Once we realize that human notions of "right" and "wrong" are merely rules
facilitating the game of life, you completely understand mainland behaviors.
Do flies queue to take a bite out of a turd? Swarming is far more efficient than
queueing. It's just that in first world countries, we have enough leisure time and
money to allow for fair, albeit slower, forms of resource allocation. Contrast this
with the scarcity of the Chinese experience. As Ross remarks in the American sitcom
Friends, "if you didn't eat fast, you didn't eat!" when relating his childhood with a
gluttonous older sister.
As much as the Chinese claim to care about "face", they care about material
acquisition more. This rapacity is a direct result of the "feast or famine" aspect
of their home circumstances. It's really a product of their historical inability to innovate
and colonize to feed their vast numbers. The Chinese have long been known to
be nesting creatures who pursued agricultural subsistence over imperalist ventures. Blame Confucius. Really. It's only now that they're embracing opportunism, albeit
hamfistedly. | |
