Introduction
China has surprised many nations due to its recent successful strategies that have enabled it to achieve considerable milestones in economic, social, and political aspects. On the other hand, Japan is revamping its military and economic structures to ensure it recaptures the glory it lost during and after the Second World War. China and Japan are in constant conflict because of the need to show their military and economic abilities. They have never been on bad terms the way they are now, and this is attributed to selfish interests in controlling resources. This discussion uses the Class Conflict Theory to analyze the relationship between China and Japan.
Article Summary
Andrew Ross Sorkin wrote an article titled Anxiety Rising over Relations between Japan and China in the New York Times magazine. This paper presents the hidden enmity between these two nations and how each of them tries to justify that it is not to be blamed for the existence of conflicts in their region. He reviews the failure of the 2014 World Economic Forum held in Switzerland to address the issues affecting Japan and China and fears that this conflict may cause a major world war (Sorkin 2014). He examines the impacts of this war on multinational corporations like General Motors, Coca-Cola, Microsoft, Boeing, and Nike among others. His sentiments are supported by the comments made by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan that the conflict between China and his country was real and serious; therefore, it should not be underestimated. The source of conflicts between these two nations is the debate about air defense identification zone over a chain of Islands in the East China Sea (Sorkin 2014). Mr. Abe’s visit to this site angered China and fuelled animosity between these nations. The article presents how America warned Mr. Abe not to travel to the disputed site, but he did not pay attention to the counsel.
The Relevance of the Class Conflict Theory in this Situation
The Class Conflict Theory explains that coercion and power are important in society because they produce social order (Anderson and Taylor 2009). Karl Marx believed that society is segmented and each group struggles to gain limited resources. Therefore, they have to use all means to ensure they dominate and control other groups. Those that have the greatest social, political, and economic resources have higher chances of controlling others through coercion; therefore, those that do not have these aspects become subjects. Japan and China are struggling for ownership of the East China Sea Islands and none of these countries seem to relent on their quest to show their military and economic abilities (Sorkin 2014). Therefore, there is a high probability that the conflict between these nations may continue for a long time and affect other countries that have partisan interests in them.
America is not on good terms with China; however, it is surprising that it has not taken a stand on this matter. China is struggling to become the world’s most powerful economic and political nation, but America is not ready to relinquish this position (Sorkin 2014). Therefore, there are supremacy battles between these nations as each of them struggles to maintain dominance and show its abilities to control the world. The Class Conflict Theory explains that groups usually have similar interests, even though they use different ways to achieve their objectives (Anderson and Taylor 2009). America may be using Japan to control China’s influence on international activities and yet pretend to be silent to hide its intentions.
Karl Marx argued that there is the need for consensus to exist between groups to ensure they arrive at a common ground where resources are shared equally. However, this situation seems impossible in the Japan-China case because of the influence of other countries that have interests in either of these nations. Britain and France did not support Japan during the Second World War; therefore, it is probable that they may support China to overpower their enemy. Japan has financial and political resources to fight China, and it will do anything to ensure it controls the ownership of the disputed islands. This is explained in the Class Conflict Theory that states that inequalities exist in the society because dominant groups use their powers to maintain their positions (Anderson and Taylor 2009).
Therefore, coercion will play a significant role in determining the owner of the disputed islands. Sociologists believe that the inequalities that exist between groups compel them to compete for the limited resources, and this brings a change in society (Anderson and Taylor 2009). Similarly, China and Japan will either reach a consensus or fight and the strong nation will have control over the weak one. This will mark the end of the long conflict between these nations.
References
Anderson, M. L. and Taylor, H. F. (2009). Sociology: The Essentials. California: Thomson Wadsworth.
Sorkin, A. R. (2014). Anxiety rising over relations between Japan and China. New York Times. Web.