Introduction
The idea of incorporating the Aristotle’s view that “everybody is a political entity, capable of using language for the sake of their personal gains, and the association between the language and the ideology has been a key point of discussion in the research in the political arena for the last several years. In this essay, the arguments and comparison are going to be based on the information gathered on the political slogans in China from the 1949 People’s Republic of China and the U.S presidential election campaigns from as early as 1920. Meaningful outcomes will emanate from comparing both the slogans in America and China.
Recently, the political slogans in the Chinese government and also in the American system have emerged to be important and of close deliberation. This is as a result of the slogans having crucial social impacts in a way which is prevalent, aggressive, repetitive and indiscreet(Chomsky 18). The slogans can be embraced in a manner which is relevant to the way of traditions in which they are applied. Lately, the Chinese and American political slogans have been given attention as they have an important obligation socially in a way which is effective and intrusive. Slogans are a suitable and effective way through which the politicians meet their objectives. This paper is going to put focus on how the slogans operate in China and take a discuss disparities between the political slogans in the two states. Also, to be analyzed is how the slogans act as a reflection in the political ideologies in the respective countries.
How slogans work in China and the US
The historical purpose of slogans was to motivate the members of the society to fight aggressively to guard the society or for the growth of its glory. Currently, slogans have been employed as a crucial instrument is communicating propaganda, and the developed countries such as U.S and China have applied the slogans as a tool for political campaigns and common use in advertising.
In their book, Qiao &Wang pronounced that, “The ‘golden age’ that is between the 1950s and 1980s in China present a time of the political slogans, in which new slogan was published daily, and several slogans were published through the mass media platforms. The ideas published in the slogans was rather relatively made simple in the inception of a communist idea. Since communism was not mature and strong enough, China regarded slogan as a great tool in developing propaganda and developing relations with the people (136)”. The government enacted the inception and developing the aspect of communism as their primary agenda. Every year, several of the political slogans were to meet this objective. The communist in China thought that they have a big task in guarding, disseminating, and developing the idea of communism against the antagonism of the western states which were mainly capitalists.
The Chinese government through the parties still bears its faith and trust in the idea of communism that is showcased in political slogans as “four-sticks-to”. In her work, Iserbyt says that “This can be explained as adhering to the socialistic path, and communism.”Nonetheless, approximately 90% of the concepts of the political slogans have been altered. Rather than opposing the various ideas of capitalism and the western political setting, and paying attention to the ideological disparities, the key idea of the political slogans has been used to create awareness among the citizens. Also, significance has been paid to the economic growth, and with the nature and benefits of communism in the country (29)”.
In America, there are certain stringent political slogans. The early 1920s marked a very successful period of the U.S. as people took pleasure in their livelihood and a quick economic development. For example, a presidential sounded as ‘Cox and Cocktail’, which symbolized the citizen’s anticipation of a high level of living. On the other hand, in the ear of the great depression witnessed in 1920 was also categorized by the slogan, ‘a chicken in every plate and a vehicle in every garage’. This symbolized a time when every basic need of in the daily life was critical for the American citizens. These slogans were used to give a picture of the changing livings standard, not only in the stated periods but also in the subsequent years. The American slogans also are used to give an expression of the wish of the people to have a better place live ad a promising American future. In American, the elections offer a key link between the state and its citizens and they function as a measure of the public opinion and to ascertain that those delegated in the federal offices, and rules laws they implement are totally in accordance with the wishes of the citizens. It is because of this that the slogans of the presidential candidates in the U.S have to be related to the opinion of the citizens and as a result, the aspirants aspire to apply appealing slogans.
Besides, the first-past-the-post approach enables the aspirants to work according to the idea of ‘putting people first’ and this does not promote parties from segmentation. Thus, the slogans enable the political dynamics within the limits of two-party structure. Since the American put substantial effort in their daily lives, instead of the ideological disparities, the outcome is an opinion losing a sense, disguised, and disregarded. For the political affiliations to perform their tasks as with a method capable of drawing interest in a variety of political ideas, it becomes certain that the system will appreciate the interest of the period. This attributes to the reason as to why a good number of the elections campaign slogans in the U.S. are tailored to emphasize on the domestic matters instead of the disparities in ideologies.
