What China's History Should Teach Us

... with the United States. The sooner the better. America was always the standard point of reference, the ultimate yardstick and the eternal envy, even of those who never really liked it. This is no longer the case. Arguably, the most precious gift that China offers is the comprehension that there may be—and should be—various models, not only of modernization, but also of modernity itself. This is what the Soviet Union tried to demonstrate throughout its whole history, but ultimately failed. This is what many social democrats in Europe wanted to prove, but not quite succeeded in making the case. These are the aspirations ...