Daniel Drezner is a professor of law and international diplomacy at Tufts. He is also a frequent contributor to the Washington Post. Drezner's latest column appears under this title: Why China will be able to sell itself as the last liberal great power.
So this guy is a PROFESSOR. Really, he teaches college students. Even worse, Tufts is a private institution so Drezner teaches students who have paid big bucks for the privilege of attending his classes. And yet, Drezner actually writes that China can be considered the "last liberal great power." One does have to wonder if Drezner even understands what that means. I'm sure he gets the words "last" and "great power". "Liberal", however, seems to be beyond his grasp. The way Drezner uses it, "liberal" is not meant to be a political liberal (as opposed to a conservative.) No, liberal in Drezner's title means a belief in and a practice of freedom. That includes free trade, free economic systems and freedom for the people of the nation. China, Drezner's last liberal power, is about as free as a concentration camp. The Chinese government and the Communist Party apparatus control everything and everyone. The Chinese economy is managed from Beijing, not with central planning but with controls that are nearly as stringent if not as blatant. Trade with China has to be done on the terms acceptable to the Chinese government. Calling China a "liberal" power is like calling Osama bin Laden a messenger of world peace.
So this guy is a PROFESSOR. Really, he teaches college students. Even worse, Tufts is a private institution so Drezner teaches students who have paid big bucks for the privilege of attending his classes. And yet, Drezner actually writes that China can be considered the "last liberal great power." One does have to wonder if Drezner even understands what that means. I'm sure he gets the words "last" and "great power". "Liberal", however, seems to be beyond his grasp. The way Drezner uses it, "liberal" is not meant to be a political liberal (as opposed to a conservative.) No, liberal in Drezner's title means a belief in and a practice of freedom. That includes free trade, free economic systems and freedom for the people of the nation. China, Drezner's last liberal power, is about as free as a concentration camp. The Chinese government and the Communist Party apparatus control everything and everyone. The Chinese economy is managed from Beijing, not with central planning but with controls that are nearly as stringent if not as blatant. Trade with China has to be done on the terms acceptable to the Chinese government. Calling China a "liberal" power is like calling Osama bin Laden a messenger of world peace.
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