Confucius‘ Candyman Can!
What’s the 'Unique Truth of Things' in Xi‘s 'Ultimate State of Global Harmony'?
– #A sugarish Sticky Note on Confusion! Confucius! Confuxijinping! –
Candy Man / Hey, Candy Man / Alright everybody / Gather around, the Candy Man is here / Now what kind of candy d'ya want? / Sweet chocolate, chocolate malted candy, gumdrops? / Anything you want! / You've come to the right man, because I'm the Candy Man (Sammy Davis Jr, The Candy Man)
Dear Honourable President of China, Xi Jinping!
Hopefully, you’re doing fine and things’re running smoothly – probably with one particular exception. Unfortunately, you’ve been called names[1], i.e. 独裁 ... 专制者 ... 独裁者 ... 压迫者 ... 暴君, right?
– Sounds of silence[2] –
One ought to be feeling deeply ashamed of those culturally diminished Politicians ... sorry … bold Phillistines having voiced such disrespect ... sorry ... severe lack of knowledge.
Well, which one of e.g. Allah[3] many, i.e. 99[4] names would you’ve preferred?
Godfather[5]?
– Sounds of silence –
ٱلْسَّلَامُ.
The Perfection and Giver of Peace!
Wow!
What a great choice! Apparently, international reports on Human Rights[6] in and Cyber Action[7] stemming from your country have proven at odds with such kind of an elevated self-verification.
如今，人人都在参与网络战
Everyone engages in Cyber Warfare nowadays.
Of course.
By the way, making a long story short, have you ever afforded the slightest bit of awareness on how 独裁者[8] has been internationally defined for long?
– Sounds of Silence –
Nevermind.
How should a single person be capable of getting to grips with a country like China[9], bearing a Nation of almost 1.5 billion[10] inhabitants – not forgetting another approximately 3.0 billion folks crowding in India[11] and Africa[12] – introducing Tens of Thousands of Years of Tradition dating back to the first hominid Inhabitants over two million years ago?!
Wow!
Now, how should a single Chinese be capable of understanding China’s long-standing History beyond one’s natural Life-Expectancy and long-term Memory, since even Eritreans[13] can hardly believe their Lilliputian country’s Past, Present and Future?
– Sounds of Silence –
How should Historians, common and Divine Beings like you make an exemption from the rule?
– Sounds of Silence –
书籍
马克思
毛泽东
习近平著作
Okay ... a little bit of Confucius[14] ... Marx[15] ... Mao Zedong[16] and of course, Xi Jinping’s[17] writings and speeches.
How about Ho Chi Minh’s thoughts[18]?
– Sounds of Silence –
What about trying to understand other People’s Cultures[19]? Why not start comprehending the Rest of the World’s odd perception of particularly Chinese Culture under Xi Jinping?
– Sounds of Silence –
太忙
Oh ... too busy ... okay.
In most acts of communication many imprecise factors are inherent even though they may not be recognized as such. ... Talking about democracy: A Russian cannot understand why Americans hold the word in reference since to the Russian it has overtones of an unwieldly and massive town meeting unguided by intelligent and far-seeing leadership. Democracy to an African may mean the elimination of oppression and little more. To a villager in Southeast Asia, it may mean continued oppression under a government supported from abroad. ... The range of interpretation may wreck the morale of an organization if it is not recognized that this seemingly simple message involves a whole system of human elements and responses in an ongoing organization. (J. Douglas Brown, The Human Nature of Organizations)
Apparently, Confucius holds the answer, although his Analects[20] are usually quoted short of full context, therefore being understood improperly – let‘s be clarifying this Confusion as follows:
"Tsze-lu said, ‘The ruler of Wei has been waiting for you, in order with you to administer the government. What will you consider the first thing to be done?’ The Master replied, ‘What is necessary is to rectify names.’ ‘So! indeed!’ said Tsze-lu. ‘You are wide of the mark! Why must there be such rectification?’"
"The Master said, ‘How uncultivated you are, Yu! A superior man, in regard to what he does not know, shows a cautious reserve. ‘If names be not correct, language is not in accordance with the truth of things. If language be not in accordance with the truth of things, affairs cannot be carried on to success."
– Sounds of Silence –
Providing, readers are not mistaken, The Chosen One like you, may choose to attribute meanings to words at will.
