Surprise Arrest and Tax Hike

More scenarios to think through today. First:

Suppose a citizen is walking down the street one day when the police arrest him. They don't tell him why; they simply arrest him and keep him locked up for three days before letting him go. He has done nothing illegal. What will this person think? What will this person do?

Take a minute or so to think about it. Then, consider this:

The government passes a law doubling the income tax without consulting the citizens. Is the government right to do this? What would citizens say? What would they do? What should they do?

Do your reactions to the two scenarios differ? If so, how?

Americans tend to react to both scenarios with anger. They see the scenarios as analogous: in both cases a wrong has been perpetrated by the government against a citizen or citizens, and injustice demands an angry response.

Chinese respondents see the two scenarios (Chinese versions here) as fundamentally different kinds of incidents. The surprise arrest gets people angry, as it does with the Americans. But the tax hike is greeted with blasé resignation: there's not much we can do about it, so why get all worked up?

Americans see in binary terms: black and white, good and evil, right and wrong. Universal principles hold over particular situations. Chinese are more likely to consider the specifics of a situation and make decisions based on those.

Woe to the American who tries to do business in China from up on a moral high horse. Get the dirty details, understand them, and adapt to them. If you don't, the most you'll have to show for your efforts is maybe a smirk of self-righteousness — but I doubt that's what you came to China for.