By Nirmal P. Acharya
Marco Rubio, the anti-China US lawmaker, recently posted a video of himself addressing the Senate on his personal Twitter account. Surprisingly, in the video, Mr. Rubio criticizes and reflects on the US, but indirectly and helplessly admires China’s success.
His central argument is that American capitalism has not changed Chinese socialism; rather, Chinese socialism has changed American capitalism.
For decades, everything about the US was admired and feared by the elite. American values were defined as “universal values”, and the American system was held up as a template for countries to emulate. Failure to adhere to American values and imitate American institutions would put you at risk of being condemned, sanctioned, or even attacked militarily.
The US pursues its set of values and institutions in order to safeguard and develop its own interests. American politicians have never shied away from this. For decades, most of the world was deferential to the US. There is the hegemon in the world, and the rest can easily be gripped by a sense of powerlessness.
To the MCC, in fact, part of our political elite has also been boycotted for a long time. Such a so-called cooperation project as MCC, which is not managed, audited by the Nepalese government or governed by the laws of Nepal, is in fact impossible to benefit Nepal. Our political elites know this very well, but they are afraid of US hegemony and dare not say “no” to US encroachment on our sovereignty.
But the world is changing in big ways. According to Senator Rubio, China has grown by exploiting the advantages of the socialist system, which has led to the collapse of the American myth.
Senator Rubio acknowledged that the US hegemony is being shaken. It is hoped that the provisions of the MCC agreement that undermine Nepal’s sovereignty will be negated as the US hegemony falters.
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