Humpty Dumpty says Hello!
無產階級擁有權力
無產階級選擇他們的領袖
領袖是他們的僕人
Ah ... The Proletariate has the Power.
Oh ... The Proletariate chooses their Leader.
Uh ... The Leader is their Servant.
Makes sense on the one hand, on the other, it doesn’t.
If names be not correct, language is not in accordance with the truth of things. If language be not in accordance with the truth of things, affairs cannot be carried on to success. When affairs cannot be carried on to success, proprieties and music do not flourish. (Confucius, The Analects)
What’s the Matter with your kind of Ping-Pong Confucianism[21], i.e. why‘re you trying to evangelise the Rest of the World on Confuxijinpingism?
What’s the Matter with your kind of No-Evil Policy[22], i.e. why‘re you denying too many strange things like Human Rights Violations and Cyber Warfare going on in and originating virally from your country?
What’s the Matter with your kind of At-Will Rationalisation[23], i.e. why‘re you persistently keen on upholding a confusingly arbitrary Set of Statutory Inconsistencies[24] of Reasoning[25], while repudiating objections on the foundations of Dialectics[26].
Evidently, joining you in paving the Silk Road[27] to a Better World in Peace[28] and Harmony on your Beijing Consensus[29] is not everyone’s Business.
HUMPTY DUMPTY: When I use a word, it means just what I choose it to mean — neither more nor less. / ALICE: The question is, whether you can make words mean so many different things. / HUMPTY DUMPTY: The question is, which is to be master — that’s all. (Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking Glass)
Telling the Truth on empirical Evidence of Perception can only prove being an Insult to those throwing dust into one’s eyes, or doing even worse. Of course, being declared a Gold-Dust Wattle might not be flattering you.
Continuing your humble friendship with a Russian Warlord and Wanna-Bee Tsar[30] called Vladimir Putin either. You might still be lacking a solid concept of historical memory[31] in regard to Sino-Soviet Relations[32].
Remember: Critics are our friends, they show us our faults.[33]
That’s pretty much it for the moment and you’re really living in interesting times!
Respectfully yours,
Cal Caleido
Addendum
Just one more thing[1], Mr Xi, you shouldn‘t have omitted Carl Schmitt[2] being one of the Fathers of your Fabric of Thought. His Philosophy of Contagious Legalism[3] stinks more than ever.
[1] "Oh, just one more thing" - Columbo - YouTube
[2] Carl Schmitt (Wikiped) ––– Carl Schmitt: The Most Influential Nazi Philosopher? (thecollector.com) ––– Carl Schmitt | The Core Curriculum (columbia.edu) ––– Carl Schmitt, Political Existentialism, and the Total State on JSTOR ––– (PDF) HISTORICAL BACKGROUND TO CARL SCHMITT'S PHILOSOPHY | Linda Ezikeoha - Academia.edu ––– Carl Schmitt and the Concept of Sovereignty – Discourses on Minerva (minervawisdom.com) ––– Carl Schmitt | German Political Realism & Legal Theory | Britannica ––– Carl Schmitt's Nomos of the Earth (core.ac.uk) ––– Constitutional Theory: Schmitt after Derrida (oapen.org) ––– Hobbes, Schmitt, and the paradox of religious liberality (uni-muenchen.de) ––– The Concept of the Human in the Works of Carl Schmitt (uni-bonn.de) ––– A Philosophy of Concrete Life: Carl Schmitt and the Political Thought of Late Modernity (jyu.fi)
[3] Schmitt Fever: The use and abuse of Carl Schmitt in contemporary China | International Journal of Constitutional Law | Oxford Academic (oup.com) ––– Carl Schmitt in China: Why Is He Needed and How Is He Understood? – An Analysis of Chinese Political Constitutional Theory (zchinr.org)
Frame of Reference
‘Chance‘ Magoo & The Arsonists!
Alleman(n)iac Transformers in Concert
Behemoth’s Unresolved Simplexities!
Withstanding Êpitomes of Destrûctiveness!
