Wu Chuke: Deified “American Freedom” Is a Fool’s Paradise

Nowadays, many cannot stop talking about “American freedom.” The promotional slogan of emigration companies is also “enjoy American-style freedom.” Some of the young and talented, frequently feeling that they have to deal with “unfair competition” within China, want to leave once and for all, thinking that once they are in America, they will be able to fully and freely showcase their talents and gain instant fame. In actuality, this is the modern version of a “fool’s paradise.”

Firstly, we have to clarify what freedom is. The Chinese understanding of freedom is different from that of Americans. For Americans, freedom is “respect for individual choice” and consists of two aspects: Firstly, individual choice cannot be against the law; secondly, the minority has to accept the majority view. The former is to ensure that America is a lawful society. The latter is to ensure the electoral system. These two conditions basically ensure that “American freedom” “operates rationally” as led by the political elite. In such a “free country,” many Chinese nationals are not used to it because they understand “freedom” as “doing whatever you want, however you want.” This is a big mistake! America is a contractual society; all citizens abide by the social contract, as laid out in the laws and regulations. As long as you self-restrain, do not harm the system and do not impede others’ freedom of life, you can live successfully with freedom.

I once conducted a study on shamanism in northeastern Inner Mongolia with a graduate student from the University of California. I asked her what her deepest impression of China is. She said, “China is so free!” At that time, I thought she was joking; after I lived in America for a while, recalling some of her crazy actions in China, how she loved and enthusiastically imitated “uncouth behaviors,” I finally understood that that would not have been acceptable in America and could even destroy one’s reputation and job prospects. A friend from China who has stayed in America for over 20 years told me that actually America is the conservative one; wanting to change the status quo, even if it is a small unwritten social rule, is unimaginable. Americans like setting rules, especially in the scheduling of work and life. This is far from freedom as envisioned by the Chinese.

Actually, you have to be clear as to the kind of freedom you need. Many of those who like “American freedom” are “trend-followers.” They are unclear of their goals in life but think that American freedom, or simply to leave the country, is good. Thus, some who arrive in America perceive everything American as “free,” including those laws and customs that they will never obey in China yet naturally and justifiably observed in America. A very apt proof is that when they return to China and unconsciously follow American social habits and rules, their friends and families are always surprised. They will tell these returnees, “a few years gone, you have learnt many Western rules” or “don’t need to be so careful, this is China!” Actually, the returnees have already replaced the “sense of freedom” between Chinese people with the “sense of distance” between Americans.

In my view, to Chinese nationals, the meaning of “American freedom” is about a comparatively fair competitive social environment. Americans are not like the Chinese, who seem to believe that you have to obtain a M.A. or a Ph.D. before you can bring glory to the family, an ideal coherent with the “mother tiger” education currently extensively debated in America. In America, if you do not like studying, you can find a job after high school, or simply do what you would like to do — nobody will laugh at you, and no one will look down on you. Sometimes, they can excel at what they love to do, for example, repairing houses, growing vegetables or rearing animals. America is a service-oriented society and people have equal chances of earning big bucks involved in a wide variety of services, even unthinkable ones; the monetary returns may not be any lower than those who have M.A.s or Ph.D.s.

Those who already want to succeed in China will find it difficult to adapt to ordinary American living. In truth, many Chinese nationals who had lived in America felt duty-bound to return, having finally realized the price of “American freedom.” Often, they become firm defenders of Chinese culture and patriots, at the same time succeeding in their careers. Of course, there are those who go to America in the first place to “save the country indirectly,” making use of the “American brand” to prove their own “worth.” Their minds are full of Chinese-style “class consciousness” and achieving glory for the family by getting “American educations.” Thus, the “American freedom” they speak of is purely a public lie, and many who enthusiastically support “American freedom” today are as such.

The writer is a professor at the Minzu University of China.