說得籠統一點是「發展」,說得具體一點是特別是中國本身成長的全球性影響,據此產生的各種多變的經濟和政治型態其實很容易追溯。但文化變遷呢?這種經濟和文化主導權的戲劇性重構,對於長久以來受到強大的自由主義所主宰的菁英世界文化秩序,帶來了什麼樣的改變?同時在新興的文化秩序的演進中,傳統的中國習俗和價值觀將扮演什麼角色?當我們尋找必要的文化資源來因應前面被描述成完美暴風的全球與國家困境時,可能會預期必須在價值觀、意圖和行為上做出改變。本文要探討像經典道家宇宙觀這樣的人類資源,或許能使人類度過這場完美暴風,抵達寧靜海。
Development generally and the global impact of China's own growth more specifically, is producing a range of changing economic and political patterns that are relatively easy to track. But what about cultural change? What difference does this dramatic reconfiguration of economic and political dominance make for an elite world cultural order that has long been dominated by a powerful liberalism? And what will be the role of traditional Chinese customs and values in the evolution of a newly emerging cultural order? When we look for the cultural resources necessary to respond to the global and national predicament described below as a perfect storm, we might anticipate the need for a shift in values, intentions, and practices. In this essay, I will explore classical Daoist cosmology as one human resource that might enable humanity to weather the perfect storm and to emerge from it on a halcyon sea.