Monthly Archives: February 2022

We found that the belief in human agency in ancient Chinese philosophical and religious thought co-occurred with progress. Yukun Zhao et al., Agency in Ancient China

Previously in this series: On Agency

The history of human agency in China one might better say thetribulations of human agency in China is, in its way, more interesting and instructive than the almost-straight-line increase in human agency we observed last week in the Western world.

Unlike in the West, human agency in China was from the very beginning forced to compete with the powerful communal instinct. At the very time that Ancient Greece was emerging from its Dark Ages (but in complete isolation from it), Chinese philosophers began to grapple with the role of individuals versus the role of the community, that is, with the importance of thinking and acting independently versus obligations to family, village, and external authorities and their vast power.

One possible explanation for this difference is that while the Greeks thought and acted in the context of small city-states that were relatively easy to manage, China was from the beginning a vast and rarely unified territory. The largest of the Ancient Greek cities, Athens, was contained within less than a square mile and never boasted a population of more than 200,000 citizens. China, meanwhile, had to contend with 60 million people scattered over almost two million square miles.

The meaning of human agency in China

Given the desperate need to maintain order over a vast and widely scattered population, Chinese thinking from its earliest days right up until the present moment has struggled to balance the importance of human agency with the need to maintain order and discipline across a vast society.

In the West, as weve seen, human agency is focused on the individual person, atomized and more or less unconnected to the broader community, with the capacity to think and act separately from others in the society. Indeed, it is that broader community that ofteninterfereswith a full expression of agency, and in the West it has been a major project to eliminate that interference.

But the Chinese understanding of agency views the individual as fully integrated into a broader community. As a result, expressions or even achievements of individual agency that appear to undermine the broad public good are discouraged. In fact, Classical Chinese had no word for individual in the Western sense.

All that said, most schools of thought in China do in fact emphasize the importance of self-cultivation of individual people. In Confucianism, for example, a premium is placed on the moral education of the individual, which is achieved through study, training, and the reading of appropriate texts. The purpose of this self-improvement, however, isnt simply to improve the person in his or her own right, but to contribute to the moral quality of the overall society.

But some prominent schools of thought in China tend to undermine agency. Taoism, for example, founded by Lao Tzu, advocates following the natural order, dismisses the power of individual agency, and counsels passive acceptance of the world as it is. Thus, no matter how oppressive a government might be (for example), Taoists wont oppose that government or attempt, by the exercise of individual agency, to overthrow it; they will simply accept it.

Indeed, Lao Tzus most prominent follower, Chuang Tzu, advocated literally doing nothing: I cast aside my limbs, discard my intelligence, detach from both body and mind This is called sitting down and forgetting everything.

Legalism, pioneered by Shang Yang, is even more opposed to individual agency. It requires that citizens obey the authorities at all times and at all costs, preventing individuals from acting according to their own judgements, simply because to do otherwise would lead (according to the legalists) to chaos.

Properly handled, Legalism can empower collective accomplishments, leading to powerful central governments that can impose their will on vast lands and peoples. More often, though, Legalism leads to oppression and misery, notwithstanding the accomplishments of the government.

Given the tension between individuals and the importance of the broader community, a useful way to think about agency in China is to distinguish between individual agency on the one hand and collective agency on the other. This approach was proposed by Yukun Zhao et al. in their paper, cited above.

To Western ears, to be sure, collective agency sounds like Newspeak doesnt it simply mean a society dominated by an oppressive and authoritarian government? The answer seems to be yes and no. If, during any Chinese dynasty all that matters is collective agency, that is pretty much the definition of a despotic government oppressing its people.

But during most Chinese eras there has been a balance between the emphasis on individual and collective agency, with some dynasties leaning one way and some the other. Moreover, it is often the case that what a Western observer might see as unacceptable authoritarianism would be viewed by a Chinese observer as appropriate concern for the collective welfare.

In the discussion last week of human agency in the West, I pointed out that societies that highly valued human agency and nourished it outperformed societies that didnt. In China, various dynasties viewed agency quite differently, in effect giving us an opportunity to test my claim that high-individual-agency societies outperform low-individual-agency societies.

Lets take a look (next week) at a few examples of how agency, collective or otherwise, has fared in China and what the implications have been for human progress and wellbeing among the Chinese.

[Shameless self-promotion: Blogs Ive written about interesting people over the years including Andr Heintz (a member of the French Resistance), Lady Jean Fforde, Baron Rothschild, Joe Biden and others have been collected in my recent book,Ten Interesting People, illustrated by artist David Biber. Its now available on Amazon.]

Next up:On Agency, Part III

More here:

China and the Individual - pittsburghquarterly.com

Uncalloused white hands shake brown hands, somewhat reluctantly. A golden lion with a triumphant grip on a sword, emblazoned on a flag, is hoisted high.

