The term “Red Scare” describes the propagation of fear towards communism or socialism in America during the 20th century. The first Red Scare (1919-1921) was an anti-leftist response to the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917 and the rise of socialist and pacifist groups who opposed US involvement in the First World War. The Second Red Scare, or McCarthyism (1947-1957), flared up from the communist revolutions in China and Korea, the Soviet takeover of Eastern Europe and the witch-hunts lead by Senator Joseph McCarthy of perceived socialist conspirators, spies and sympathizers within the United States. Though the Cold War melted into the pages of history several decades ago, some still associate the rise of China with a third Red Scare. But is there really any reason to be frightened, especially since former president Hu Jintao has announced a “peaceful rise to power” policy? Or is China truly an upcoming threat to Western values and democracy?

The new competitor on the block

The “Sleeping Dragon” of China has awakened and is on the rise to superpower status, challenging the power of the West and the US. In three decades, the impoverished nation on the brink of collapse has grown to become the second largest economy with a GDP of more than $7 trillion and still continues to experience robust growth even during the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. China is spreading her global influence and reaching out to places in Southeast Asia and Africa, as well as making ties in the United States’ own “backyard” of Latin America and the Caribbean. Beijing has also undergone a military buildup and invested $166 billion into the armed forces last year, making it the second largest military spender in the world. China is now considered a major military power with its first aircraft carrier, nuclear arsenal, large standing army as well as being one of the top players in the field of cyber warfare.

As one can see, China is contending with the US economically, politically and militarily—something that deeply frightens the US. Yet, this situation is not actually that unique. For some reason—realpolitik or otherwise—it seems that the US fears any power, communist or not, that rivals her might. Japan’s economic rise in the 1970s and 1980s lead to a not entirely dissimilar wave of “Yellow Peril”, where many Americans believed Japan would take over the world. According to a 1991 ABC News/NHK poll, 60% of Americans viewed Japan’s economic power as a “threat” while auto workers in Detroit thought Japanese companies were stealing their jobs, ultimately leading to a wave of violent anti-Japanese demonstrations. While some denounce the possibility of another Red Scare, it could happen since the US—from the communist spies of the USSR to the capitalist businessmen of Japan—is inherently weary of any rival nations.

Nouveau McCarthyism- an exaggerated threat

The Second Red Scare in the 1950s—the McCarthy era—is now perceived as grossly exaggerated, with hundreds of so-called communists (or “pinkos”) named on the Hollywood Blacklist and other alleged socialists in the government accused of being involved in “anti-American activity.” Likewise, the Third Red Scare could be exaggerated as well, since China is still decades behind the US. Based off data from the IMF, China’s 2012 GDP in terms of purchasing power parity per capita weighed in at 9,162 USD and was internationally ranked at 93 out of 187 listed countries—below the Dominican Republic and slightly above Jamaica. The US on the other hand ranked 6th with nearly 50,000 USD, while the majority of nations in the top 20 are Western countries. Though some scholars have forewarned that China’s GDP will overtake the US by 2020, the above GDP PPP per capita data (which is a better measurement for comparing standards of living between countries) not only shows that the average Chinese citizen’s purchasing power is still light years behind the US; it clearly illustrates that China still has a lot of catching up to do if it simply wants to be considered a proper “developed county”.

Even though China’s military is modernizing quickly, it’s far behind the US, which invested $711 billion into the military in 2012—more than all the other countries in the top ten combined, and about 6-7 times greater than China’s annual military spending! And while China is reaching out to others around the world, it’s mostly for business purposes. It’s essential for China to gain raw materials to continue growing, making the resource rich nations of Latin America, Africa and SE Asia prime candidates for business deals. But just because China is doing more business around the world doesn’t necessarily mean these countries are dropping the US in favor of China. In fact, the US is doing the same in China’s “backyard” by improving ties with Myanmar, India, the Philippines and Vietnam to check China’s regional influence, while South Korea, Taiwan and Japan are all long-time American allies. For now China vs. the US in the arena of soft and hard power is synonymous with David vs. Goliath.

The “secret weapons”

New York Times journalist Thomas Friedman argues that though "one-party autocracy certainly has its drawbacks… when it is led by a reasonably enlightened group of people, as China is today, it can also have great advantages." China’s Leninist system just needs a few people at the top of the pyramid to make a decision and that decision can go into effect immediately. Contrarily, laws in the US have to pass through the Congress, the Senate and the Oval Office, in a process that can take months or even years. Also in America, Republicans and Democrats constantly sabotage one another just so their party can pull ahead rather than work together for the good of the state. Although China’s monopoly on power is certainly allowing them to move forward at lightning speed, a major drawback is the graft often found within its nontransparent, Leninist institutions. In fact rampant corruption is believed to be so bad that it’s actually even threatening the very legitimacy of the Chinese Communist Party.

Fareed Zakaria in “The Post American World” argues that the US also possesses a “secret weapon”, stating that education and immigration are where America sets itself apart. In his words, “higher education is America’s best industry” and the “United States absolutely dominates higher education, having either 42 or 68 percent of the world’s top 50 universities [depending on which study you follow]” to attract some of the best minds from abroad to work in the United States. Furthermore, China is aging quickly due to its demographic burden, while the US will continue to stay young from immigration.

But the US—similar to corruption in the CCP—is abusing its secret weapon. Amy Chua argues in her book Day of Empire that one of the many convoluted reasons empires (even perhaps the US) collapse is from the government cracking down on minority civil liberties. With the US currently taking the toughest stance on immigration ever, America’s advantage through immigration could come to an abrupt end and, following Chua’s theory, become one of the many factor’s that leads to the country’s downfall.

No need for witch-hunts

Though still the most powerful country in the world by many measures, the US is in a state of decline, having put itself in a bind with two costly wars and a mammoth amount of national debt. Meanwhile much of the developing world, most notably China, is playing catch-up, making the US fearful of losing its crown and leading to murmurings of a third Red Scare.

If the US wants to maintain its position in the world, it’d be beneficial for Washington to quit worrying about the rise of China and other potential competitors (as it has with the Red Scare and Yellow Peril) and focus instead on improving domestic issues concerning education, the ailing economy, unemployment and immigration. Failing to do so will only lead to a self-fulfilling prophecy wherein the US continues rolling downhill, which creates new opportunities for the ambitious countries of the developing world. If this is the case and the US gets stuck in its usual state of paranoia, history may repeat itself and the Third Red Scare could become a reality with fear, propaganda and yes, even witch-hunts targeting “socialist Sinophiles”. Let’s hope that it doesn’t come to that.
 

Related links
Is China Still Following Deng Xiaoping's Axiom, "Hide Your Strength, Bide Your time?
Light Years Behind: Can China’s Space Programme Catch Up to US’s?
Decisions, Decisions: How Will China Position Itself in Asia

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