Tag Archives: China

Healthy Societies Are Efficient

Posted on September 28, 2021 by N.S. Palmer

Efficiency isn’t everything, but healthy societies and people need it. If you want the deep explanation of why that’s true, read about Charles Darwin’s observations of birds (finches) on the Galapagos Islands off the coast of South America. Each island … Continue reading →

Posted in Human Relations, Philosophy, Political Science, Psychology, Society | Tagged Bible, China, Communication, Evolution, Group solidarity, In-Group, Poetry, Political Science, Shared culture, Social cohesion, Solidarity | Leave a comment

For The Chinese, Context Is Everything

Posted on January 23, 2021 by N.S. Palmer

It ain’t much, but it’s the first story I’ve written in Chinese. I’d wanted to write about Chinese political philosophy, but I found that my vocabulary was too limited to do it. Surprisingly, some Chinese ideas about governmental legitimacy are … Continue reading →

Posted in Life, Psychology | Tagged China, Chinese, Culture, Diplomacy, Language learning, Languages, Mandarin | 3 Comments

Why I Don’t Hug My Chinese Tutor

Posted on April 9, 2020 by N.S. Palmer

As regular readers know, I’ve been studying the Chinese language since last spring. I had previously taken a semester of Chinese in college, but it utterly defeated me. So I wanted payback. This time, I would beat it. I was … Continue reading →

Posted in Life, Political Science, Society | Tagged China, Chinese, International Relations, International Trade, National interest, National security, Political corruption, Trade deficits, Wet markets | Leave a comment

America and China Can Work It Out

Posted on June 5, 2019 by N.S. Palmer

Tensions between America and China are as predictable as they are, well, stupid. Their tensions are predictable for two reasons: The United States and China are rival world powers, vying with each other for status and influence in the world. … Continue reading →

Posted in Human Relations, Political Science | Tagged America, Balance of payments, China, Ethnocentricity, Free trade, Group bias, Han Chinese, International Trade, Kin Selection, Tariffs, Trade, Trade dispute | Leave a comment

Confucius Said: “Consider the Source”

Posted on February 23, 2019 by N.S. Palmer

I admit it: the ancient Chinese sage Confucius didn’t really say “consider the source.” At least it’s not in The Analects of Confucius, a collection of his teachings that were compiled and edited after his death. (The linked edition provides … Continue reading →

Posted in Epistemology, Human Relations, Political Science | Tagged Analects, Asian Studies, Charlie Chan, China, Chinese, Confucius, Confucius Institute, Mandarin, National interest | Leave a comment

Puzzled About Huawei Arrest

Posted on December 10, 2018 by N.S. Palmer

I don’t have the answers. I’m simply puzzled. On behalf of the U.S. government, Canadian officials arrested Meng Wanzhou, chief financial officer of China-based Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. Reports say that as an executive of Huawei, she is charged with evading … Continue reading →