Andrew Cash begins the article with an interesting observation, namely, that many of us who criticize the Americans for their foreign policy (i.e., wars, weapons sales, sweatshops, etc.), will wish for their return as world superpower once we all understand the Chinese position on human rights.

I think that the Chinese reluctance to recognize human rights stems from one missing step in their historical path from feudalism to its present fusion of capitalism and communism: that is, unlike the West, China never did go through anything resembling the Enlightenment. It was during this time, spurred on by events such as the French Revolution, that liberalism was able to take root and flourish in western nations. And with this came the notion of ‘inclusion’ - over time, more and more groups of people received citizenship rights and the right to vote, etc. (One of the last groups fighting for equal rights in western nations is gay/lesbian people.)

But let’s not let the Americans off too easily. Chileans who had to live under Pinochet’s military dictatorship for 17 years, Palestinians who have had to contend with a hostile Israeli government that receives huge sums of monies from the U.S. government, and countless other groups around the world are no doubt relishing what seems to be on the near horizon for the Americans. (And let’s face it: GW Bush and Dick Cheney have not endeared themselves to very many people across the world during their eight years at the White House.)