During the Cold War, the west consistently used the issue of human rights as a weapon against the Communists – but always only in its first, eighteenth-century sense. The Communists consistently returned the favor, using the issue of human rights – but always in the second, nineteenth-century sense – as a weapon against the West. Americans hold that human rights are a universal matter, and while they may be, we often forget that universalism can sometimes disguise very specific agendas and the ways in which it can be yielded as a political weapons to advance our own interests. Muddling the issues of human rights is the position that China has assumed as a global trading partner. The economic challenge of China is likely to be the most difficult test not just for American economic policy but for its foreign policy in general. Americans still remain confused by the idea that the foundations of power no longer lie in military but in economic and industrial strength. This must be addressed if American is going to take a firm and reasonable stance with the Chinese that has success as a possible outcome.
