro-Sisi party secures majority of seats in parliament).

Now, what do these four countries have in common?

1. All are old empires, trying to come back.
2. All their current leaders enjoy great popularity at home, especially when compared with President Trump (The real reasons Trump is failing to overturn the election).
3. All are doing better than [most of] their neighbors, especially economically.
4. All are getting closer to China than to America!

8. Two solutions for America

Below is a highlight for the short-term (or 50-year) solution:

1. Introducing a mandatory retirement age (e.g. 80) for all three branches of the government, particularly for the justices of the U.S. Supreme Court.
2. Introducing strict term limits for Congress.
3. Redefining the American Presidency:
   • One term (e.g. six years).
   • Raising the statutory requirements, such as the starting age range being 55-70 and only after having served as a state governor for one full-term, at least.

Here is the long-term (or 200-year) solution: Developing a meritocracy for the society as well as for the political system, like China has been doing over the past 2,000 years!

9. Organization of this book

This book consists of 153 chapters, organized into 30 parts. Available in both e-book and paperback, this paperback is different from its sister e-book in two major ways:

1. Like the e-book, the table of contents appears right after this page, without the hyper-links, of course.
2. Like the e-book, there is not a bibliography for this book. All the references are available on-line, [Google] searchable by title.

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