China is still recovering from what it refers to as a century of humiliation (1839-1949).
Chinese remember – still – the induced addiction and severe military losses from the Opium Wars (involving imported Opium and mass addiction caused by the Jewish Sassoon family (now Israeli) under British direction and protection; great famine and rebellions sponsored by foreign intervention; the Sino-Japanese wars; and the Japanese invasion of Manchuria. The list of humiliating defeats is endless. But let’s be clear, this humiliation, in many ways, led to the demise of the emperor, Mao’s rise, and China’s Cultural Revolution, which involved severe radicalization and endemic anti-Westernism. Indeed, Western relations with China were frozen for decades. At the time, China had a per capita GDP lower than that of Kenya and Tanzania. It was a third-world state.
Finally, in 1978, Deng Xiaoping came to power (following Mao Zedong’s death). He outmaneuvered his rival Hua Guofeng by promoting the idea that “practice is the sole criterion for testing truth.” Deng’s philosophy was famously summarized by the maxim, “It doesn’t matter whether the cat is black or white as long as it catches mice,” which emphasized practical results over strict communist ideology. He introduced the concept of “One Country, Two Systems,” which led to the eventual return of Hong Kong and Macau, allowing them to maintain their capitalist systems under Chinese sovereignty. He was practical and pragmatic, and thus able to reconcile with the West (including Japan), which had led to so much suffering in China. It was a tactical move.
Today, China has risen to being the largest economy globally on a PPP basis. Don’t get me wrong, the Chinese even today still feel an enduring humiliation that continues to motivate them. In many ways, because of the humiliation they experience, they continue to make massive technological and economic leaps (to supersede the West).
Iran, too, has been humiliated. Three Western-sponsored coups in one hundred years – destroying Iran’s democratic constitution of 1906/1907 (mashrutiat movement). From Reza-Khan’s rise in the 1920s, to Operation Ajax in 1952, to the toppling of the Shah by Khomeini, who usurped power in 1979, establishing almost 50 years of darkness in Iran under the rule of the Mullahs. The splintering of Iran, with the losses in the Caucasus, Central Asia (including Afghanistan), sponsored by Russia and the Brits. Two vast famines during the two world wars led to millions of Iranian deaths, which the Allies confiscated to feed their troops. Not to mention the Reuters concession, which effectively led to the de facto confiscation of Iranian agriculture. The non-payment of royalties by BP for extracting Iranian resources for over 50 years. And the sponsoring of Saddam Hussein in his invasion of Iran, which led to millions of casualties.
Not to be forgotten is the massive importation of Opium into Iran from Afghanistan during America’s control of Afghanistan to diminish and destroy Iran these past 20 years, much like the Brits in China. Interestingly, it was Iran’s proxy (the Northern Alliance) that significantly assisted the US in its Afghan invasion, only to have “W” call Iran Evil right after the Invasion. And then, Opium plantations in Afghanistan jumped from near Zero under the Taliban to over 100,000 MT under the US!? At one point, not long after the invasion, one in seven Iranian adults became a regular Opium smoker!
I also think it’s humiliating when people call the Persian Gulf the Arabian Gulf (a term initially coined and promoted by Lord Belgrave of Britain) and when Shia Muslims are called Shiites (a subtle derogatory inversion designed to sound innocent, in a very typical British schoolboy manner). Even the term Middle East is a Western reference to Britain (so middle from where, Far East, far from where? Near East, Near to whom?).
What was once the most prosperous, progressive, and successful nation in the region has been reduced to a backward, theocratic nation with serious economic issues and outdated infrastructure, characterized by limited water and power supplies. Iran’s air is severely polluted. The per-capita GDP has been reduced to one of the lowest in the world. Iran has been sanctioned, isolated, and contained.
Iran needs new leadership. Much like Deng Xiaoping, a new leader must emerge who can reshape Iran’s destiny.
Humiliated Iranians need to take a page out of China’s book. Like the Chinese, Iranians can not and should not forget or forgive this systematic humiliation, but there has to be a serious resetting of tactics.
Much like the communist party in China, strict adherence to dogma – religious dogma in Iran’s case – has led to massive setbacks in Iran. There must be openness to pragmatic and practical policies that can lead to change – regardless of dogma. A transformation led from within is feasible and necessary. There should be serious reforms, and the energy of Iranians (both at home and abroad) must be harnessed to bring about significant changes in Iran. There must be wholesale liberalization.
Women should be able to dress as they wish. There should be freedom of the press, and people must be allowed to voice their views – even if they disagree with the regime. Dissidence cannot be a crime. Indeed, dissidents should be allowed to return and invest in Iran’s economy.
There is, in fact, security and confidence in being able to absorb differing views. Massive economic liberalization, in fact, requires openness to new ideas. Economic liberalization implies the creation of new markets for ideas! Iran needs to transform into an intensely pragmatic and practical nation.
If the regime doesn’t transform, the regime itself will be gone. Iranians will not continue to accept this level of economic backwardness in an age of the internet and open global communications – despite the regime’s censorship. If a Deng Xiaoping doesn’t emerge, the regime itself will be gone – soon. Be warned. It’s time. Iran needs a transformation, now.
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