Why China’s Environmental Future May Depend on Reclaiming Some of Its Past: China is trying to modify its value system in a way that is scientifically sound and reflects its philosophical traditions.
report2009
Past
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China is trying to modify its value system in a way that is
scientifically sound and reflects its philosophical traditions.
By Greg Soltis | Posted August 8, 2008
The Chinese government has kept half of Beijing’s 3.3 million vehicles
off the streets, halted most construction projects and closed some
factories in Beijing and its surrounding provinces since July 20 to
hopefully clear the polluted air in time for today’s opening
ceremonies of the 2008 Summer Olympics.
But regardless of how effective these measures are for the next three
weeks, they cannot realistically be maintained after the completion of
the summer games on August 24. They are just temporary fixes.
So to address their environmental challenges, the Chinese are
searching for long-term solutions in the form of a more eco-friendly
value system. And there is evidence they may be starting to discover
an answer that may help develop environmental policies: process
thought. This modern philosophy maintains core Chinese-philosophy
themes like understanding humans to be a part of nature rather than
apart from it.
But process thought not only offers the Chinese a way to improve their
environment. It also can address the revived interest in religion
among the Chinese and their government because the changes induced by
capitalism have eroded traditional Confucian and Marxist values,
according to Karen Torjesen, vice president of The Institute of Post-
Modern Development in China. “There is a vacuum with regard to the
framework in which to think about the kind of social change that China
is contemplating,” said Torjesen.
By combining the value-based Chinese philosophies with a more fact-
based Western philosophy, process thought provides a hybrid approach
that the Chinese government is beginning to consider as a step towards
remedying China’s environment. “Process thought can help China revalue
our own tradition,” said Zhihe Wang of the Center for Process Studies
at the Claremont School of Theology in Claremont, Calif. “That’s why
the Chinese government officials welcome this idea,” said this native
of China who has lived in America for the past ten years.
Process Thought and Environmental Policy
In the early 20th century, the now-deceased mathematician and
physicist Alfred North Whitehead developed process thought, also known
as constructive postmodernism. As an attempt to incorporate various
facets of human experience like science, ethics and religion, it is
already being discussed among academics as a coherent way to
understand fields of study such as ecology, biology, physics and
education.
Sharing many common themes with Chinese philosophies, it emphasizes
the connected and creative quality of life. But in response to critics
who decry the use of traditional Chinese philosophies like Daoism,
Buddhism and Confucianism, this modern philosophy remains valid in a
scientific world.
As a result, process thought offers several useful themes for
developing environmental policy. From Whitehead’s perspective, nature
is a continuously creative process that strives for harmony, not
simply for survival. Reality is more like a verb than a noun: it
refers to a constant state of action rather than a fixed state of
being. And social groups working together are more effective than one
person acting alone.
“There’s always been an affinity between process thought and people
working in ecology because of its relational nature,” said John
Berthrong, professor of both process thought and Chinese philosophy at
Boston University.
Led by Wang, an initiative by the Center for Process Studies called
The China Project actively fosters the development and application of
process thought in China, especially to guide the country’s
environmental policies. This program promotes dialogue among Eastern
and Western countries about how process thought can make Marxist views
of nature and humanity more ecological in both urban and rural
settings. The message is that nature can be inherently meaningful,
humans are not the only source of value in this world and communal
activities and goals trump individual needs.
John Cobb, a co-founder of the Center for Process Studies, said the
Chinese government is very eager to classify Marxism as ecological,
which he admitted is “a rather bold definition.” China’s President Hu
Jintao proposed the concept of an “ecological civilization” to
emphasize that the focus of China’s continued development will no
longer just be economic, in his report to China’s 17th National
Congress last fall.
Chinese universities traditionally react to government statements such
as Hu’s by organizing conferences to discuss national policy. But less
than two weeks after Hu’s speech, the China Project and one of the top
think tanks in the Chinese government, the Central Compilation and
Translation Bureau, jointly sponsored a conference at the Center for
Process Studies with Hu’s term in its title: “Constructive
Postmodernism, Marxism, and Ecological Civilization.” The China
Project had the honor of hosting the first conference to address
China’s new environmental mindset.