Fiat Iustitia Et Pereat Mundus
[1] China blasts Germany after Baerbock calls Xi Jinping a ‘dictator’ – POLITICO ––– Sorry prime minister, Joe Biden was right – Xi Jinping really is a ‘dictator’ (theconversation.com) ––– Biden calls Chinese President Xi Jinping a dictator (nbcnews.com) ––– || ––– German Minister Upsets China By Calling President Xi Jinping "Dictator" | World News - YouTube ––– Biden defends calling China's Xi Jinping a "dictator" - YouTube
[2] Simon & Garfunkel - The Sounds of Silence (Audio) - YouTube
[3] 99 Names of Allah (Al Asma Ul Husna) - Meaning & Explanation
[6] World Report 2023 Book (hrw.org) ––– UN Universal Periodic Review of China (2021) (ohchr.org) ––– The United Nations of China- A vision of the world order (2018) (ecfr.eu) ––– China's long game on human rights at the United Nations (2018) (brookings.edu) ––– China and the International Human Rights System (2012) (chathamhouse.org) ––– odd fact: Jackie Chan and the Utter Failure of Confucianism (jeromekeating.com)
[7] Opposites as follows: Sources of Evidence on Chinese Cyber Warfare: Cyberwarfare by China (Wikiped) ––– China’s Cyberattack Strategy Explained (boozallen.com) ––– ‘Major attack’ by China on US infrastructure says local cyber security expert - YouTube ––– China cyberattacks are a 'defining threat': top U.S. cyber official (cnbc.com) ––– Cyber-Terrorism and China (dtic.mil) ––– Experts say China’s low-level cyberwar is becoming severe threat | China | The Guardian ––– Preventing Chinese Sabotage in a Crisis - U.S.-China Technological “Decoupling”: A Strategy and Policy Framework - Carnegie Endowment for International Peace ––– Report Shows How China Has Been Using Cyberattacks Over the Past Decade - Infosecurity Magazine (infosecurity-magazine.com) ––– Significant Cyber Incidents | Strategic Technologies Program | CSIS ––– The China Threat — FBI ––– Top U.S. cyber official warns of infrastructure attack risk if China tensions rise (nbcnews.com) ––– U.S. warns China could hack infrastructure, including pipelines, rail systems | Reuters ––– Wave of Stealthy China Cyberattacks Hits U.S., Private Networks, Google Says - WSJ ––– || ––– Sources of Evidence on China's Engagement in Cyber Supervision: Comments of China on Global Cyber Supervision (unodc.org) ––– Global Cyber Deterrence: Views from China, the US, Russia, India, and Norway (ethz.ch) ––– || ––– Sources of Evidence on China's Engagement in Cyber Vulnerability: China's Cyber Capabilitities: Warfare, Espionage, and Implications for the United States (uscc.gov) ––– Chinese State-Sponsored Cyber Operations (defense.gov) ––– CISA Insights: Chinese Cyber Threat Overview for Leaders ––– People's Republic of China State-Sponsored Cyber Actor Living off the Land to Evade Detection (defense.gov) ––– Decoding China’s CyberWarfare - Perceptions, Strategies, and Capabilities (michaelraska.de) ––– || ––– Sources of Evidence on China's Engagement in Cyber Security: A Chinese perspective on cyber war (icrc.org) ––– China and Cyber - Attitudes, Strategies, Organisation (ccdcoe.org) ––– ––– CSET - China’s National Cybersecurity Center (georgetown.edu) ––– Cyber security in China (kpmg.com) ––– InternationalCyberNorms Ch9 (ccdcoe.org) ––– The Impact of China on Cybersecurity (belfercenter.org) ––– Understanding China’s cybersecurity law (mfat.govt.nz)
[8] Dictator (Wikiped) ––– Dictatorship (Wikiped) ––– Dictators Portal | Britannica ––– related: Visual Thesarus Lexipedia – Dictator
[9] China (Wikiped) ––– related: History of the People's Republic of China (1949–1976) (Wikiped)
[10] China Population (2023) - Worldometer (worldometers.info)
[11] India Population (2023) - Worldometer (worldometers.info) – closing in on 1.5 billion inhabitants
[12] Africa Population (2023) - Worldometer (worldometers.info) – closing in on 1.5 billion inhabitants
[16] Mao Zedong (Wikiped) ––– related as follows: The Maozedongism of Chinese Politics and the Xi Factor (aljazeera.net)
[17] Xi Jinping (Wikiped) ––– related as follows: Xi Jinping and Confucianism Legitimacy and a National Moral Identity (scholar.colorado.edu) ––– The Re-imagining of China under President Xi Jinping (westminster.ac.uk) ––– On the Revival of Confucian Communism in Contemporary China - YouTube
[18] Ho Chi Minh (Wikiped) ––– Ho Chi Minh Thought (Wikiped): Ho Chi Minh Thought is rooted in: Marxism-Leninism, Traditional Vietnamese ideology and culture; Eastern cultural thought: Confucianism, Buddhism; Western ideologies, specifically French and American political philosophy; Ho Chi Minh's personal morality.
