The Confucian Mind

From the way the Iragi rebuilding effort is carried out, it is clear that Westerners in general, and Americans in particular, do not understand Asians at all. Building hospitals and schools will not win hearts and minds in Iraq. From East Asia to South Asia to West Asia, the only way to establish peace and order, and subsequently win people over, is by coercion, or more precisely coercive persuasion.

American approach to the Iraq effort has so far followed the post war German model instead of the Japanese model, ignoring the fundamental cultural difference between East and West.

This book lays out that difference in no uncertain terms, by tracing the evolution of the Asian mind from its ancient beginning to the present. Though the focus of the book is on East Asia, the basic psychology of all Asians is similar, as their child rearing practices serve the same purpose, and the mental disposition is formed well before the child comes of age.

There is no better place to investigate that mental process than the Confucian civilization, for in no other culture on earth has the evolution of the human psyche been better documented and given more emphasis.

To understand the East, or simply to understand humanity, The Confucian Mind is a must read.