The differences between American political slogans and Chinese Political Slogans
Iserbyt asserts that “The various philosophies are inherent in the political slogans both in China and America. The Chinese slogan is geared towards a general and collectivist and on the other hand, the American slogan is of a personalized. With time, the state laws have started to reverse focus rather than paying attention to the ideology of the class conflict (63)”. The concept of individualism is usually historically associated with the liberalism. The classical perception of the limited state requires that a person should be liberated and free from government control because this would not enable and permit the person capability of being accountable for his behavior. Similarly, the government participation in the social dogmas, particularly to guard the less fortunate in the society, was not given consideration by the liberals mostly in the nineteenth century. This was set on the basis that the people should be accountable for personal wellbeing. In the U.S., the idea of individualism undermines the free market and develops the high standards of the involvement of the voters during elections. A comparison to the Chinese slogans shows that the American election slogans set a higher consideration on individualism.
The slogans in the Chinese governments are geared towards the growth of the economy. For example, the Chinese ideologies are: the growth of the economy is a crucial aspect. Poverty is not socialism. Collectively rich and lastly, promote the great developments of the western nations (Wang 78). As we can perceive from this, the entire slogan has changed its attention to individualism from its initial ideology of collectivism. This can be supported by the following assertions that, “ the human race is the primary principle, and authority and power are applied to the citizens, whereas enthusiasm is from the citizens, and profit is given to the people”. Regardless of the great ideological features, the slogans start to focus on the specific economic legislations and the human rights. This motivates the Chinese people to take pleasure in the prosperous life and their trust in a way which is more real and steadfast state.
Conversely, during the 21st century, a lot of the American citizens altered their behavior regarding collectivism. Rather than portraying individualism, the political aspirants have a tendency of convincing the citizens to embrace collectivism in their states. Almost in all of the campaigns for the presidency, the slogan of the aspirants from 2000 emphasized the ideas of “developing a strong country, or prosperity for the American people, or pushing the nation forward (Yang 68).” A survey conducted by OP World revealed that 81 of the American people had faith in patriotism as an important pillar in their personal identities as compared to the other 14% who opposed the same. The idea of patriotism is shown in the slogans in the U.S. and just as an example; we see the element of patriotism in the words of John Kerry when he said: “Let America Be America.”
Individualism contrary to collectivism establishes the wellbeing of the people at the forefront of its matters. As a political virtue, there is the notion that the view that the scope of the nation should be controlled so that there could be an encroachment on the ability of a person to achieve personal objectives and thus attain self-worth. As an economic belief, individualism does not support the participation of the state in the dealings of the economy. Its requirements are offered to the liberal market and laissez-faire capitalism for the purpose of not having a perception of the state’s enacting restrictions on issues of salaries and the working environment.
How Slogans in China reflect the political purpose and idea.
The slogan is a type of dialect which is a representation of the culture of a people and in helps in the strengthening of the culture. The effect on the Chinese slogans is politically driven, and so they act as a representation of the political objectives and ideas. The Chinese Communist Party often has incorporated propaganda as of huge significance, and the slogan as a technique of attaining the objectives of those asserting the propaganda. The Chinese dialect is a reflection of itself to the precise assertions, as each word is a representation of ideology. The slogans applied in the different eras has revealed transforming political imperatives and rules that are enhanced by the government. To begin with, the coming to an end of the Soviet Union, and the end of the Cold War there was an establishment of the market opening rules which was endorsed in the 1980s by Deng Xiaoping. During this period, the Chinese parties and the focus of the state shifted from ideologies to the economic well-being of the country. The notions of the political slogans also showed the shift; as can be viewed in some of the slogans during the 1980s.
The application of slogans is greatly associated with the series in the daily speech in China, where little rhythmic are regarded as the best and appropriate way of communicating. The speeches are usually a symbolized with four characters in China and have been used by politicians for more than twenty decades. Mao, a former president of China, always plundered conventional Chinese works that incorporated ‘sweet words’ to communicate. For example, Mao used the slogan, ‘Let a hundred flowers blossom; let a hundred learning institutions compete’; as a show that there would be permission to criticize the political parties. Nonetheless, when the opposition came, it was extensive and spiteful. Big posters and were used by the students and lecturers opposing the rule of the politicians and publicly denouncing the policies of the political parties.