The momentum building in Chinese universities and environmental
organizations demonstrates that the Chinese government is granting
credibility to process thought. “They recognize that process thought
might help them to rethink what real development means,” said Cobb.
And it is no surprise that this country craves environmental reform.
The national resurrection that has elevated China to become a dominant
player in the world economy has also inflicted environmental wounds
that China is currently unable to heal. For example, in 2007, China
lowered its goal of reducing national water consumption 30 percent by
2010 to just 20 percent. And Chinese economists predicted in 2000 that
their country would double its energy usage by 2020. China beat this
prediction, 13 years early. Simply setting impressive benchmarks and
funding cleanup projects has not pulled a teetering China off of this
ecological precipice.
A frustrated Chinese population is responding. From 2005 to 2007, the
weekly rate of environmental complaints to the government increased
nine-fold. And thousands of environmental organizations saturate
China, up from a mere handful in the mid 1990s.
Process Thought and Chinese Philosophies
Religions and philosophies followed by the Chinese, while still
regulated by politicians, are increasingly viewed as potential allies
in the development of China’s environmental policies. China’s director
of the State Bureau of Religious Affairs, Ye Xiaowen, recognizes that
the Chinese philosophies can help create a harmonious society between
humans and the rest of nature, according to Wang.
By implementing process thought, the Chinese can reclaim themes from
their traditional philosophies of Daoism, Buddhism and Confucianism
that will help develop a more environmentally friendly way of life.
“There are similarities between the ecological worldview of process
philosophy and the ecological worldview of Chinese philosophy,” said
Shiyan Li, the director of the Center for Process Thought and Ecology
in Shenyang—one of three process thought centers established in China
in 2007.
Humans achieve harmony, according to Daoism, by aligning themselves
with nature’s flow or way. And Wang said that the head of China’s
environmental department, Pan Yue, has stated that Daoism, which
encourages humans to dwell in harmony with the larger realm of life,
can help build an ecological society.
Buddhists stress reverence for the spark of life in all living things.
Gene Reeves, a professor at Peking University, teaches a process
theology course in which, he says, environmental concerns play a large
role. The compatibility between process thought and Buddhism is
evident to Reeves when he teaches. “My students tend to see
connections immediately,” he said.
Like Whitehead, the Confucians believe that human beings become whole
through their interactions with one another and the rest of the
natural world. And President Hu Jintao has made the Confucian concept
of a “harmonious society” a cornerstone of his ruling ideology.
Compared to Daoism and Buddhism, Confucianism is the most dominant
philosophy in China, accounting for nearly half of the population, as
well as the most human-centered. It views the non-human environment as
a resource that humans can mold to fit their desires in accordance
with nature’s laws.
Incorporating these Chinese philosophies might appear as a step back
for a country trying to modernize. During China’s Cultural Revolution
and Emperor Mao’s “war against nature,” science and technology became
“the way” as the communist government jettisoned what it deemed as
hindrances to its country’s development. These included the Chinese
philosophical traditions of Daoism, Buddhism and Confucianism, which
arose before modern science. Labeled as ancient and unscientific, they
were relegated to China’s past. But through process thought they may
play a key role in China’s environmental future.
Process Thought in China Now
Process thought is not a new concept to the Chinese, who have studied
Whitehead’s philosophy at the university level since the 1930s. It has
been gaining momentum especially during this decade.
In the spring of 2002, the China Project collaborated with Chinese
officials to host an international conference on “Whitehead and China
in the New Millennium.” Nearly 200 Chinese and non-Chinese scholars
from 14 countries attended this event in Beijing. In retrospect, Cobb,
of the Center for Process Studies, recognizes this conference, which
was covered by the national Chinese media, as the point where process
thought began to rapidly develop in China. “It’s amazing in ten years
how it’s become a topic of conversation,” he said.
