How America Can Revive

I. What Questions Does This Book Answer?

One deep winter night in 2025, an American scholar sent Hua Guoping an email:

"I don't know what America's biggest problem is, but I know America is losing something—the thing that once held us together. I don't know what to call it, I don't know where it came from, and I don't know how to get it back. Can you tell me?"

That email became the starting point of this book.

This is not a book about "America's decline," nor a book promoting "the China model." It is a diagnostic report from China—using one unified framework to analyze at once the roots of America's predicament and the logic of China's rise, finally pointing to a fundamental question:

What laws, in the end, does the development of human civilization follow?

The answer is hidden in the eight-factor model.

II. Core Weapon: The Eight-Factor Model (Brief Recapitulation)

In On Human Nature, we developed the eight-factor model in detail. Here we briefly recapitulate it as the key to understanding the whole book.

Four physical factors:

Physical nature—the property of the human being as organic living matter. Needs eating, drinking, breathing, and sleeping. The body is the soil of the spirit.

Suffering—the feeling of and aversion to pain. The signal of life being damaged; it makes people flee danger and eliminate suffering.

Pleasure—the feeling of and pursuit of joy. The signal of life being nourished; it makes people pursue beneficial things.

Tranquility—the body's state free of suffering and pleasure. The equilibrium point that life most wants to return to.

Four spiritual factors:

Privacy—the calm state of the spirit free of good and evil, the ultimate destination of human nature. Privacy is not selfishness; privacy is everyone's "home."

Private good—the instinct to be good to oneself. Preservation, care, enrichment, beauty, pleasure, compassion, reflection, confidence, strength, esteem, freedom—eleven private-good desires, the core driving force of action.

Public good—behavior good to others. Preserving others, caring for others, enriching others, enriching others' beauty, delighting others, showing compassion for others, enlightening others, trusting others, empowering others, honoring others, freeing others—public good is the essence of love and the foundation of social cohesion.

Private evil—thoughts bad for oneself. Healthy private evil makes people introspect, self-discipline, and be humble; pathological private evil makes people self-negating and self-destructive.

Public evil—behavior bad to others. Uncontrolled public evil is pure violence; public evil restrained by reason is the sharp edge that guards justice.

Reason—the tool that serves emotion. It does not decide direction; it only finds the way.

Core relations: privacy is the home of the spirit, good and evil are the paths home, reason is the tool for finding the way.

Of these eight factors, none can be missing. Suppress any factor excessively, and the human being falls out of balance; indulge any factor excessively, and the human being also falls out of balance.

The balance of the eight factors is the hallmark of a healthy personality. This law applies not only to individuals but also to nations.

III. Nine Faces of America's Predicament

Using the eight-factor model, this book systematically diagnoses America's predicament across nine domains.

1. Identity: Why Is America "Splitting"?

In the summer of 2018, Hua Guoping visited the United States for the first time. At San Francisco airport, he saw the tents of the homeless and smelled an indescribable odor in the subway station. But what truly puzzled him was the hostility that total strangers harbored toward a country they had never visited, and the way Americans who ought to be united were splitting along skin color, faith, and political stance into mutually hostile camps.

Data: a 2025 Gallup poll shows 45% of Americans identify as independents, an all-time high. Among Gen Z, 56% identify as independents. Only 36% of Democrats say they are "very" or "extremely" proud to be American, down 44 percentage points from 80% in 2015.

Eight-factor diagnosis: the root of America's identity crisis is not "diversity" itself but the absence of a public culture that enables the diverse to coexist and flourish together. Shrunken public good and excessive private good have replaced the strong bond of shared identity with fragile ties of interest.

China's culture of "harmony"—harmony as the highest value, harmony in diversity, the middle way—offers another possibility. China was not "united by nature" but is the result of five thousand years of continuous integration. The tradition of "great unity," the wisdom of "harmony in diversity," the tradition of "taking history as a mirror," and the spirit of "inward reflection" together form the cornerstone of Chinese identity.

2. Institutional Logic: Why Can Some Countries "Pool Their Strength for Great Undertakings"?

California's high-speed rail was approved in 2008, planned at more than 800 miles. Over more than a decade, costs have soared from $40 billion to over $100 billion. Projected opening: 2033.

Maria stands at the gate of her family farm, looking at the door sealed with court notices. She has lost her family's forty acres. But the rail authority has lost too—two more years of delays, another five billion added to the budget.

On this land, there are no winners.

Eight-factor diagnosis: the root of America's infrastructure deadlock is not technology, not funding; it is the institutional predicament of "vetocracy." Private land ownership, interest-group bargaining, and two-party confrontation make any project requiring collective action nearly impossible.