The challenge of fast growth of the population in China has been treated with serious attention by the government. In April 1989, China reached the 1 billion population level associated with encouragements to foster family planning. The forecasts of serious hardships and even hunger if the level of growth is not controlled have been strengthened through the movements to promote the one-child rule. This has been a failure, partly as a result of the difficulty to pose regulations on the couples who have more than two children. Currently, slogans come up and will be prevalent as the administration which is politically oriented demands to disseminate information to its people. Wang notes that “To do this, the slogans are the most suitable and effective way of delivering the idea to its people. The big billboard signs in Beijing and other major cities in the country used to be printed with the slogans of Mao, Marx, and Lenin (94)”. Currently, for the several areas, these have ceased to exist, as they have been swapped with commercial adverts and federal posters that have political bearings. This shows how the slogans are a major reflection of the political objectives even in instances of health campaigns.
How Slogans in America reflect the political purpose and idea
Previously, the American people extensively acknowledged and embraced the idea of individualism. The people proclaimed the individual differences or the personal exceptionality rather than the societal or the communal appreciation and nationalism. Though, as the global society got into the ‘cooperation era’, there is no person who could meet the individual success without the assistance of another person(Yang 89). Recently in the U.S., several individuals have come to the realization that the different societal challenges are as a result of the fallen ideologies of individualism. Besides, people have started to show support for the politicians who bear the pledges that they will construct a great nation through pronouncing their communal importance. Subsequently, the political slogans have emerged to reveal a lot of aspects of cooperation more than any other period in the memoir of the nation! This situation illustrates that the philosophies and slogans in the country are politically stimulated in the effect to create a nation that shows its progress of globalization.
In American, the elections offer a key link between the state and its citizens and they function as a measure of the public opinion and to ascertain that those delegated in the federal offices, and rules laws they implement are totally in accordance with the wishes of the citizens. It is because of this that the slogans of the presidential candidates in the U.S have to be related to the opinion of the citizens and as a result, the aspirants aspire to apply appealing slogans. The American slogans also are used to give an expression of the wish of the people to have a better place live a promising American future. This is a perception revealing that the slogans are set on the fundamental basis of politics. According to Joyce, “In America, the slogans were applied by the politicians to give a reflection of the promises of changing livings standard of the people. The American slogans also are used in the political arena to give an expression of the wish of the people to have a better place live ad a promising American future(106). To this extent we see that the ideologies sold to the people through the slogans are a way of the politics attains its mission from the people.
Conclusion
The essay has examined the political slogans that have been used in the China and U.S., in which we have seen that the two states have ideologies that were mostly antagonistic. The essay has described the considerable disparities in accordance with the slogans and philosophies. Also, there were some similarities that were also noted in the slogans between the two states. The slogans if the two nations are a representation of diverse aspects; with the political slogan in China being elevated towards content, while the American's slogan, the type and the approach of interesting people are ideally emphasized to a bigger extent.
Linguistics has for a long time focused on the diverse human dialect and what they mean. There is a link between, how a slogan relates to the culture, language and the opinion of people. The way in which a slogan is used impacts the way the targeted audience reasons and acts. The ideological prejudice is a linguistically association with the political slogans and promotes the view that slogans cannot offer a perception that is not subjected to the understanding of situations. On the other hand, slogans aim to establish practicality in a way with the prevalent political structures and objectives. In a great way, it can be affirmed that political slogan explicitly, and deeply reflect the nation's traditions, philosophy, and political setting. Similarly, the slogans impact on the nation's political existence.
The interesting situation has resulted as we discussed in the essay that the U.S. slogans have started to resonate a collective and patriotic elements, while the political slogan of the counterpart, has changed in the interest of applying personal features in attaining its political objective. The Chinese slogan focuses on the way and manner in which it is to offer its slogan. An intrinsic comparison of the slogans in the two governments has revealed that language is an appropriate and suitable technique of social communication with a conceptual background.
Works Cited:
Chomsky, Noam. Language and Politics. Edinburgh:: AK Press, 2004. Print.
Iserbyt, Charlotte Thomson. The Deliberate Dumbing Down of America: A Chronological Paper Trail. Conscience Pres, 1999. Print.
Joyce, Peter. Teach Yourself Politics. Milton Park:, 2003. Print .
Liang Qiao, Xiangsui Wang. Unrestricted Warfare: China's Master Plan to Destroy America. Chicago: NewsMax Media, Inc., 2002. Print.
Wang, Zheng. Never Forget National Humiliation: Historical Memory in Chinese Politics and Foreign Relations. Columbia University Press, 2014. Print.
Yang, Zhong. An Introduction to Linguistics. Changchun: Northeast Normal University Pres, 2000. Document.