[19] Related feature: Great Global Grasp - Cal Caleido’s Substack
[20] Confucius, The Analects - 13 | US-China Institute (usc.edu): Chung-kung said, "How shall I know the men of virtue and talent, so that I may raise them to office?" He was answered, "Raise to office those whom you know. As to those whom you do not know, will others neglect them?" Tsze-lu said, "The ruler of Wei has been waiting for you, in order with you to administer the government. What will you consider the first thing to be done?" The Master replied, "What is necessary is to rectify names." "So! indeed!" said Tsze-lu. "You are wide of the mark! Why must there be such rectification?" The Master said, "How uncultivated you are, Yu! A superior man, in regard to what he does not know, shows a cautious reserve. "If names be not correct, language is not in accordance with the truth of things. If language be not in accordance with the truth of things, affairs cannot be carried on to success. "When affairs cannot be carried on to success, proprieties and music do not flourish. When proprieties and music do not flourish, punishments will not be properly awarded. When punishments are not properly awarded, the people do not know how to move hand or foot. "Therefore a superior man considers it necessary that the names he uses may be spoken appropriately, and also that what he speaks may be carried out appropriately. What the superior man requires is just that in his words there may be nothing incorrect."
[21] StratCom | NATO Strategic Communications Centre of Excellence Riga, Latvia (stratcomcoe.org): The Confucius Institutes (CIs) are non-profit educational institutions funded by the Chinese government, with the stated purpose of promoting Chinese language and culture. Since the launch of the Confucius Institutes programme in 2004, the large-scale initiative has been described as a Chinese “soft power” success. The Confucius Institutes have secured a number of partnerships with universities in 146 countries around the world, including in NATO member states. In 2017, there were 525 Confucius Institutes at colleges and universities, as well as 1,113 Confucius classrooms at primary and secondary schools. The CI initiative takes on a number of measures that differentiate it from other cultural institutions, particularly in the way the CIs become a structural unit of a host university and employ a double directorship system. However, the motives behind this large-scale initiative and the procedures of installation in host countries have attracted criticism, in particular the lack of transparency concerning the university contracts, hiring policies and financial aspects. Moreover, reports of self-censorship on sensitive political and historical topics (such as Tibet, Taiwan, or the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989) by both Chinese teachers and local university professors have raised concerns about intellectual freedom. Several scandals in 2014 involving instances on censorship cast light on the hard-line approach applied by the previous Director General, and the tight control exerted by the CI’s governing body Hanban and the Chinese Ministry of Education. The controversy resulted in the non-renewal of CI contracts in several universities in the US and Europe and greatly contributed to the perception of CIs as an instrument of Chinese influence.
[22] The Problem of Evil in Confucianism in: Probing the Depths of Evil and Good (brill.com): In Confucianism, the problem of evil has a twofold aspect. First, it is related to the order of good and bad. This order is a hierarchy of values that develops into the moral standard of a society. Second, it is related to the debate on human nature: is human nature good or evil. This paper will discuss the Confucian problem of good and bad, and the problem of good and evil. It will also explore two ways of overcoming evil in Chinese and Japanese Confucianism, namely, the approach of orthodox Confucianism and the approach of Legalism. Confucianism suggests overcoming evil by restoring the order of heart through education. Legalism suggests that human beings are powerless to overcome evil, and hence it is necessary to set up strict law and punishment. However, Legalism can be easily misused and may end up with dictatorship, totalitarian or even in the justification of war.