Sri Lanka (then called Ceylon) celebrated its independence from British rule on 4 February 1948. However, for Tamils and other minorities on the island, the day was just another instance of one oppressor handing the reins to another.

There are four major groups in Sri Lanka. The north and east of the island are the traditional homelands of Tamil-speaking peopleHindus, Muslims and Christianswho make up around 25 percent of the countrys population. Its important to note that while many Muslims are Tamil-speaking, they are a distinct ethnic identity. In the south and west, the Sinhalese dominate. They make up 75 percent of the total population and are largely Buddhist.

Merging the Tamil and Sinhalese homelands together in 1883, the British imposed a unitary state over the entire territory, consolidating historically distinct ethnic and cultural kingdoms into one, under the rule of a white supremacist capitalist force. It was a tried-and-true strategy for coloniser nations and served the British well for more than 100 years.

Post-independence, the unitary structure allowed the Sinhalese majority to control the affairs of the whole island, and therefore the Tamil homelands, without requiring the consent of Tamils. Independence and democracy did not apply equally to all.

Regaining self-determination within our homelands, named Tamil Eelam, has been the key political goal for generations.

In 1956, the government passed the Sinhala Only Act, which made Sinhala the official language of the country. This made it incredibly difficult for Tamil-speaking people to get government jobs and was one of the key post-independence acts that laid the groundwork for ongoing Tamil oppression, as well as creating the conditions for a liberation struggle. It was not long after the passing of this act that regular pogroms (racially motivated attacks against Tamils) began.

My Amma (mother) told me about a riot she witnessed. It was August 1977, and there were severe pogroms across the country, in which hundreds of Tamils were killed, many raped and 40,000 displaced. Sinhalese rioters broke into Tamils houses to loot, kill and burn. One of my Ammas neighbours, a Sinhalese man, helped my family by harbouring them in his house. There are touching accounts of solidarity like this despite the anti-Tamil racism that was sponsored by politicians and Buddhist monks.

Tamils label as black days the most severe instances of oppression and violence. Lest We Forget, a two-part document by the NorthEast Secretariat on Human Rights, details 149 massacres witnessed from 1956 to 2008.

The most well-known pogrom is called Black July, which was carried out primarily in the south of the island by violent mobs in 1983. Perhaps 3,000 Tamils were massacredmany were burned alive. Tens of thousands more were forced to flee to the north and east.

The pogrom was organised and aided by government officials, who had lists of Tamil houses and businesses. The mass exodus of Tamils resulting from this event displaced families like mine, who fled to countries that often were engaged, in various parts of the world, in the same sort of violence that Tamils were fleeing.

The forced displacement of Tamils and the settlement of Sinhalese populations on our lands, a process called Sinhalisation, is a concerted strategy of the Sri Lankan state. The method was noted in the Oakland Institutes recent report, Endless War: The Destroyed Land, Life, and Identity of the Tamil People in Sri Lanka:

The main objective of this colonization is to increase the Sinhalese population in the north and east to change the demographics of the regions. One clear tactic has been to divide the geographically and ethnically connected Northern and Eastern Provinces and erase the homeland doctrine of the Tamil people. In the 30 years prior to 2009, these areas were under LTTE [Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam] control that prevented land grabbing.

And as the authors of Lest We Forget note:

Massacres were only a part of the ethnic cleansing program carried out by the Sri Lankan state against the Tamils. Huge swaths of land that traditionally belonged to the Tamils were settled by Sinhala people who were brought there from faraway places in the Sinhala areas. Tamils were disenfranchised en masse and stripped of their language rights. The list goes on.

Yes, the list continues. Tamils are murdered every year, even thirteen years on from the military defeat of the LTTE and the genocide of more than 140,000 Tamil civilians in government-designed no fire zones. Many refugees living in Australia, some of whom are still stuck in detention, carry the trauma of being subjected to heinous acts, or of witnessing them being carried out against their kin.

4 February will mark 74 years since Sri Lanka gained independence. In this time, the oppression of Tamils by the army, the police, the law and the bureaucracy has evolved. But the fundamentals remain the same.

On Saturday 5 February at 6pm, the Tamil Refugee Council will host an online eventto highlight the ongoing crimes committed by the Sri Lankan government against Tamil speaking people, to demand the pursuit of justice, and to acknowledge the situation facing Tamil refugees worldwide.

Excerpt from:

Commemorating Tamil Oppression Day - Red Flag

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I am a patriot, a Canadian patriot. I am now like the massively growing trend of patriots rising up around the world to defend our freedoms.

Today, I proudly stood shoulder to shoulder with other Timmins Canadian patriots waving and jubilantly cheering on the truckers driving by with their Canadian flags draped on their trucks and automobiles. I felt like all these people were my friends; their faces showed their love and admiration for the cause.

