Study Trip 2: Catching up, is it the right path?

And of course it has hit me again. But maybe not the way I had expected.

Only a week ago I thought that walking through Sanghai would make me feel from another planet. But after a few days sightseeing the city, I have to say that I have felt very confortable. Of course the language is ununderstandable to me, of course the food tastes very different, of course the rules are not the same and of course it is so much easier if you are traveling in an organized trip with classes about chinese culture and just visiting the touristic side of the city. But I was not expecting to feel so confortable so soon, I was not expecting to feel so safe in this environment in just a few days.

I have always learned the best lessons of my life when traveling, because getting out of my confort zone and routine helps me question everything, it sets my head in a philosophical mindset. And these days I have been thinking a lot about what makes me feel safe.

The city and the people are very friendly, and when I look around I see so many familiar things that one question comes to my mind, is the economic globalization making all countries look the same in urban areas? I can see many shops, brands and food chains that are very easy to recognize for me. Do I feel safe because everything around looks so familiar? Ar we all going in the same direction? Is it a good one?

I can see a trend in development that I don´t know if I like too much. I can see that China is somehow trying t emulate what the western countries have done, going for economic growth despite the environment or social improvements. It seems like a natural tendendy of growth, but, what is the final goal of this model? Is human happiness at the end of the road? Of course I see the conection between economic growth and human development, and I really think businesses and economy can be a very important tool for sustainable development (beeing a business owner in a developing country myself,I know very well how strong this link can be) Anyway, I can help but wonder, has the western model made us happier?

Economic growth only makes sense if it is a tool for improving people´s well being. People in China are experiencing now this good feeling of “take off”, and the differences in the quality of life of chinese people in the last 30 years are visible, which is a very good sign. But looking to the western countries, now lost in an economic crisis caused by a lack of values and an excess of trust in the financial markets, is China doing the right thing? Is really “catching up” the answer to a bright future?

Only time will tell…

Comments Off on Study Trip 2: Catching up, is it the right path? / 28 Feb 2013 por Paloma Andres Urrutia
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