cover image Becoming China's Bitch and Nine More Catastrophes We Must Avoid Right Now: A Manifesto for the Radical Center

Becoming China's Bitch and Nine More Catastrophes We Must Avoid Right Now: A Manifesto for the Radical Center

Peter D. Kiernan. Turner (www.turnerpublishing.com), $27.95 (420p) ISBN 978-1-61858-005-4

"In my youth, we were a nation obsessed with the Soviet Union... Where is our paranoia about China?" If it didn't exist already, former Goldman Sachs senior partner Kiernan seems determined to drum it up with dramatic metaphors like "[The Chinese] have developed a vampire's taste for the elixir of our economy--oil." In his "manifesto," Kiernan analyzes the reasons behind China's ascension and its potential to overtake the U.S. as the world's primary economic power. As a self-described "Radical Centrist," Kiernan underscores two causes for concern that require America's immediate attention: the growth of China's reserves, and the strength of its currency (the Renminbi, or Yuan). What deeply concerns the author is the U.S.'s lack of a strategy to deal with China once it takes the cap off its currency value. In Part I, Kiernan enumerates five reasons for America's inability to address the potential economic Chinese threat: "the Media Talk Complex," irresponsible political lobbyists, influential and biased think tanks, religious squabbling, and an ineffectual two-party system. In Part II, Kiernan goes on to discuss other challenges America faces, such as the same-sex marriage debate and whether to raise taxes on tobacco. Surprisingly, and despite the hawkish title, Kiernan suggests that the secret weapon to ensure success is not force, but rather an understanding of China. (Feb.)