We were all there to fight the oppression and tyranny that we have been put through these past two years. Our fight is not won by violence or disrespect, but with love, perseverance, compassion, courage, and unity.

During the course of exuberant, painful, arm numbing waving, I met an Italian Canadian who thoughtfully commented to me: Isnt it interesting that the humble trucker is the one who has risen up to save our country not the PhD scientist, not the glorified doctor, not the highly educated professor or teacher, no, it is the humble trucker with honour and love in his heart.

Jesus rode in on a humble little burrow,not a glowing chariot with bells and whistles. Our beloved truckers are riding into Ottawa in their big, cumbersome chariots of patriotic courage. I cannot express how humbled and appreciative I am by these wonderful selfless men and women who are standing up to the evil entities in our corrupt government, judicial, medical, education and religious systems. I salute you and thank you from the bottom of my heart.

This week, I am driving down to Ottawa in my SUV. I am a senior and have not made a long trip in years, but I want to make my own little footprint into the archives of history no matter how silly or ineffective it seems.

I am bringing some home-cooked hot food to at least a hundred truckers or patriots who have travelled from so far and wide across Canada to be in Ottawa. For the last six months, I saved up what little I had, and stocked up on food like we were warned to do. I no longer want to save this food for me. I am alarmed that GoFundMe is not releasing all the funds to the truckers at this time. Apparently, the truckers will get this money later. A lot of these truckers need money now, not later.

Even though I gave a small monetary donation to the GoFundMe campaign, I am worried that our trucker patriots will not be helped enough when they need it the most. Its like watering a house after it has burned down. I dont know anyone in Ottawa, and I doubt Id find a hotel room somewhere (Im hoping that all the truckers who cant stay in their trucks, do have a hotel room), so Ill be driving back the same day after I distribute the food I want to contribute.

So, Im just trying to tell you, the readers, that no matter how small you think your contribution is to fight this oppressive war weve been in, do something good for your fellow man in this cause. Every little drop of water eventually fills a bucket. To me, its going to be a long and hard trip, but I refuse to be the one who stood by and did nothing, no matter how stupid or useless my effort may appear to be. I am a patriot.

Irena Aleknevicius,

Timmins

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LETTER: 'Patriot' supporting truckers' stance against 'oppression and tyranny' - Timmins Press

One year since the military coup in Myanmar, calls for international action are growing louder, notably from the National Unity Government (NUG), made up of elected politicians who were thrown out of office by the generals.

The world is doing nothing but just sitting and watching, NUG Foreign Minister Zin Mar Aung told Al Jazeera.

In the past year, we have seen extreme brutality and atrocity against the population. We have also seen clear determination from the younger generation, a new generation who are saying they will not accept the regime.

Attacks against civilians, protesters and political activists have escalated in recent months.

What began as tear gassing and beatings have now turned into air assaults, the burning of villages, and targeted shootings across the country.

Herself a victim of the militarys political repression, Zin Mar Aung in 1998 was sentenced to 28 years in prison for political activism. She spent nine of those years in solitary confinement and was released after 11 years.

But Zin Mar Aung says the violence today is worse than the dark decades of previous military regimes of the 1980s and 1990s.

Its much worse than what we have seen before. A lot of people used to die in prison and be tortured, she said. The atrocity has not lessened. Now they have escalated they used to do it behind closed doors, but now they do it publicly. Without pragmatic and effective intervention from the international community, this will continue.

More than 1,500 people have been killed since the coup, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, which has been monitoring the violence since the start.

Rights group Human Rights Watch says the militarys actions amount to crimes against humanity and include openly shooting 65 protesters and bystanders in Yangons Hlaing Tharyar township, the deliberate ramming of protesters in a car in Yangon, and a Christmas Eve attack on civilians in eastern Myanmar that left dozens dead, including women and children and two staff from the non-profit, Save the Children.

Attacks on villagers are also continuing in the ethnic border regions, in an escalation of fighting that has been taking place for decades and culminated in the brutal crackdown on the Rohingya in 2017 that is now the subject of an international genocide investigation.

Having avoided censure for so long, observers say the military is confident it will continue to do so.

Decades of impunity for the worst crimes have created a mindset that soldiers can brazenly commit such atrocities without fear of being held accountable, Human Rights Watch researcher Manny Maung wrote recently.

But the brutality is increasingly being documented thanks to the preponderance of mobile phones.

Myanmar Witness is a not-for-profit organisation that aims to collate such evidence in an anonymous and safe open source database.

The team uses a variety of verification techniques such as using Google Earth satellite imagery, weather reports and online image reverse searching to verify the accuracy of the footage they receive from witnesses and activists.

Having previously used digital technologies to document abuses in Syria and elsewhere, Investigations Director Ben Strick says that safe and anonymous reporting platforms such as Myanmar Witness are vital to archive human rights abuses.