China's state land ownership, the tradition of "pooling strength for great undertakings," the capacity for long-term planning, and the consciousness of "the whole country as one chessboard" have allowed China to build 40,000 kilometers of high-speed rail in little more than a decade. This is not an "export of the China model" but an institutional experience available for reference.

3. The Boundary of Power: How to Prevent "Regional Separatism"?

In October 2025—the smoke of Chicago, Texas's talk of secession, California's retaliation, Washington State's "clean hands"—confrontation between the federation and the states is tearing at America's institutional foundations.

Data: federal-state lawsuits have nearly tripled in a decade. Federal grants have become political weapons. 46% of Americans feel like strangers in their own country.

Eight-factor diagnosis: the American system relies on "confrontation" to maintain balance—party versus party, legislature versus executive, federal versus state. When confrontation goes to extremes, it becomes paralysis. China's system of rotating officials breaks up entrenched local interests, cultivates a consciousness of "the whole country as one chessboard," and prevents local powers from growing too big.

4. The Myth of Law: When the "Rule of Law" Becomes a Shackle on Development

James Wilson, 74, stands on the platform at Paddington Station. The high-speed rail he has waited more than thirty years for still has not opened. His country—once the cradle of the Industrial Revolution, once the builder of the world's first railway—nearly two hundred years later cannot even build one high-speed rail line.

Eight-factor diagnosis: the three great myths of Western rule of law—the sanctity of private property, procedural justice above all, and the dogma of following precedent—each turns law from a "tool" into a "shackle." The Minnesota incident reveals the deep predicament of American law: law is no longer neutral rules but a weapon of political struggle.

China's other path of rule of law: the land system moves from "absolute private ownership" to "use control"; procedural justice from "cumbersome" to "efficient"; legal evolution from "rigid" to "living law." The flexible enforcement of law during the Spring Festival travel rush is the best illustration of "the warmth of law."

5. Educational Imbalance: Two Educations, Two Americas

Xiaoyu, a Beijing boy, crushed by grades. Emily, a New York girl, swallowed by pleasure. One is "exhausted," the other "empty." Their root sickness is the same: both have been raised by education into "flat people."

Eight-factor diagnosis: Chinese education over-develops "reason" and suppresses the other seven factors; American education over-indulges "private good" and "pleasure" and neglects the other six. Both countries are cultivating "single-factor people."

Data: myopia rates among Chinese students reach 58.6% in primary school, 76.8% in middle school, and 81.2% in high school. American adolescent obesity reaches 20.2%; only 24% of children get at least one hour of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity daily; average attention span has fallen to 4 minutes.

The direction of mutual learning: China can learn America's "respect for private good" and "critical thinking"; America can learn China's "cultivation of suffering tolerance" and "knowledge foundation."

6. Public Safety: Safe China vs. the Collapse of American Security

An American friend stood on a street corner in Beijing at 11 p.m., watching the passing crowd, and suddenly said: "You know, in America, I wouldn't dare walk alone on a street at this hour."

Data: in 2025, the United States saw more than 600 mass shootings, with an average of over 100 people dying from gunfire every day. Only 58% of Americans feel proud; 46% feel like strangers in their own country.

Eight-factor diagnosis: the root of America's public-safety predicament is not too few police, not weak laws; it is the collapse of social trust. China's four lines of defense for safe communities—police presence pushed down to the grassroots, resolution of conflicts at the local level, empowerment through technology, and universal participation—have built a safety net covering the whole society. The essence of a sense of security is trust.

7. Cultural Dynamism: Why Are Chinese People So "Driven"?

The root of Chinese people's "drive": having been poor and afraid. A "culture of hardship" makes Chinese people able to endure and dare to strive, but it also makes people live too hard and too repressed. America's "culture of pleasure" lets people enjoy life and know how to live, but it also makes people live too adrift and too empty.

Data: pride among young Americans has fallen from 71% to 36%, and nearly half do not want their children in cross-party marriages.

Eight-factor diagnosis: China is a "culture of hardship"—strong endurance, strong action, but over-suppressed joy; America is a "culture of pleasure"—knows how to enjoy, knows how to live, but lacks resilience and easily falls into emptiness. Culture is not fate; it can evolve. China needs to learn to enjoy itself within striving; America needs to recover responsibility within pleasure.

8. Historical Literacy: Why Are Chinese People "Politically Savvy"?

Chinese people love history and are skilled at history. The tradition of "taking history as a mirror" lets Chinese people draw governing wisdom from history, forming the political literacy of "the people as the foundation of the state," "vigilance in times of peace," and "family-country sentiment."

Data: American pride has fallen to 41%, trust in elections has dropped 17 percentage points, and only 2% of young people report value overlap with their employers.

Eight-factor diagnosis: China is "practice-oriented"—summarizing experience from history to guide reality; America is "idea-oriented"—refining thoughts from history to judge reality. Americans need to rediscover their own history—not the "history of great men" in textbooks but the history of ordinary people's struggles, the evolution of society, and the trial-and-error of institutions.