[23] The Party and the Sage: Communist China's use of quasi-Confucian rationalizations for one-party dictatorship and imperial ambition: Journal of Contemporary China: Vol 24, No 96 (tandfonline.com)
[24] Opposites as follows: People’s Democratic Dictatorship: China in the 21st Century - The Perfect Dictatorship (hku.hk) ––– Hong Kong in the Shadow of China - Hopes against Hobbes - On Authoritarianism, Regime Legitimation and Soft Power (nsysu.edu.tw) ––– China and Conficianism - In the Shadow of the Oxymoron (iwp.uiowa.edu) ––– || ––– Confucianism: Confucian Values and the Chinese Political Tradition (core.ac.uk) ––– Confucius and Confucianism (sunypress.edu) ––– || ––– On Who’s to dicate Whom / Who dicates Whom: Without the Trust of the People, There Can Be No Government (Analects from Confucius) (jef.or.jp) ––– Democracy in Confucianism (smu.edu.sg) ––– || ––– Institutional Evangelisation for the World: Confucius Institutes Trojan Horses with Chinese Characteristics (iwp.edu) ––– || ––– Amalgamation of Confucianism, Marxism and Maozedongism: Carry the struggle to criticize Lin Piao and Confucius through to the End (Maos's Analects) (marxists.org) ––– || ––– Self-Referencing on arbitrary Rationalisation and Reasoning: The CCP’s Exploitation of Confucianism and Legalism (usc.edu) ––– The Confucian Road to Totalitarianism - How Confucianism Predisposed the Chinese to Totalitarian Rule (purdue.edu) ––– || ––– Legitimisation and Legalisation of Political and Judicial Practices: Construction of Legitimacy in Neo-Confucianism ––– Legalism sugar-coated with Confucianism – from Qin and Han dynasty (icsin.org) ––– Death Penalty in Confucian Legal Culture in China and Vietnam (unimelb.edu.au)
[25] Frederik J. Hacker, Aggression - The Brutalisation of the Modern World (1971): The pioneer of ethology, Niko Tinbergen, called man an unhinged killer. By this, he meant, man lacked those inbuilt instinctive inhibitions preventing animals from killing their fellow species. Those animic inhibitions, inherited instincts had to be emulated by man through reasoning and socialising. [...] Aggression derives from the Latin term "aggredior" – "aggredi ", originally meaning "to approach" (in the sense of "approaching"), "to touch/attack" in the sense of "touching"/"attacking" [...]. Only in our times, "aggression" has become notorious as manifest or tacit "aggressive behaviour", sometimes having been distinguished from "aggressiveness" by means of "hostile characteristic" or "ill intentions". [...] "Rationalisation" is the unconscious justification of an action by pronouncing a "good" ("understandable") matter rather than the "true" (often "enigmatic") reason. Providing this "bending into shape" is intendedly rigged, it may no longer be considered/called "rationalisation", but a "lie". [...] Every "rationalisation" contains a piece of "reason" and "ratio". Rationalisation of an unreasonable "desire" requires "reasoning", just as the "justification" of "injustice" requires sheating itself to appear as "justice". [...] "Rationalisation" per se bears deliberations of "self-justification" in terms of "making something reasonable", "making something right", and above all, tends to suspend all intents but those proving conducive to "manufacturing consent", eventually debunking the "originator" as his own source of "self-deception" and "public deceit". [...] There is an uncountable variety of worshippers' "expressions of violence" feeding on a "sanctuary mission". Having been voiced in all global languages and dialects at all times, communist, fascist, left- and right-wing, as well as revolutionary and counter-revolutionary mindsets, have justified their own violence, having glorified and celebrated such as the "principle of creation", as the "essence of man", as the one and only "heroic challenge" and as the "only means of fulfilling the human mission", having served "history", "freedom", "equality" and "brotherhood". Violence is labelled "fortitude", "courage", "determination", "strength", "masculinity", touted as the best means of "refining to becoming human", "gaining identity", suitable to "asserting oneself", as an "epitome of pure, unvarnished, real, human truth" – as much as a "commodity serving entertainment" and "killing time".