When the China Project started, Cobb admits that he did not have high
expectations. But since 2002, over 20 conferences in China have
addressed process thought and sustainable development. Chinese
universities now host 18 centers for process studies. This summer, the
fourth annual summer academy on process thought will focus on how
process thought can improve China’s agriculture. And Chinese officials
will attend another conference this October in Claremont to further
this discussion about the role that process thought can play in
developing an ecological branch of Marxism. “We’re delighted and
amazed,” said Cobb looking back that the development over this decade.
Urban Versus Rural Life
Chinese cities and air pollution nearly go hand in hand. Ten of the
world’s 16 most-polluted cities are in China. Airborne particulate
levels in Beijing are six times higher than in New York City. And the
World Bank estimates that air pollution alone causes at least 700,000
premature deaths annually in China.
A process thought center in Shanghai, which opened in 2007,
collaborates with the local government to design and build simple
cities. The designers of most Chinese cities try to emulate New York,
thinking that size is everything. But Wang said, “China can’t afford
this way.”
To improve China’s urban air, Wang promotes a Green Biking project in
collaboration with Sheri Liao, the leader of the Global Village of
Beijing, one of China’s first environmental organizations, founded in
1996. Hundreds of millions of Chinese already rely on bicycles. But
this is by necessity, not choice. Owning a bike is equated with
poverty, and driving a car symbolizes success. So Wang and Liao are
trying to convince Chinese youth that biking is a forward-thinking,
not outdated, option. They also promote bicycle repair as a skill that
allows old bikes to be overhauled, just as process thought updates
traditional Chinese philosophies. With 14,000 new cars added to
China’s roads each day and 130 million total cars expected by 2020,
Wang and Liao hope their efforts amount to more than just spinning
their wheels.
Liao, an advocate of process thought, was one of China’s “Green People
of the Year” in December 2006. Currently Liao organizes activities
that incorporate spirituality, health concerns and environmental
protection in a program called Environmental Protection for Life. She
also teaches rural Chinese how to improve their local environment and
use the native beauty to attract visitors. Liao is the main author of
the “Villagers’ Environmental Guide” (2006), which lays out a more eco-
friendly lifestyle for the 900 million Chinese country dwellers.
Modern farming practices rely on heavy equipment and fossil fuels that
replace human labor and uproot peasants from the countryside. But,
according to Wang, the Chinese government wants to develop a more
labor-intensive post-modern approach to farming that is less
destructive of the land and stems the tide of farmers migrating to
cities for work. Instead of clearing forests to plant rice, farmers
can grow mushrooms in the mountains. Post-modern agriculture strives
for the diversity of ecosystems and the diversity of villages. “In
this way, farmers don’t need to leave their land and go to cities to
work,” said Wang.
At a postmodern agriculture conference at the end of July, professor
Zhixiong Du, a senior researcher from the Agriculture Institute at the
Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, spoke about how the Chinese
government has sponsored over 50 counties that focus on developing
postmodern agriculture. It will then use the most successful counties
as examples for the rest of China to emulate.
China’s Future
China is moving closer to latching on to a philosophical foundation
for motivating environmental policy. Philosophy is more highly
regarded in China as part of the social sciences, unlike in the United
States where it falls under the humanities umbrella. From the
perspective of the Chinese, philosophy directs people how to change
the world and guides policy development, said Cobb. So by teasing out
the various applications of process thought, Claremont’s China Project
and the centers throughout China allow process thought to begin to
assume the transforming role that the Chinese expect from a
philosophy.
The tide also may be turning on a national level. China’s government
may be recognizing that a hard-science approach to environmental
reform will not suffice. The Chinese government tried to improve the
country’s ecology with the tools of science and technology. But the
government’s failure in using a simple top-down, technocratic approach
has fostered a willingness to adopt a more inclusive mindset like
process thought. A rise in the number of political candidates with
social science backgrounds during this past fall’s elections, as well
as the elevation of several individuals within China’s Proletariat
with comparable educations, indicates that China is becoming more
inclined to incorporate systemic change necessary to both allow
process thought to take root as well as remedy societal problems such
as China’s environmental woes.
As Cobb noted, the Chinese are an experimental nation. “I think the
Chinese know now that they need a way forward that doesn’t continue
the status quo.” And now more than ever, he says, they need a radical
alternative that will help improve their country’s environment.