9. Technological Innovation: From "Importing" to "Creating"

China's technological rise is the result of making up for "scientific reason," releasing the vitality of "private good," supporting innovation with "public good," and balancing "suffering" and "pleasure."

Data: in 2025, China's R&D spending intensity reached 2.8%, and technology contract turnover grew 10.8%. The core AI industry exceeded 1.2 trillion yuan. Annual production of new-energy vehicles surpassed 16 million units. 63% of Americans believe Chinese technology is now superior to America's.

Eight-factor diagnosis: the most central driver of China's technological rise is making up for the missing course in "scientific reason." The essence of reform and opening-up is making up for this course. Four decades of catching up turned China from a "student with a lopsided education" into an "honor student" whose reason has developed comprehensively.

IV. An Eight-Factor Reading of China's Rise

1. Making up for the course of "scientific reason"

What flourished in traditional Chinese civilization was "humanistic reason"—Confucianism, Daoism, and Legalism all dealt with relations between people and between people and society. What was long lacking was "reason for the natural and material sciences"—modern science did not develop, and no industrial revolution occurred. This is the root of a century of modern humiliation.

The essence of reform and opening-up is making up for this course. Four decades of catching up turned China from a "student with a lopsided education" into an "honor student" whose reason has developed comprehensively.

2. Releasing the vitality of "private good"

From "severely criticizing every flash of selfishness" to acknowledging the legitimacy of individual interests, reform and opening-up released the private-good desires of hundreds of millions of people. Allowing some people to get rich first, encouraging people to change their fate through striving—the Wang Chuanfus, Wang Taos, and Ren Zhengfeis of this world are all driven by "private good."

3. Balancing "suffering" and "pleasure"

A "culture of hardship" lets Chinese people endure and strive—this is the foundation of the rise. But only suffering, without pleasure, crushes people. China is moving from "arduous struggle" toward "a better life."

4. Holding the bottom line of "public good"

In decades of dramatic social transformation, China did not fall apart the way some countries did; what held it together was the bond of "family-country sentiment." Poverty alleviation, rural revitalization, epidemic prevention and control—behind these great undertakings is the power of "public good."

5. Regulating the boundary of "public evil"

China has established the national policy of "peaceful development," insisting on "never seeking hegemony" and "never expanding." This is not a moral slogan but wisdom drawn from historical lessons—those who profit by evil will be devoured by evil in return.

V. The Fundamental Law: Eight-Factor Balance

Put the fragments of America's predicament and China's rise together, and a clear law emerges:

The balance of the eight factors is the fundamental law of civilized development. Out of balance, decline; in balance, prosperity.

The America of the nineteenth century had its eight factors in a dynamic balance. It had both the release of private good and the cohesion of public good; both the resilience of suffering and the restraint of pleasure; both practical reason and tranquil stillness. This balance made America rise.

The America of today has eight factors severely out of balance. Shrunken public good, excessive private good, runaway public evil, weakened reason—this imbalance has plunged America into its predicament.

China's rise is a process of bringing the eight factors from imbalance to balance. Making up for reason, releasing private good, balancing suffering and pleasure, holding the bottom line of public good, regulating public evil—each step repairs an unbalanced factor.

This is not some "China model." This is a universal law of the development of human civilization.

This law does not change with ideology and does not fail with cultural difference. It is universal, objective, and necessary.

VI. Profiting Through Good vs. Profiting Through Evil: The Underlying Logic of National Rise and Fall

The underlying definition of good and evil:

Good = conduct that profits through good. Evil = conduct that profits through evil.

What is "profiting through good"? I give you value, you give me return—fair mutual benefit, both sides win. The farmer grows grain and sells it to city dwellers; the doctor treats illness and collects a fee; the teacher teaches and earns a salary—these are all profiting through good.

What is "profiting through evil"? Obtaining benefits through control, oppression, and plunder, destroying relationships, tearing the world apart. The thief pries open a door and steals valuables; the fraudster spins lies and swindles money; the robber threatens with a knife and extorts at the point of life—these are all profiting through evil.

This logic applies not only to individuals but also to nations.

America's nineteenth-century rise was a model of profiting through good. Technological innovation created value, free trade brought mutual benefit, the attraction of talent pooled wisdom, and institutional innovation released vitality.

America's predicament today is the trap of profiting through evil. Hegemonic logic has replaced cooperative logic; the weaponization of sanctions hurts the global economy; technological blockade has turned into self-isolation; military intervention exhausts the nation's strength.

The law of the reflection of consciousness: what you give out eventually returns to yourself. Those who profit through evil will be devoured by evil in return.