[26] Fabric and Structure: Trivium (Wikiped) ––– Cohesion and Controversy: Corax of Syracuse (Wikiped) ––– Arts, Science and Ethics: Techne (Wikiped) ––– related feature: Tweets of Truth - Cal Caleido’s Substack
[27] Building a New Economic Silk Road - Advancing the Chinese Approach (core.ac.uk)
[28] Good Government - Nordic and East Asian Perspecti (diva-portal.org)
[29] Beijing Consensus (Wikiped) ––– related: We Have Been Harmonised: Life in China’s Surveillance State by Kai Strittmatter – review | Politics books | The Guardian ––– We have been harmonized- Life in China’s surveillance- Kai Strittmatter, New York- Custom House, 2020 (tandfonline.com)
[30] Helmut Schmidt, Men And Powers: A Political Retrospective | Foreign Affairs – RUSSIAN-SOVIET CONTINUITY: Lenin – and likewise Stalin – were probably right at regarding Ivan IV, the "Terrible", as the real founder of the absolutist centralist-ruled Great Russian state. Ivan IV, born in 1530, assumed the title of tsar in 1547 and had led the first Russian war of conquest beyond the old borders of the Kievan Empire, ending with victory over the Tatar Volga principalities of Kazan and Astrakhan. This marked the historical beginning of the Russian empire gearing up for expansion, which entailed a far-reaching Russification of foreign people, including forced resettlements, e. g., in order to bring Novgorod, Tver or Pskov (Pleskau) under firm command. The brutal instrument of obstructive displacement was not invented by Stalin; Peter I and Catherine II had done the same before. Russian expansion was directed towards the Baltic, i.e. the Baltic Sea, then Poland, the Black Sea coast, and eventually the Balkan; Constantinople, the Bosporus and the Dardanelles were also often kept in mind. At the same time, the Caucasus, the lower Volga, the Caspian Sea, Tashkent and Samarkand, Turkestan and Afghanistan were kept tabs on. On the horizon, the immeasurable expanses of northern Asia reaching out to the Pacific and beyond the Bering Strait, Alaska, then succesively Mongolian, Chinese, finally Japanese and, at the very end, German territories. Recently, political bases have been added in the Middle East, Africa and Latin America. Whether respectively under Ivan IV, Peter I (the Great ), Catherine II (the Great), Stalin, Khrushchev or Brezhnev and despite some setbacks, the Russian drive for expansion has never really died out to this day. An underlying Moscow-centric messianism has remained inherent in the Russian idea of the state. When Constantinople [Fall of Constantinople (Wikiped)] was conquered by the Turks in 1453 and thus the Eastern Roman centre of Christendom was lost, Moscow declared itself the "third Rome" – "... and there will never be a fourth Rome". In the second half of the 19th century, the certainty of salvation had appeared in a different form as a kind of Moscow-centric Pan-Slavism and appeared again in due course of the 20th century in terms of world-revolutionary Moscow-centric communism. [...] The European Enlightenment, the ideas of the rule of law and democracy had had little influence on Russia's political development. Peter the Great – similar to Meiji-Tenno in Japan in the second half of the 19th century – single-mindedly opened up his country to Western European science and technology; but – similar to Meiji-Tenno – he did not decisively change the spirit of his people; rather, he wanted to make use of the Western example in order to be on par with the great European powers of the time. The Russian-Soviet expansionism can be understood as imperialism featuring the same justification as the one having substianted in the case of previous world empires, whether they were the empires of the Portuguese, the Spanish or the English, ancient Rome or the USA, whose establishments were largely based on unpeaceful land grabbing. When Soviet imperialism is mentioned in the West, the moral condemnation is unmistakable. [...] The philosophical, moral and legal condemnation of the conquest of foreign states and their people is a much more recent phenomenon. The short-lived dreams of world empire of the Japanese, Mussolini or Hitler would not have been condemned as decisively a century and a half earlier – if they had not been associated with unimaginable crimes – as there had been under the conditions of the 1930s and 1940s. Since then, undisguised claims to global domination have been considered illicit, even criminal, throughout the world. [...] Of course, the centuries of foreign rule by Tartars and Mongols had played an important role. Since the destruction of the city republics, such as Novgorod by Ivan III, Russia has known the absolutist form of rule in all its peculiarities and effects, having ranged from the murder of heirs to the throne to serfdom and banishment to Siberia. Hardly, broad strata of Russian society have ever experienced personal freedom; rather, there have almost always been disenfranchised classes and strata. [...] Broadly speking, expansion and intervention by the Soviets have tended to be carried out quietly; direct military operations with their own army have been rare; subsequently, they had been mainly limited to countries within the Warsaw