Its a bit scary at the moment because people are not reporting out of fear, he told Al Jazeera.

So, we are able to really use a lot of these digital techniques to pick out a lot more stories than what is actually being heard out of Myanmar.

Despite the efforts to ensure digital safety for those submitting evidence, Strick worries about the risks involved for those on the ground.

We are able to take a photo and find out exactly where it was taken from. But other people can do that as well, Strick told Al Jazeera. If someone is filming from their apartment and they are filming the military in the street, that can be found both by civilians who support the government but also the government themselves.

Since the February 1 coup, Myanmar Witness has collated more than 4,000 entries, of which 740 have been accurately verified.

The group hopes that the collated evidence will be used by the international community to eventually bring the perpetrators to justice.

I think there is a huge amount digitally that the international community can do and is doing, but there is still a lot more that can be done to chip away at the marble stone that is human rights issues in Myanmar, said Strick.

Despite the growing database of evidence, it remains unclear whether the international community has the political will, or the means, to intervene in Myanmar.

On the eve of the one-year anniversary of the coup, United Nations human rights chief Michelle Bachelet condemned the international response as ineffectual saying it lacked a sense of urgency commensurate to the magnitude of the crisis.

Bachelet said it was time for a more robust response.

It is time for an urgent, renewed effort to restore human rights and democracy in Myanmar and ensure that perpetrators of systemic human rights violations and abuses are held to account, she said.

UNICEFRegional Director, Debora Comini, meanwhile, said the agency was gravely concerned by the escalating conflict and condemned the reported use of air attacks and heavy weaponry in civilian areas, in particular, attacks on children and NGOs such as Save the Children.

We are particularly outraged about the attacks on children that have occurred during this escalation in fighting across the country.

Fortify Rights, which has been working in Myanmar since 2013, has been calling on the UN Security Council to impose an arms embargo.

But Ismail Wolff, the groups regional director, says there is no sign of the unified action necessary for such a move with veto-wielding members China and Russia showing a reluctance to act.

Wolff told Al Jazeera that while there have been individual responses from UN member states such as the US, UK, European Union, and Australia, they havent been sufficient to cause enough of an impact on the Myanmar military for them to change their thinking or to try and pressure them into rethinking this coup and whether it is in their interests or not.

The UK could put forward a resolution, but so far weve seen China and Russia specifically the other permanent members of the security council they would veto any resolution calling for a global arms embargo, which is essential to end the oppression of the Myanmar people by this quite heinous regime.

In the absence of concerted UN action, the diplomatic initiative has fallen to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which Myanmar joined in 1997 under a previous military regime.

Coup leader Min Aung Hlaing has so far shown no commitment to implementing a plan to end the violence that he agreed with ASEAN in April last year.

Everyone has to be clear on the limitations of ASEAN, Wolff said. It operates on consensus [and as such] you are not going to see any strong, principled decisions being made on the Myanmar situation that would have enough of an impact for the Tatmadaw the Myanmar dictatorship to reverse course.

In the absence of UN action, some foreign investors, including oil companies Total, Chevron and Woodside Petroleum have suspended business in Myanmar, cutting a major source of revenue for the military which has long operated a sprawling network of businesses.

At Myanmar Witness, Ben Strick says moves such as these can have an immediate effect. His organisation recently documented an arms shipment from Russia.

Fortify Rights Wolff agrees that documenting the evidence is vital and adds that the NUG is currently submitting an application to the UN Security Council to accede to the Rome Statute that would give the International Criminal Court jurisdiction in Myanmar. The UN has continued to recognise Kyaw Moe Tun as Myanmars UN ambassador despite the military saying he had been sacked for his support of the anti-coup movement.

There are also the laws of universal jurisdiction whereby a state can put an individual on trial for crimes against humanity regardless of where the crimes were committed is also an option, as currently considered with regard to Syria.

There are options, said Wolff. The importance here is the documentation and the evidence of these crimes. Because at the end of the day they need to be proven. [The Myanmar military] will be held accountable one day for these crimes.

Amid the lack of international action, the situation in Myanmar appears to be deteriorating.

When we started Myanmar Witness, we were documenting violence against protesters, Strick said. Fast forward now and were very much watching what looks like a civil war environment, he said.

As well as ethnic armed groups, the NUG has established a Peoples Defence Force for those wanting to take more direct action albeit with sometimes rudimentary arms and equipment. State media has described those taking up arms as terrorists.

The people have the right to protect themselves, said the NUGs Foreign Minister Zin Mar Aung.

We are not going out to kill the military, but if they attack us we will protect ourselves, our lives, our families and our property. We know the UN is not coming. We appreciate the words, but the words alone will not stop the bullets.

Excerpt from:

World accused of sitting and watching as Myanmar slides to war - Al Jazeera English