VII. Material Civilization and Spiritual Civilization: The Coordinated Development of Two Main Lines

Human civilization has two main lines:

Material civilization: making people live better, longer, and farther. It answers: how do we obtain the resources of survival from nature?

Spiritual civilization: making society safer, more harmonious, more stable. It answers: how do we coexist with others without destroying one another?

The dialectical relation between the two main lines:

If spiritual civilization is poor, material civilization will destroy itself. If society is turbulent and wars break out constantly, even the most developed productive forces will be destroyed.

If material civilization is poor, spiritual civilization cannot sustain either. Even if a society is as harmonious internally as heaven, one meteorite and humanity will perish all the same.

America's nineteenth-century experience: material civilization (the Industrial Revolution, technological innovation, infrastructure) and spiritual civilization (Puritan ethics, community mutual aid, institutional innovation) developed in coordination, making America rise.

America's predicament today: material civilization remains strong, but spiritual civilization is crumbling—trust in government has fallen to 17%, pride among young people stands at just 12%, and 73% of Finns view America as a threat.

China's experience: insisting on "grasping with both hands," cultivating family-country sentiment, and practicing socialist core values, so that the two main lines develop in coordination.

VIII. An Eight-Factor Prescription for America's Revival

Prescription one: repairing physical nature—rebuilding infrastructure

Establish a "fast track for major national projects," form a "bipartisan infrastructure commission," implement "market-based compensation plus public-interest exemption" for land acquisition, and set up "federal-state infrastructure cooperation incentives."

Prescription two: repairing suffering—cultivating a culture of resilience

Introduce "challenge days" in public schools, promote models of "striving plus responsibility" in the media, launch "mutual striving" projects in communities, and promote an "apprenticeship" culture in enterprises.

Prescription three: repairing pleasure—guiding deep joy

Reduce screen time, increase outdoor activity, support artistic, athletic, and creative activities, distinguish brief stimulation from deep delight, and create family moments of joy.

Prescription four: repairing tranquility—cultivating the capacity for solitude

Introduce "silent time" in schools, build quiet reading spaces in communities, designate family "digital detox" days, and practice being alone from childhood.

Prescription five: repairing private good—respecting individual choice

Move education from "standard answers" to "independent thinking," expand employee stock ownership plans in the workplace, support individualized development in communities, and gradually return the right of choice to children in family education.

Prescription six: repairing public good—rebuilding social trust

Establish a "National Citizens' Day," promote "public-value education" in schools, encourage "cross-cultural dialogue programs," and push media content toward a "shared narrative."

Prescription seven: repairing public evil—guarding the sharp edge of justice

Anti-bullying education starts in schools; self-defense training gives citizens the ability to protect themselves; support righteous rescue; regulate law-enforcement conduct to prevent public evil from being politicized.

Prescription eight: repairing reason—elevating thinking ability

Strengthen education in foundational disciplines, introduce "project-based learning," cultivate multidimensional ways of thinking, and rebuild a shared historical narrative.

IX. Where This Book Stands in the System of Thought

How America Can Rise Again is an important work of the "applications and entry points" module in Hua Guoping's system of thought, a model of applying the eight-factor model to national comparison and civilizational analysis.

The core questions it answers: Why is America declining? Why is China rising? What laws does human civilization follow?

Its relations with other works in the system are as follows:

The Vanguard Concept establishes the origin of the eight-factor model—what the human being is.

On Human Nature unfolds the complete structure of the eight factors—the four physical factors and the four spiritual factors.

The Awakening of Value applies the eight-factor model to personal value creation.

How America Can Rise Again applies the eight-factor model to national comparison and civilizational analysis.

Civilization of Public Good applies the eight-factor model to institutional comparison.

Ultimate Dao Governance applies the eight-factor model to the philosophy of governance.

The Community of Human Well-Being applies the eight-factor model to humanity's future.

If The Vanguard Concept is the "root" of the system and Civilization Must Not Burn Itself is the "trunk," then How America Can Rise Again is one of the system's most important "branches"—it transforms the theory of human nature into a framework for national analysis, taking the eight-factor model from philosophical speculation to civilizational comparison.

X. The Ultimate Answer of This Book

The title of this book is How America Can Rise Again: The Historical Contrast Between Chinese and American Ascendance and the Fundamental Laws of Human Civilization. The title encapsulates the book's core proposition:

America's rise in the nineteenth century was the result of eight-factor balance; America's predicament today is the result of eight-factor imbalance; the direction of America's revival is to bring the eight factors back into balance.

The essence of China's rise is a process of bringing the eight factors from imbalance to balance.

Eight-factor balance is the fundamental law of civilized development. Out of balance, decline; in balance, prosperity.

Profiting through good, you may travel more slowly, but you will travel farther. Profiting through evil, you may gain for a time, but in the end you will be devoured.