Pact, i. e., the GDR (1953), Hungary (1956), the ČSSR (1968) and Afghanistan (1979). The Soviet leadership once only deviated from this cautious, war-risk-avoiding limitation after 1945, when Khrushchev attempted to deploy Soviet nuclear missiles in Cuba in 1962. So to speak, this was a step onto the doorstep of the USA, which was to be threatened with these missiles. In the end, Khrushchev had to pay for this adventure with the loss of his governmental power. Brezhnev and the Politbureu he led, had eventually returned to the cautious expansion strategy of a nuanced calculus of risk limitation. The military intervention in Afghanistan starting at the end of 1979 was just as much within the framework of this concept of risk minimisation as the indirect support, firstly of North Vietnam and subsequently of the Vietnamese conquests, which hereafter had endured for more than two decades. The Soviets are masterful chess players; they are no poker players and are by no means inclined to go for broke. [...] But long before Cuba there had been other bitter experiences; the humiliating outcome of the Russo-Japanese war of 1904/05 and the lost naval battle of Tsushima; the First World War with the dictated peace of Brest-Litovsk in 1918 and the prescribed quiescence of Riga in 1921, after the West had intervened in the Russian civil war on the side of the "Whites" and then again in the war against Poland. However, Hitler's advance to Stalingrad, to the hilt of the Caucasus and to the suburbs of Leningrad and Moscow had remained a nightmare, until after years of bloody battles had passed, American military support finally rendered Hitler’s defeat. In the end, the victory over Hitler cost twenty million dead. The leaders of the Soviet Union suffer from a Russian security complex, intially having gained apparentness after the defeat in the Crimean War [Crimean War (Wikiped) ] in 1856. "the border of Russia is only secure when there are Russian soldiers on both sides of the border", a Tsarist minister is reported to have once said. Stalin's policy of creating a ring of outskirt satellite states resulted in an American alliance system that John Foster Dulles [John Foster Dulles (Wikiped)] set up as a Western cordon sanitaire in Europe as well as in the Middle and Far East. This in turn was perceived in Moscow as a threatening encirclement, and the break with Mao Zedong's China having been provoked by Khrushchev at the end of the 1950s – substantially deepened by Mao afterwards – reinforced this psychologically understandable security complex. Something else came along, the striving for the same global strategic rank of "equal security" as the other world power at that time was not only of a defensive nature. It coincided compensation for the Soviet Union's inferiority complex in the face of its obvious inability to catch up economically with Western industrial societies. In military terms, the security complex is an expression of concern about potential adversaries, which are considered to be – in order of historical appearance – Germany, the USA and China. The anxiety caused by Germany is still present despite its division and despite the stationing of strong Soviet forces in the centre of Europe. Since it is also an instrument for exerting discipline over the Polish, it has been elaborately sustained. Just in case the opportunity should ever arise to isolate the Federal Republic of Germany, a fair warning of Germany is to serve to disconcert the French and other people in Western Europe. Deep concern about a likely inferiority towards the USA remains a major driving force behind the Soviet Union's massive missile and naval build-up. Concern about China is less significant in comparison, but it is also clearly perceived; the according reason was the conspicuous development of a communist state into political autonomy, irrevocably inconceivable to Moscow, which contradicted their doctrine. But probably the fact of China's stronger population plays a greater role than Beijing's ideological independence. [...] A hidden aggressiveness towrds the Chinese colossus had not been overlooked even in the era of the bilateral "policy of détente". In Moscow, the People's Republic of China had rightly been perceived as a future global super power across the board; the Soviet deployment of conventional and nuclear forces along the 7,000-kilometre-long common border ever since, has been accordingly strong. Recollecting the long-lasting history of Russia's extensive continuity of expansion might not suggest believing in geopolitical determination. It rather seems to have been a political-cultural tradition having never been abandoned in the sense of mission to be originally attributed to Russian Orthodox Church [Russian Orthodox Church (Wikiped)] and later taken up and continued by the CPSU. It is not yet clear, whether there will be a significant, lasting change in this old tradition under Gorbachev.
[31] Historical Memory | St. Lawrence University (stlawu.edu)
[32] Sino-Soviet split (Wikiped) ––– Sino-Soviet border conflict (Wikiped) ––– The Sino-Soviet split (alphahistory.com)
[33] Benjamin Franklin (Wikiped) ––– related: Mount Rushmore National Memorial (Wikiped)